First Cobalt has turned to a former Xstrata smelter boss to bring a former northeastern Ontario refinery back to life.
Mark Trevisiol has been appointed the new vice-president of project development to recommission and expand the First Cobalt refinery, located outside of the town of Cobalt.
A professional engineer for 30 years, Trevisiol spent two decades with Glencore and its predecessor companies of Falconbrige and Xstrata Nickel as general manager of the Sudbury Smelter Business Unit and manager of smelter operations at the Kidd Creek Zinc Plant in Timmins.
He has also held CEO positions at Crowflight Minerals and Silver Bear Resources.
An Aug.17 news release from First Cobalt said Trevisiol has worked across several commodities and has a track record of increasing plant efficiency and margins, and was particularly adept at handling third party feeds.
With Falconbridge, he "championed" a new recycle facility designed to handle cobalt-based lithium batteries.
First Cobalt acquired the former Yukon refinery three years ago. It's being retooled as North America' first cobalt refinery and would operate as a toll processing facility, handling cobalt from mines around the world.
Last year, First Cobalt inked a five-year giant with Glencore to process cobalt feed from its mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In return, Glencore is providing all the capital necessary to recommission and expand the facility.
The plant would convert cobalt hydroxide into a highly pure, battery-grade cobalt sulfate material which is used in the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as other electrified consumer and industrial applications.
No specific date has been provided on when the expansion and a plant restart would occur. Previous news releases from First Cobalt discussed an expansion scenario likely wouldn't take place until the end of 2021.
“As we prepare for the construction and commissioning phase of the First Cobalt Refinery, Mark’s experience provides additional depth to our leadership team to ensure successful execution," said First Cobalt president-CEO in a statement.
"We are pleased with the progress being made on project optimization as well as the interest shown by potential financing partners.”
“I am excited to join First Cobalt as the vompany advances its plans to becoming North America’s only producer of battery-grade cobalt," said Trevisiol. "I look forward to working with the local community and the project team on this unique opportunity.”
