Electra Battery Metals (TSXV: ELBM) has entered into a joint venture arrangement with a local Indigenous-owned group to develop battery black mass. The venture, referred to as Aki Battery Recycling, will see Electra partner with Three Fires Group for the recycling of lithium-ion battery scrap and waste material.
Aki Battery Recycling is effectively intended to be one cog in Electra’s supply chain, with material produced by the joint venture to be sold to Electra’s refinery for the recovery of nickel, cobalt, lithium and other critical minerals that will be used to produce new lithium-ion batteries.
“Aki Battery Recycling will provide a full-circle solution including a new primary recycling facility located in southern Ontario to shred lithium-ion batteries, process the scrap, and provide a steady supply of black mass, which will then be refined by Electra at its refinery complex. With the billions of dollars being invested into the southern Ontario battery manufacturing industry, ensuring that valuable materials are recovered and reused in Ontario, rather than discarded, is central to our shareholder First Nations’ interests,” commented Reggie George, Executive Director of Special Projects and Partnerships for Three Fires Group.
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The venture will see Electra provide technical and commercial leadership to the project, while Three Fires Group will lead capital resourcing as well as sourcing and determining the location for the new facility in southern Ontario.
The venture follows Electra last year processing 40 tonnes of black mass at its refining complex near Toronto in an effort to trial its proprietary recycling process. The program successfully produced nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate, while also recovering lithium carbonate, graphite, and other commercial products.
A timeline for the expected development of the joint venture was not provided.
Electra this morning also indicated that it has received a notification from Nasdaq, indicating its non-compliance with minimum bid requirements. Electra has indicated it intends to appeal the notice, while stating that it intends “to explore all available options to preserve [the] listing.”
Electra Battery Materials last traded at $0.82 on the TSX Venture.
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