eCobalt Solutions Inc. (fka ECSIF)

[drkazmd65]

No new 'news' on FMETF/FCO on any of the media sources I track.

Haven't decided whether the news blackout for the Winter is a good thing, or a bad thing overall.

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A note from back in October:

http://www.formationmetals.com/s/CobaltNews.asp?ReportID=608265

October 21, 2013
The Sale of the Sunshine Refinery Leaves Formation Metals with A Strong Treasury, No Debt, and Looking For Opportunities
Publisher: Minesite.com
Author: Ryan Jackson


The Sale of the Sunshine Refinery Leaves Formation Metals with A Strong Treasury, No Debt, and Looking For Opportunities


The US$12 million injection allowed Formation to pay down a C$5 million convertible debenture which was due by the end of October, while the remainder adds to the nearly C$8 million of cash and cash equivalents the company held as of the end of August.

It's the final chapter in a very profitable experience for Formation Metals.

The company acquired the refinery and achieved commercial production with it in 2007. It then went on to provide revenue not only from its profitable operations, but also from the sale of a tailings pond for more than three times the acquisition price only a few years later.

None of which means that Formation has been immune to the terrible market conditions which have been weighing on the industry.

Formation's primary goal over the last few years has been the development and commissioning of the flagship Idaho cobalt project which, once complete, should produce high purity cobalt.

Cobalt has been one of the strongest performing metals in 2013, so there's a bit of momentum in the space. But not enough to have got Idaho into production.

Formation would have liked to have seen the mine in operation by now, but the combination of a downturn in the industry and the falling cobalt price last winter stalled the company's ambitions.

So, the hunt for the capital which would allow Formation to commence underground development continues.

But in the meantime, Formation's management team have been keen to explore other opportunities, and the first step was to raise capital and erase debt.

The sale of Sunshine has achieved both those goals and Formation's chief executive, Mari-Ann Green isn't limiting herself when it comes to the types of transactions she is now willing to consider.

They could, she says, "include acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, strategic investments or any combination thereof with a view to enhancing shareholder value".

Though there's no word yet if any opportunities in particular have caught Mari-Ann's eye, Formation's Rick Honsinger points out that there are opportunities within the existing Formation portfolio too.

While there's been little investment in assets other than the flagship Idaho cobalt project in recent years, the money which has been added to the treasury from the sale of the refinery is not earmarked for the Idaho and could therefore be applied more broadly throughout the company.

Among the opportunities are four gold and silver properties in North America which the company either owns or holds options over.

These include the El Milagro project in Tamaulipas State, Mexico, where historical exploration has shown bonanza silver grades often in excess of two kilograms per tonne, and where combined lead-zinc grades usually exceed 10%.

In addition to the silver and gold properties, the company's two per cent stake in the Virgin River uranium project in the Athabasca Basin provides investors with the potential for significant upside.

Rick explains: "We own a small percentage but it's considered a major project in Northern Saskatchewan with the right joint venture partners, Cameco and AREVA."

Following the discovery of mineralization in 2004, Cameco has been intrigued by what it encountered at Virgin River because of geological similarities to McArthur River.

Now the Cameco team intend to identify, through further drilling, the scope of the Centennial deposit at Virgin River along and across its 650 metre identified length, and thence to determine the economic viability of the deposit.

The funds raised by the sale of Sunshine should allow Formation to cover its portion if Cameco decides to go ahead with an exploration program at Virgin River in the near term.

-END-



Formation Metals' Management Note: This article ends on a brief discussion of the Company's uranium project. Coincidentally, positive news regarding Uranium in Canada was recently published in an article by miningweekly.com as a result of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent visit to Belgium discussing the Canada-European Union Free Trade Agreement.