Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / October 31, 2019 / Global Energy Metals Corporation TSXV:GEMC | OTCQB:GBLEF | FSE:5GE1 ("Global Energy Metals", the "Company" and/or "GEMC") is pleased to report the following update with respect to recent corporate activities and provide commentary to the general sense of the battery minerals market as the company has been recently representated at a number of key international events including participation in a bilateral government sponsored trade and investment mission in Seoul, South Korea, attending Asia’s largest mining summit in Tianjin, China and presenting the “Case for Cobalt” at the CRU Ryan’s Notes Ferroalloys Conference in Miami, USA.
“Lithium-ion batteries are at the heart of the current and future energy transition. Batteries that are 'Powered by Cobalt' ... an investable mineral, critical for the future of the eMobility revolution. To get exposure to the battery and energy storage opportunity, maybe the biggest investment growth opportunity there is at the moment, one needs to look at the companies securing the metals critical to the space. Global Energy offers that exposure at a basement level entry cost,” commented Mitchell Smith, President & CEO during a recent interview with U.K. based Share-Talk Ltd.
Six-Month Recap
In what's been a challenging market, GEMC has been very active in advancing its multi-continental project initiatives while strengthening its understanding of the potential for the battery mineral assets.
In early summer 2019 the Company commenced an exploration program to better understand potential of Lovelock and Treasure Box, it’s Nevada-based cobalt, nickel, copper properties. The maiden program included UAV- MAG airborne surveying and orthophoto digital modelling (results pending), never before done underground sampling and mapping and extensive field work including multiple site visits, all in preparation for defining drill targets for a next-phase program.
The Company formed a strong partnership with TSX-V listed Canada Cobalt Works and acquired the right to use their RE-20x technology, a process that skips the normal smelting process to achieve exceptionally high recovery rates for cobalt, nickel and copper amongst other minerals, while also removing 99% of the arsenic expanding the potential of the Lovelock mine by ultimately creating battery grade cobalt sulphate.
GEMC also increased its land position areas contiguous to its current holdings in Nevada building a strong footprint in what’s been rated by Fraser Institute as the best jurisdiction in 2019 for mining investment.
Given strong metallurgical and drill results the Company revised its agreement with ASX listed Hammer Metals and completed a transformational acquisition by taking 100% ownership of the flagship Millennium project along with two highly prospective projects in Mount Isa - Mt. Dorothy and Cobalt Ridge - all in Queensland Australia.
Reiterating the potential of Millennium, the Company filed a Technical Report highlighting the upside opportunity and resource expansion potential for the cobalt-copper bearing project.
This also led to a partnership with ASX listed industry peer, Cobalt Blue Holdings, to investigate cobalt-copper-gold recovery potential for Millennium. Studies are ongoing with results pending.
Canada-Korea Investment & Trade Mission
Korea is an auto manufacturing and high tech hub – industries that rely on critical minerals such as rare earth elements and battery metals like lithium, cobalt, graphite and nickel.
Because of this, Korea is very active in seeking to secure global value chains for these critical minerals and to reduce their reliance on imports from non-market economies. The Canadian government realized this and because of the free-trade agreement in place organized a trade and investment summit.
In this context, through this government sponsored mission, it allowed Global Energy Metals to position itself as a near-term solution to Korea’s challenges and gaps in securing a safe supply of critical metals needed to fuel growth in its domestic industries including energy storage and vehicle electrification.
2019 Canada Mining Delegation Tour of EcoPro Battery Factory in South Korea
A strong outcome from the summit was achieved having established ongoing conversation with some of the world’s largest battery cathode manufacturers.
Showcasing Battery Metal Investment at Asia’s Top Mining Summit
The Comapny was represented at the 2019 China Mining Summit in Tianjin, China by its China-based strategic advisor, Dr. Wei Qian who held several meetings with various Chinese and worldwide groups seeking cooperation and business opportunities in the battery minerals sector that expressed a keen interest in procuring safe jurisdictional battery minerals supply.
