Electra Battery Materials Gets Preliminary Engineering Results for Initial Phase of Proposed Nickel Refinery

08:32 AM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Electra Battery Materials (ELBM.V, ELBM) received preliminary engineering results for the initial phase of a proposed two-phase nickel refinery to process mine-derived feedstock and recycled battery black mass into nickel metal and battery-grade nickel sulfate, it said on Wednesday. US-listed shares were last seen up 5.9% at $0.5625 in pre-market trading. The company said the preliminary process modelling indicated nickel and cobalt recoveries of 97% or higher, with recovered cobalt hydroxide. It believes this would provide a potential feedstock for its cobalt refinery. Electra said preliminary capital estimates for the first-phase nickel sulfate refinery range from about $530 million to $675 million across the feedstock configurations evaluated. The company believes a second phase could expand the facility to process battery black mass, with the potential to add an additional 20,000 tonnes per year of contained nickel capacity, along with cobalt, lithium and graphite byproducts. Further engineering is planned for nickel metal production, it said. The company also received notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that the company is eligible for an additional 180-calendar-day period, or until Mar. 15, 2027, to regain compliance with Nasdaq's $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on Nasdaq, in a statement late Tuesday.