Australian Jervois takes 5% of Ecobalt among calls for leadership change | Agricultural products

MELBOURNE, July 30 (Reuters) – Australian Jervois Mining has bought nearly 5 percent of the shares of Ecobalt Solutions Inc., which is developing a high-grade cobalt mine in the United States, a few days ago. after two of his biggest shareholders claimed.

Jervois Mining bought about 4.54% of the shares of the company, said Monday in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The purchase suggests that a bidding war could begin for one of the few projects outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that are about to start trading. Cobalt production, which is in high demand for rechargeable batteries.

"Jervois acquired shares of Ecobalt to facilitate the discussion on how he could support Ecobalt's board of directors and management in the financing, construction and implementation of successful service of Ecobalt's primary project of primary cobalt in the United States ".

Ecobalt owns 100% of the Idaho Cobalt project, a high-grade cobalt deposit with a partially completed mine site and plant, and which has environmental permits, according to what Jervois calls "the only potential for producing domestic cobalt at short term in the United States. States. "

Cobalt demand is booming for batteries for electric vehicles, but about two-thirds of global supply comes from the DRC which has been tarnished by child labor and political risks

President Donald Trump has also listed cobalt on a list of essential minerals that the United States will prioritize at home, with two major shareholders, the Australian funds Tribeca Investment Partners and Regal Funds Management, calling last week for a change of management at Ecobalt or the launch of a sales process, considering that the delays in the development of the mine were wasting a lot of demand.