Companies like Beijing Easpring Material Technology Company which the Global Energy first entered a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with in March of 2017 to jointly invest in and develop cobalt projects.
Overall an emphasis was made to highlight GEMC as a future source of cobalt, nickel and copper from the Company’s strong portfolio of growth stage projects in Australia, Canada and the United States.
CRU Ryan’s Notes Ferroalloys Conference
CEO, Smith was asked to represent the cobalt sector for the second time at what is considered the most important and largest annual gathering of ferroalloy professionals in the US. The conference has a trusted track-record for delivering 640+ delegates including producers, traders, and consumers, operating across a wide range of bulk ferroalloys, minor metals, and powder product markets from across the full supply chain and facilitating intensive deal-making on a scale that's second to none.
It was there, in Miami that Smith recognized the US dependence on critical minerals from competing nations and expressed the need for investment and capital market support needed to to source, develop and produce a domestic supply of these critical minerals - cobalt very much being high on the list.
Battery Minerals Outlook - The Case for Cobalt
The transportation and energy storage industries are now set to undergo a profound transformation over the coming decades with a global shift from fossil fuelled to electric powered.
To support the transition to a low-carbon economy, governments, businesses and consumers around the world are investing considerable amounts in renewable energy technologies, including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.
One could even say that the rise of electric vehicles and battery storage are becoming two of the biggest investment trends today.
Cobalt is central to the development and deployment of these technologies— largely due to its use in lithium-ion batteries—and as such, the demand for this critical mineral has and is predicted to increase substantially.
The supply of this mineral, however, is not projected to meet the demand, with shortfalls expected in the coming decade.
Concerns along the supply chains of cobalt—including the potential use of child labour in extraction, conflict, corruption, jurisdictional risk and it being mined as a byproduct of copper and nickel, place additional strain on responsible sourcing.
With explosive growth projections and high adoption rates, a once in a generation investment opportunity has been created.
And that opportunity is rooted in the raw materials and companies that are powering the road to electrification. Companies such as Global Energy Metals that are exposed to critical battery minerals like cobalt, nickel and copper are primed for success as this rEVolution matures.
In the interview with Share-Talk CEO Smith summarized the opportunity Global Energy Metals presents for its investors and spoke in detail to the events over the past six months:
“We built this company for our stakeholders. It’s a company that provides investors and partners with the much needed exposure to the electrification thesis. A company that through the development of a diversified portfolio of strategic battery mineral projects is focused on becoming a supply chain solution to safe and reliable cobalt for downstream partners. Investors will see ongoing announcements surrounding our continued programs in Nevada and further developments on Millennium - one of the most exciting scalable primary cobalt projects in the industry."
The entire Share-Talk interview can be listened to by clicking on this link.
Global Energy Metals Corporation
(TSXV:GEMC | OTCQB:GBLEF | FSE:5GE1)
The transportation industry is set to undergo a profound transformation over the coming decades with a shift from fossil fuelled to electric powered vehicles. Global Energy Metals provides exposure to the e-mobility revolution through the development of a diversified supply chain for downstream users with potential to grow into a significant cobalt and battery minerals supplier. Global Energy Metals holds 100% of the Millennium Cobalt Project and two neighbouring discovery stage exploration-stage cobalt assets in Mt. Isa, Australia. It also currently owns 70% of the Werner Lake Cobalt Mine in Ontario, Canada, and has an option to acquire an 85% interest in two cobalt-nickel-copper exploration projects in Nevada, 150km East of the Tesla Gigafactory.
For Further Information:
Global Energy Metals Corporation
#1501-128 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC, V6B 1R8
Email: info@globalenergymetals.com
t. + 1 (604) 688-4219 extensions 236/237
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:
Certain information in this release may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks associated with regulatory approvals and timelines. Although Global Energy Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management‘s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. For more information on Global Energy and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review the filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
We seek safe harbour.