From electric vehicles to smartphones - if a lithium-ion battery powers it, it contains cobalt. Driven by ever-increasing global demand for renewable and portable sources of power, the price of cobalt has more than doubled in the past year, from $12.22/lb. to $27.90/lb. USD.
Both the demand for and the price of cobalt are set to continue this surge in coming years. Demand is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate of four to five percent through 2025, with a supply shortfall driving sustained price increases.
It’s an important aspect of the story to understand why sourcing cobalt in North America is ideal. Currently, sixty percent of the global supply of cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, primarily from the war-torn western regions.
As a result, there are serious concerns, both on a human rights level and a supply chain security level, regarding the long-term sustainability of this resource.
Moreover, there is further strong incentive to develop a North American cobalt supply chain. Andrew Miller of Benchmark
Mineral Intelligence underscores the urgency of the situation as follows: “In many ways, the cobalt industry has the most fragile supply structure of all battery raw materials.” Considered a critical metal to the United States, cobalt is essential to economic health and national defense.
Adding significantly to this demand is Tesla Motors, who have declared their intention to source their cobalt needs exclusively from North America.
Cobalt Power Group Inc. (
TSX: V:CPO,
Pink Sheets: CBBWF,
Forum), an exploration company focused on discovery and development, is well positioned to seize on that opportunity. Since 2016, the company has steadily built up its land package near Cobalt, Ontario, Canada – a promising region with a rich cobalt and silver mining history.
In August, they acquired six parcels of patented land (180 acres) in the Coleman Township of Ontario. The new properties adjoin the company’s existing concessions and fall within areas of mapped silver/cobalt vein swarms that continue from the company’s plots at Smith Cobalt. The purchase brings Cobalt's aggregate land package in the region to 21,000 acres (8,500 ha) - one of the largest land packages in this highly prospective region.
Not surprisingly, other exploration companies have taken notice of this promising situation and are expressing interest. Earlier this month, Cobalt Power announced receipt of a private placement from Hochschild Mining Holdlings Ltd., a senior mining company with 60 years operating experience in the Americas that currently trades on the London Stock Exchange.
Stockhouse recently caught up with Daniel Caamano, VP of Corporate Communications, to discuss the Company's cobalt project as well as other recent operational developments.
Let's start with an introduction. Do you want to speak to your background and perhaps give an overview of your management team?
Cobalt Power has assembled a dedicated group of highly qualified geological, technical, and financial personnel with decades of combined hands-on experience. We believe we have a well-balanced team that covers all aspects of the mining exploration and development process. Personally, I bring almost 20 years of market-side, finance, and investor relations experience to the company. Our CEO, has a PhD in structural geology with over 28 years of practical experience in the mining industry in a wide range of disciplines. He has worked for large producers such as Hochschild Mining and Anglo American.
I want to turn to your land package in the Cobalt Camp. Can you give an overview of your current position in the region, including your most recent acquisitions?
We began the company by acquiring the Smith Cobalt project, which, over time, we built up to 1,126.8 contiguous and strategic hectares. Recently, we completed a transaction, currently under TSX.V review, to acquire the Canadian Cobalt project. This asset encompasses 7,400 hectares in the Silver Center region of the Cobalt Camp. Combined, we now hold over 8,500 hectares, one of the largest land positions in the region.
In July, Cobalt Power launched its drill program at Smith Cobalt. Can you discuss your current exploration activity, and perhaps you next steps from here?
So far, we have focused our exploration efforts on the Smith Cobalt asset. We completed a preliminary exploration program earlier this year that included surface & airborne geophysics, surface sampling, and drill target delineation. We followed up with a Phase 1 drill campaign, concentrating on the old Smith Cobalt shaft. This stage was completed over the past summer and results are pending. During this phase, we discovered an old trench and, uncovering it, discovered five veins.
The sample taken from this site showed high values of both cobalt and silver. A few weeks ago, Phase 2 drilling began with a focus on evaluating this new mineralized zone as well as continuing exploration along the historical Smith Cobalt shaft trend.
Other plans for exploration in 2018 include surface geophysics, environmental baseline collection, and a mine closure plan - all within the Smith Cobalt project. We are also looking at executing an airborne geophysics program for the Canadian Cobalt project.
What's your current cash position and where does it put you in terms of funding exploration activity?
Currently, the company has roughly $750,000 CDN with no debt, and our Phase 2 drill campaign is already paid off. Eventually, we will need to raise additional funds to continue the exploration process, including future drilling programs. We expect this to happen over the next several months.
What is Cobalt Power's strategy for acquisitions, whether in the Cobalt Camp or elsewhere? What criteria guide your decision making?
It is the geology found within the Cobalt Camp that primarily guides our decision making regarding land acquisition in the region. The steeply dipping veins that permeate the area are relatively thin and therefore strike length is paramount in order to make a project economically viable. With this in mind, we have focused our acquisition efforts on strategic and/or contiguous land parcels. Acquiring small “postage stamp” concessions in the Cobalt Camp does not make sense.
As well, with the acquisition of the Canadian Cobalt project, we gained the rights to several cobalt concessions in Sweden. We are sending an exploration team to the country to determine the best acquisition/exploration approach going forward.
We've witnessed the price of cobalt more than double in the past 12 months, from $12.22/lb. to $27.90/lb. What impact does that increase have on the economics of your project?
As the price of cobalt appreciates, the economics relating to our project improve correspondingly. This fact not only allows us to continue our exploration efforts by increasing our ability to raise capital, but we believe that it will also impact our share price in a positive manner. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that ours is also a silver story. This metal, too, has enjoyed an appreciation over the past several years.
What are some of the other dynamics that you're watching in the cobalt space?
Governments around the world are enacting stricter regulations against air pollution – a move that will drive major auto manufacturers into the electric vehicle market. This paradigm shift from internal combustion engines to electric-powered vehicles will continue to add pressure on the demand for cobalt.
In September, Cobalt Power secured an investment from Hochschild Mining. What was Hochschild's rationale behind its private placement?
Synergies exist between the two companies. Hochschild Mining, a mid-tier precious metal producer, has four operations primarily extracting silver in South America. As mentioned earlier, the Cobalt Camp is a historically prolific silver mining region. It also lies in one of the best mining jurisdictions in North America - an area where Hochschild lacks a footprint. These facts make Cobalt Power an attractive partner for Hochschild.
From Cobalt Power’s perspective, Hochschild brings extensive experience in the mining and treatment of steeply dipping, narrow epithermal veins, like those found in the Cobalt Camp. As well, aligning ourselves with an established mid-tier producer like Hochschild brings credibility to both our cobalt assets as well as our management team.
What are management's long-term priorities?
Our priority continues to be to put money into the ground and to create shareholder value by advancing our Smith Cobalt project towards development and, eventually, production.
What would be a game changer for Cobalt Power?
We believe Cobalt Power has the key ingredients necessary to make it as a mining success story: a top management team, financial backing, and promising cobalt assets. What would be a game changer for the company? It’s a matter of time before major companies that are currently attempting to source and secure long-term supplies of cobalt, such as manufacturers in the rapidly emerging electric vehicle market, turn to the Cobalt Camp. Once they realize that the metal can be found in Ontario, Canada, a politically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction with an excellent tax regime, they will come knocking and Cobalt Power will be ready.
Full Disclosure: Cobalt Power Group Inc. is a paid client of Stockhouse Publishing.