eCobalt ships bulk sample for pilot testing to produce clean cobalt concentrate

VANCOUVER, Jan. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - eCobalt Solutions Inc. ("eCobalt" or "the Company") (TSX: ECS, OTCQX: ECSIF) announced today the shipping of 3 tons of a bulk mineralized sample of Idaho Cobalt Project ("ICP") resource for pilot level metallurgical testing at Dundee Sustainable Technologies' ("DST") facilities in Quebec. This testing is expected to further confirm the successful removal of arsenic on a pilot level to less than 1% from ICP ore concentrates by conventional roasting methods, as demonstrated in previous bench scale testing (see January 3, 2018 news release). 

The results of this additional testing is expected to provide feasibility level detailed engineering data to assist in costing and sizing of equipment to produce a clean cobalt concentrate with <0.5% arsenic at the proposed Cobalt Production Facility ("CPF"). This testing supports the Company's optimization efforts to reduce technical risk at the CPF through the development of a simplified flow sheet and is expected to result in a significant reduction in Capex and Opex at the facility.

Mr. Paul Farquharson, President and C.E.O. of the Company commented: "The results from the pilot test are expected to add additional confidence in the ICP's ability to produce a clean, high value cobalt concentrate for potential offtakers, further advancing current offtake discussions. This data will also support the development of a new, optimized, feasibility study that will also incorporate data from recent exploration drilling where positive results will be used to update the current resources."

Clean Cobalt Concentrate Production
This opportunity is being pursued with DST at their facilities in Quebec, where previous work on ICP mineralized material has identified that the ICP ore is amenable to roasting.  This new strategy to produce a clean, low arsenic cobalt concentrate has been well received by potential offtakers.  As previously reported, eCobalt intends to identify its partner(s) and definitive agreements in early 2018 after a thorough evaluation of the proposals.

E.R. (Rick) Honsinger, P.Geo., Senior V.P. with eCobalt, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

About eCobalt Solutions Inc.
eCobalt is a well-established Toronto Stock Exchange listed company committed to providing ethically produced, environmentally sound, battery grade cobalt products, essential for the rapidly growing rechargeable battery and renewable energy sectors, made safely, responsibly, and transparently in the United States. The Company's ICP, located in East Central Idaho, is the only environmentally permitted, primary cobalt project in the United States. It is 100% owned by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Formation Capital Corporation, U.S.

For more information visit www.eCobalt.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements in this news release pertaining to expected financings, filings, uses of proceeds or project completion dates are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievement. These risks, uncertainties and factors include general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory and social uncertainties; actual results of exploration activities and economic evaluations; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in project parameters; changes in costs, including labour, infrastructure, operating and production costs; future prices of cobalt; variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, development or mining activities, including the failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; delays in completion of exploration, development or construction activities; changes in government legislation and regulation; the ability to maintain and renew existing licenses and permits or obtain required licenses and permits in a timely manner; the ability to obtain financing on acceptable terms in a timely manner; contests over title to properties; employee relations and shortages of skilled personnel and contractors; the speculative nature of, and the risks involved in, the exploration, development and mining business.

Such projections are and will inevitably always be dependent on assumptions about future mineral prices and development costs which will be subject to fluctuation due to global and local economic and industry conditions. Further information regarding risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements is included in filings by the Company with securities regulatory authorities and is available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Although the Company has disclosed that the ICP remains the sole, near term, environmentally permitted, primary cobalt deposit in the United States and offers a unique potential for North American consumers to secure an ethically sourced, environmentally sound supply of battery grade cobalt products, there is no guarantee that the Company will attain commercial production of such cobalt products for use in the rechargeable battery sector. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The statements contained in this news release in regard to eCobalt that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including eCobalt's beliefs, expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to eCobalt as of such date. It is important to note that actual outcome and the actual results could differ from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technological, legislative, corporate, commodity price and marketplace changes.

SOURCE eCobalt Solutions Inc.