Canada's Electra Advances C$100 Million Cobalt Refinery Construction

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 18, Electra Battery Materials' battery-grade cobalt sulfate refinery in Ontario, Canada, has largely completed its engineering design, with major design documents and general arrangement drawings for priority construction areas finalized, and the first two batches of piping isometric drawings delivered to the construction contractor. On-site work is progressing with concrete pouring, structural steel installation, equipment placement, and piping construction preparation.

In the solvent extraction area, concrete pedestals, pump foundations, and pipe rack structural steel are under construction, along with equipment leveling and installation; the crystallizer area has entered the rebar, floor slab, and equipment foundation construction phase, with related piping prefabrication underway simultaneously. Old piping and compressed air equipment in the existing plant are being dismantled to free up working space for the new system installation.

The remaining design work mainly includes field changes, construction query responses, and technical support. Electra has signed a construction contract worth approximately C$26 million with WB Melback and a contract worth approximately C$6.8 million with Pro Pipe, covering civil works, structural steel, equipment installation, and piping works respectively. As of the second quarter of 2026, the total value of major construction contracts secured for the project stands at approximately C$46 million.

The refinery underwent preliminary construction from 2022 to 2023, was subsequently paused, and resumed in the fourth quarter of 2025. Electra's board approved a C$100 million construction budget in February 2026 to advance the project to mechanical completion. Support funding from the U.S. and Canadian federal governments and the Province of Ontario, combined with the company's equity financing completed in 2025, brings total project construction funding to approximately US$82 million.

The refinery's initial design capacity is to produce 5,120 tonnes of cobalt contained in battery-grade cobalt sulfate annually, with the crystallization system designed to support up to 6,500 tonnes. Electra plans to increase annual production to 6,500 tonnes by 2028 through subsequent equipment optimization and debottlenecking modifications. The project has established raw material supply arrangements with counterparties including Glencore, and is advancing a long-term toll processing partnership with LG Energy Solution, expected to cover approximately 60% of initial production over the first five years of operation.

Commissioning of certain systems is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the project expected to achieve mechanical completion in the second quarter of 2027, enter full commissioning and production ramp-up in the third quarter, and commence commercial production in the fourth quarter. Funding requirements for commissioning and production ramp-up after mechanical completion are approximately US$15 million.