First Cobalt seeks government backing to restart Canadian refinery

First Cobalt is in advanced talks with Canada’s Ontario province to finance the $37.5-million required to restart its idled cobalt refinery, president and CEO Trent Mell said in an interview on Tuesday.

If successful, such a deal would reduce First Cobalt’s funding reliance on Glencore, which in July agreed to extend $45-million in loans to develop the project in stages.