Century Cobalt Corp. Provides an Overview on the Company & its 13,900 Acre Project in the Idaho Cobalt Belt

29.10.2018  |  ACCESS Newswire

• Century Cobalt Controls the Largest Contiguous Land Holding in the US's Largest Cobalt Belt
• Company Launches New Website As Part of Investor Outreach

www.centurycobalt.com

About Century Cobalt

The Company is focused on identifying, assessing and developing high-potential, economic, early-stage cobalt production opportunities in North America to take advantage of the growing demand for secure, ethically-sourced and conflict-free cobalt supplies. It holds a 100% interest in 695 lode claims representing 13,900 acres in the heart of the largest and most prolific cobalt mineralization trend in the U.S. Commonly known as the Idaho Cobalt Belt, this region is important nationally as it contains the largest known cobalt resources in the United States¹ and is home to the most advanced cobalt project in the U.S. – eCobalt’s Idaho Cobalt Project. A 30- to 35-mile long NW-SE oriented metallogenic district characterized by stratiform copper-cobalt deposits², the Idaho Cobalt Belt also includes numerous historic mines and prospects of the centrally located Blackbird district, the Salmon Canyon deposit to the northwest, and deposits of the Iron Creek area to the southeast³.

The Quest for Conflict-Free Cobalt

"We see growth in the demand for cobalt from the burgeoning electric vehicle sector being underpinned by the long-term requirements of the superalloys sector and adoption of the ethical cobalt movement," said Alex Stanbury, CEO. "This increasing global demand is driving the need for companies such as ours to find secure and ethically sourced supplies for the U.S. domestic market."

A critical component of electric vehicles and many rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries, the U.S. is the largest market for this metal yet it produces virtually none of it domestically. The majority of the world's supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where it is subject to significant political risk and an unregulated supply chain often using children as miners. Within recent years 19 Electric Industry Citizenship Coalition-member companies, including Apple, Dell and Ford Motors, have signed pledges to support the initiative to treat cobalt as a "conflict" mineral, while the European Union listed cobalt among 14 critical raw materials, due to its risks for supply disruptions and its integral role in Western economies.

Largely ignored until recently, the production of cobalt has been heavily influenced by large multi-national mining companies operating in politically unstable countries where it is mined as a by-product of large-scale copper or nickel operations. Nearly two-thirds of the world's supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, while China is the epicenter for refined cobalt production representing approximately 50% of the world's total output, the latter up substantially within the past decade. Furthermore, nearly 98% of the world's cobalt is produced as a byproduct, and there are no large-scale copper or nickel projects, with Cobalt by-product credits, poised to break ground in the foreseeable future. As a result, the price of "ethical" cobalt has increased significantly necessitating exploration in North America, and most notably Idaho. Since February 2010, cobalt has been trading on the London Metal Exchange and has risen in price from approximately U.S. $10/lb in early 2017 to its current level of U.S. $26/lb.

In response to these supply disruption risks, Century Cobalt is solely focused on primary cobalt deposits, where the main metal mined is cobalt. Based on historic production, current exploration and development, and underlying known geological theories, the Idaho Cobalt Belt is one of the few regions in the U.S. were cobalt could be identified as sufficiently holding high concentrations to make it the primary metal in mining deposits. By targeting domestic cobalt sources in North America, specifically Idaho, and utilizing local infrastructure and expertise, the Century Cobalt hopes to establish domestic and thus secure, cobalt production.

About the Property

At 13,900 acres (56.25 km²), Century Cobalt's acreage, known as the Emperium Cobalt Project, represents the largest land holding of any public company in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, an exceptional NW-SE-trending metallogenic province in the eastern Salmon River Mountains in east-central Idaho, USA, and known to hold many high-grade cobalt-copper-gold occurrences. The northern end of the property is located within vicinity of both the historic Blackbird copper-cobalt Mine, and eCobalt's Idaho Cobalt Project, the latter soon to be the only advanced stage, near term, environmentally permitted, primary cobalt deposit in the U.S. Extending to its southern end, Century Cobalt's property is within vicinity of the 1,800 acre Iron Creek deposit, the flagship property of U.S. Cobalt, a publicly traded company recently acquired by First Cobalt (FCC.V) in a C$150 million all-share deal.

Century Cobalt's 13,900-acre land package is contiguous and trends along the mineralization band of the Idaho Cobalt Belt from the eCobalt's proposed mine in the north to within vicinity of First Cobalt's Iron Creek property in the south. In total, within the Idaho Cobalt Belt⁴, Century Cobalt's acreage is greater than the accumulated land positions of the neighbouring 5 largest publicly traded companies combined.

