Electra Battery Materials (TSX-v: ELBM) / (NASDAQ: ELBM) provided the following update on construction progress at N. America’s first cobalt (“Co”) sulfate refinery (3 paragraph summary of press release dated Jan. 8, 2026). 

Momentum continues to build across the project. Strong planning and close collaboration with partners are translating into tangible progress on the ground. Construction crews recently completed the installation of exterior pipe racks which will connect the leach plant, solvent extraction (SX) building & crystallizer. Current site work is centered on civil, structural, concrete & tankage installation. At the same time, procurement & contracting activities are progressing with key suppliers & contractors.

Electra trailing critical metal/REE companies in gain from low…

With both construction financing & permits in place, and the majority of long-lead equipment secured and core infrastructure established, current efforts are centered on sequencing work and preparing for the integration & installation of the refinery’s mechanical systems as the project advances toward its targeted 2027 commissioning. 

Electra’s cobalt sulfate refinery is a cornerstone of the Company’s strategy to build a resilient N. American critical minerals supply chain. The project aligns with increasing government & industry focus on securing domestic processing capacity for strategic minerals amid evolving geopolitical dynamics. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce battery-grade cobalt, supporting supply reliability for N. American markets.

This is certainly an encouraging operational update, and I’m especially interested in what’s going on with battery & critical material prices, as can be seen in the following chart.

Moves like this can only mean one thing. Strong demand (and/or fears of upcoming supply shortages) was the narrative for 2025, and is likely to continue well into 2026. The latest news for the U.S. government is funds allocated to stockpile key materials…

I’m not suggesting that many of these materials will be up as much again this year, but even remaining at today’s levels would be great news for Au, Ag, tungsten, Cu, Co & Pt. These metals span the gamut of precious, base & battery metals, critical materials & REEs. 

Why is this important? Hard assets that can produce cash flow for decades, assets like Electra’s emerging battery materials complex (“BMC“) in Ontario, Canada, are worth far more today than a year ago. Electra has the only facility of this kind in N. America. It enjoys BOTH strong financial & strategic value.

This particular Complex has an estimated replacement cost of US$250M, (probably more, the 3rd-party assessment is a few years old). Readers are reminded that Electra’s ambitious plans have been meaningfully delayed, and cost overruns (largely due to inflationary pressures) have been significant.

However, investors can only look forward, not back. Today’s valuation is less half of replacement cost, and one gets the U.S. assets for free. The Company’s market cap (125M shares, including pre-funded warrants, and ~225M fully-diluted) is US$117M, (+ US$27M in debt).

Cash on hand is assumed to be fully utilized by the BMC refurbishment activities & further de-risking in the U.S. (more on U.S. assets later). NOTE, there’s a slug of warrants with a strike price of ~C$1.73 that would bring in ~C$80M.

Importantly, the BMC is permitted & fully-funded. Technical risk of the expansion & enhancements is relatively low. Unlike junior miners developing mines with 10-20 year lives, Electra’s BMC could be operating literally into the next century, reinventing itself as needed.

By establishing N. America’s only Co sulfate refinery, sourcing diversified feedstock, and advancing recycling, Electra’s building a platform that’s resilient across cycles. For decades, not years.

CEO Trent Mell is increasingly asked about processing REEs at the BMC. In principle, hydro-metallurgical facilities can be engineered to handle different feedstocks, including rare earths, but doing so would require considerable engineering, time & capital.

However, far more than half the battle of developing new REE or critical material separation/refining facilities is long lead times, access to (or building) key infrastructure, permitting headaches, and substantial upfront capital.

Talk about STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT… 27%! of non-Chinese supply…

Electra’s BMC has excellent optionality to potentially handle Ni like it will Co sulfate, and it has done test runs of black mass to recycle end-of-life Li-ion batteries to recover Li, Co & Ni. REEs would be icing on the battery materials cake, but probably still years away.

Electra also has a strategic Co & Cu project in the U.S. state of Idaho. The resource size is not that large, but there’s ample room to grow with upcoming drilling. As it stands, it’s already one of the largest Co deposits in the U.S.

Notice in the commodity pricing chart above that Co is +132%! in the past year! Cu is not too shabby either. A year ago, who among us –> investors, consultants, management teams, analysts, pundits expected to see near-month Cu futures above $6.00/lb. in January 2026?

Yet, the four most recent Cu PEA/PFS/BFS studies use an average long-term Cu price of ~$4.35/lb. Could Cu fall back below $5.50? Sure. Below $5.00, I highly doubt it. Demand is rising by +3%/yr, while supply never surprises to the upside, only disappointments year after year.  

Analysts described 2025 as “particularly troubled” for mine supply, with cumulative hits (e.g., Grasberg, El Teniente, Kamoa-Kakula) reducing output by up to 5-6% by some estimates — far exceeding typical annual disruption allowances (typically 2-4%).

Cu & Co are critical materials in the U.S. What better place than mining-friendly Idaho (top quartile of latest annual Fraser Institute Mining Survey) for the Trump Administration to lock down long-term sustainable supply. 

In Idaho, Electra is focused on the technical & geological work needed to de-risk the Iron Creek project. Management is prudently advancing permitting steps and deepening engagement with U.S. government officials and potential commercial partners committed to strengthening domestic Cu & Co supply.

Electra has three other opportunities that have not been discussed lately, but could easily rise in importance (and value) in 2026-27. Readers might have noticed that the Ni price seems to have bottomed, up ~24% from its 2025 low. Electra has a Ni sulfate refining scoping study under its belt.

Management also has an option to help build and co-locate a second Co sulfate refinery with precursor makers in Quebec (in Li-ion battery hub Bécancour). Finally, as mentioned earlier, the recycling of black mass (shredded end of life Li-ion batteries) to recover Li, Ni & Co.

What ties these three opportunities together is soaring Co & Li prices, (both up over 100% in past year), a recovering Ni price, redoubled efforts to on-shore critical supply chains in N. America.

In addition, Canada urgently needs to be more self-sufficient and mov faster in metals / mining / refining / recycling to offset lost economic ties with the U.S.

Electra Battery Materials has been very volatile and will likely continue to be. However, as a hard asset company with cash flow beginning next year, and being fully-funded to (finally) finish retrofitting and enhancing its highly strategic & flexible BMC, it’s a good time for a closer look at this investment opportunity.

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