A federally backed minerals company pushing to open the nation’s first cobalt mine in Idaho has inked a rescue deal in the face of intensifying competition from China.
Australia-based Jervois Mining announced Friday that one of its lenders, Millstreet Capital Management, will take control of the company as part of a bankruptcy deal that’s slated to close before the end of April.
Despite growing demand for minerals like cobalt, which is used to make EV batteries, Jervois last year announced it was shuttering its mine in Idaho until cobalt prices recovered. The company at the time blamed cratering cobalt prices fueled by developments in China and Congo, which produces about 70 percent of the world’s cobalt. The bulk of that material is processed in China for use in EV batteries.
Under the deal announced Friday, Millstreet will take the company private and inject $145 million into the operation.
