Chilean Cobalt recently received a non-binding Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank) for a potential debt funding package of up to $317,400,000 with loan tenor of up to 15 years to fund development efforts within C3’s mining concessions that comprise the La Cobaltera cobalt-copper project located within the San Juan District in northern Chile, as well as other mining concessions within this region the company may acquire.

This debt funding is part of EXIM Bank’s China and Transformational Export Program (CTEP), an initiative designed to help American companies facing competition from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in sectors including Renewable Energy, Storage, & Efficiency, and may be eligible for special consideration under Section 402 of EXIM Bank’s 2019 reauthorization (P.L. 116-94).

Given the PRC’s dominant and controlling market position in cobalt, a critical mineral used in lithium-ion battery and advanced superalloy applications, EXIM Bank’s potential funding for C3’s La Cobaltera project supports an Americas-focused cobalt supply chain and helps advance the company’s strategic partnerships for domestic US processing.

This support would provide funding for substantially all the anticipated construction and development capital required for Phase 1 of C3’s La Cobaltera project, focused on the deposit’s cobalt-copper oxide zones. Additionally, based on certain early drawdown conditions, this funding may be available to fund a Definitive Feasibility Study.

Following C3’s formal application for debt funding, EXIM Bank is expected to complete their remaining due diligence and other required underwriting analysis to determine their final funding commitment.

Chilean Cobalt Corp. (C3) is a US-based and US-listed critical minerals exploration and development company focused on the La Cobaltera cobalt-copper project, located in the past-producing San Juan District in northern Chile, one of the world’s few primary cobalt districts known globally.