SGS has agreed to design and build the Stage 1 Re-2OX pilot plant at Lakefield, Ontario, with feed material for test work to come from CSC's Castle mine, its silver discovery Robinson Zone, as well as its Beaver and Castle tailings and recycled batteries.

SGS Lakefield in 2018 used the Re-2OX process to recover 99% of the cobalt and 81% of the nickel from a composite of gravity concentrates while also removing 99% of the arsenic.

The process was also used to produce a technical grade cobalt sulphate hexahydrate at 22.6% from cobalt-rich gravity concentrates produced from the first level of the Castle mine.

"The Re-2OX pilot plant is a long-term strategic advantage that will facilitate the production of battery metals for the EV market for many years", said CSC.

In future, the company plans to use cobalt ore from the Cobalt region, including from the Castle property, which it noted is currently being explored for high-grade silver and battery metals.

Frank Basa, chief executive and director said, "back in the day, in the Cobalt Camp, the approach was simple; they followed the high-grade silver veins and discarded all the other material which was in fact battery metals that graded over 10% cobalt equivalent in base metals."

"The economics of harvesting both the base metals and silver, then adding value by processing it into premium EV battery metals will provide the company with two solid income streams."