First Cobalt announces two-year joint plant study with Timiskaming First Nation at Cobalt camp district

First Cobalt Corp says it has shown its commitment to ESG practices, announcing a two-year tie-up with the Timiskaming First Nation (TFN) on a community plant study at the past-producing Canadian Cobalt mining camp.  The Wild Basket initiative was started by Ni Dakinan, from the TFN, in 2019 to create a sustainable business whereby wild plants, such as edible mushrooms and berries, are harvested and sold.  READ: First Cobalt recovers nickel, copper and lithium from battery recycling test work The two-year study will collect baseline data to identify the risk of contaminants from human and industrial activity on TFN land to harvested plants and the first phase of fieldwork is underway. "This program aligns with our commitment to industry-leading ESG practices and we hope that this partnership will help the Wild Basket Initiative thrive," said the CEO of First Cobalt, Trent Mell in a statement. "It is our great pleasure to partner with Ni Dakinan on a local study of wild plants, mushrooms and berries to increase our collective knowledge and learn how to minimize the impact of human activity on the environment. We have been consulting with the Timiskaming First Nation since 2017 and we are grateful for the insights and input that we have received." First Cobalt owns North America's only permitted cobalt refinery, a critical asset in the development and manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs). It sits north of Toronto on Timiskaming First Nation Anishinaabe territory and could produce over 25,000 tonnes of cobalt sulfate per year from third-party feed. The facility operated from 1996 to 2015, producing cobalt, nickel, copper and silver products and now First Cobalt is expanding it and modifying the flow sheet to refine third party cobalt hydroxide intermediate product into a high purity, battery grade cobalt sulfate suitable for the EV market. Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com