Access to the property is via several public roads from the main public highway and well-maintained forestry roads that run throughout the license area, giving relatively easy access.

Property Highlights:

• Century Cobalt's 13,900 acre property is located in the most prolific trend of cobalt mineralization in the U.S., known as the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and adjacent to the famous Blackbird district, home to the largest known cobalt resource in the U.S., and soon to be the first domestic pure cobalt mine to be permitted and slated for full scale production in decades.
• The Idaho Cobalt Belt, the only known area in the U.S. with the potential for cobalt to be the primary metal mined, is a NW-SE trending belt of cobalt and copper bearing mineral deposits and prospects (i.e., occurrences), and is widely considered the prime exploration area in the United States for the discovery of large primary cobalt resources.
• The Company's Emperium claims extend nearly 15 miles from the eCobalt Solutions 100% owned Idaho Cobalt Project in the north to the tip of the Idaho Cobalt Belt near the Iron Creek deposit recently acquired by First Cobalt as part of an all-share C$150 million merger in the southeast.
• On the Company property's northern border is eCobalt's 100% owned Idaho Cobalt Project, currently the only advanced stage, near term, environmentally permitted, primary/pure cobalt deposit in the U.S. The eCobalt Solutions property, home to the Ram Deposit, is slated to be the only U.S.-based cobalt producer in decades and in full production within the next few years.
• Despite a significant recent interest in the Idaho Cobalt Belt and its historic relationship with the Blackbird Mine, only a small portion of the region has undergone systematic modern-day exploration. New technologies, accelerated exploration and increased understanding of the geology will enhance the potential for discoveries in the future. The Blackbird Mine was first discovered in the 19^th Century and was subsidized in part by the U.S. government to supply a growing Cold War mineral stockpile. It was a strategic center of cobalt and copper production until the early 1980s. Total past production from the nearby Blackbird Mine was roughly 2.4 million tons of ore containing 19,000 tons of cobalt, reaching its maximum production in 1958.
• The property shares similar geology and structure with other deposits in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, including the Blackbird Mine and the proposed Idaho Cobalt Project owned by eCobalt Solutions.
• At 13,900 acres, Century Cobalt's acreage represents not only largest land holding of claims within the Idaho Cobalt Belt, but also an amount greater than the combined acreages of the next 5 largest publicly-traded companies in the belt.
• Companies such as Apple, Dell, and Ford Motors are under increasing pressure to source critical elements such as cobalt from conflict-free jurisdictions as consumers are increasingly socially conscious. The U.S. Government is also keenly interested in developing a domestic supply of critical elements for its own security.
• Demand for cobalt is expected to increase due to its use for high-performance alloys, including jet engines and natural gas-powered turbines; and its conductive properties are used increasingly for batteries in the electric car revolution. The most advanced battery type, lithium-ion batteries, contain cathode material that is 60% cobalt and just over 50% cobalt by weight.

Alexander Stanbury also noted: "Accelerated exploration by ourselves and other companies in the region will provide additional clues to the geology of the Idaho Cobalt Belt, and ultimately help to uncover further discoveries. I believe we are only at the beginning of a new exciting phase in understanding the potential of this region, first started with the discovery of the historical Blackbird Mine and more recently, eCobalt's proposed full production cobalt mine and First Cobalt's announcement of its NI 43-101 resource estimate and 30,000 meter drill program for its Iron Creek Property. With only a small portion of the belt having undergone systematic exploration and with our land package encompassing the largest position of all the publicly companies within the Cobalt Belt trend, we believe the Century Cobalt is well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities and ultimately provide shareholder value."

For a detailed overview of the Company and its Property please visit: www.centurycobalt.com

Century Cobalt YouTube Channel:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sX-phkxTfnuEcSCs9y9GA

References:

¹ Slack et al., 2012

² Staargaard, 1996

³ US Geological Survey, 2010

⁴ Arthur A. Bookstrom, 2013

Forward-looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking" statements. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include such factors as uncertainty of consumer demand for the Company's products, as well as additional risks and uncertainties that are identified and described in the Company's SEC reports. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. The Company does not undertake, and it specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, events or circumstances after the date of such statement.

Century Cobalt Corp.
10100 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 300, Century City, Los Angeles
California 90067

IR TOLL-FREE: 1-800-856-8417
EMAIL: ir@centurycobalt.com
WEB: www.centurycobalt.com

SOURCE: Century Cobalt Corp.