SX:CC - EVSX Deploys Battery Recycling Capacity through European Joint Venture to Accelerate Revenue Generation
(TheNewswire)
Montréal – TheNewswire - October 18, 2023 – St-Georges Eco-MiningCorp. (CSE:SX) (OTC:SXOOF) (FSE:85G1) is pleasedto announce that its wholly owned battery recycling subsidiary, EVSXCorp., has entered into a binding agreement with the Italian companyAraBat SRL, to establish a joint venture to build an industrialbattery processing plant in the Italian region of Puglia, whereAraBat’s operations are located.
Agreement for Joint Venture
The future partners agreed to work on a final agreementto be executed in the first quarter of 2024 that calls forestablishing an Italian jointly-owned corporation. That entity wouldqualify for Italian permitting and be eligible for Italian andEuropean governmental subsidies and financial support for recyclingoperations.
The partners expect the joint venture to be majorityItalian-owned (51%), with EVSX owning the balance (49%) and retainingownership of its processing circuit. Both partners will be able toextend the agreement to then contribute their respectiveeco-technologies for processing critical minerals concentrate, alsoknown as blackmass, resulting from the batteries processing operationsdepending on the particular critical minerals concentrate chemistryavailable at the time.
“ We areexcited about this path we are charting with St-Georges Eco-Mining andEVSX. Moving towards the pre-treatment of batteries in Puglia (Italy)will allow us to cover a significant market gap and build a circularsupply chain that will allow us to surpass our current competitors inspeed and strategy. This agreement is just the beginning of a greatfuture in the name of sustainability: we at AraBat have set ourselvesvery ambitious objectives, and with our Canadian partners, we are surethat we can have our say in the current global panorama .” commentedRaffaele Nacchiero, CEO of AraBat SRL.
AraBat would be responsible for securing the plant’slocation, obtaining the permitting and the regional governmentsfinancial support, and solidifying battery allocationcontracts.
EVSX would assign one of the processing units it hadalready manufactured and will upgrade it to Italian certificationrequirements. (See news release dated August 29, 2023, St-Georges Provides an Update on its Battery Recycling Operations& Arranges a Private Placement Offering )
The Italian industrial plant planned would have aninitial capacity of 10,000 tons a year, and its costs are estimated ataround 8 million euros. St-Georges and EVSX would contribute in kindvia one of its ready-to-install industrial circuits, with expertise,and via a profit-sharing agreement in the transition period precedingthe opening of the Italian industrial unit.
“All the technologies within theconsortium are considered to be efficient and world-class forenvironmental footprint. This is an exciting time for both companies,and the approach allows for revenue generation more rapidly for bothgroups within Europe and allows growth throughout Italy and acrossEurope from the base in Puglia. The consortium will have a uniqueapproach from battery preparation, hydrometallurgy, and pyrometallurgyfor different batteries collected that is intended to be applied inNorth America and Europe.” commented Enrico Di Cesare, CEO of EVSX
The joint venture will initially collect batteries andthen process them at EVSX’s Canadian plant in Thorold, Ontario,Canada. Subsidies and net profits obtained for the Italian batteriesbeing processed at this stage will be set aside to finance theoperations of the newly formed joint venture.
In the future, the European battery allocation providedby AraBat or sourced by EVSX in Southern Europe would be expected tobe processed at the Puglia plant with the exception of certain typesof specialized chemistries that require a specific setup like the oneto be installed at EVSX’s Thorold plant.
About AraBat SRL
AraBat is a circular economy start-up implementing“the most cost-effective and sustainable lithium batteries recyclingprocess in the world”. Our innovative hydrometallurgical technologyallows to recycle spent lithium batteries through the use of agri-foodwaste and recover their precious metal compounds (lithium, cobalt,manganese, nickel, others) without polluting. Our circular business isbased on offering a strategic recycling service to the batterymanufacturers and the sale of the critical raw materials we recover.Our company is also involved in developing other circular processes,the production of renewable energy, and consultancy activities in thefield of the green economy. Sustainability and circular economy arefundamental values in AraBat’s corporate strategy.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
‘Neha Tally’
NEHA TALLY
Corporate Secretary
2. About St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp.
St-Georges develops new technologies to solve some ofthe most common environmental problems in the mining sector, includingmaximizing metal recovery and full-circle battery recycling. TheCompany explores for nickel & PGEs on the Manicouagan and JulieProjects on Quebec’s North Shore and has multiple explorationprojects in Iceland, including the Thor Gold Project. Headquartered inMontreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SXand trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1 andas SXOOF on the OTCQB Venture Market for early stage and developingU.S. and international companies. Companies are current in theirreporting and undergo an annual verification and managementcertification process. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and marketinformation for the company on www.otcmarkets.com
Visit the Company website at www.stgeorgesecomining.com
For all other inquiries: public@stgeorgesecomining.com
The Canadian Securities Exchange(CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for theadequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.
Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.