Cobalt 27 is victim of warehouse heist: report

Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. [KBLT-TSXV, 270-FSE] was among the victims in a warehouse heist in Rotterdam, Holland last month.

According to a report by Bloomberg news service, which was also posted by Scotiabank, thieves stole more than $10 million worth of cobalt, a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

About 112 tonnes of cobalt was stolen from the warehouse, which is owned by Vollers Group Gmbh, according to a statement by Minor Metals Trade Association, a U.K. based industry group, Bloomberg said. That metal is worth approximately $10 million at current prices.

Cobalt 27 Chairman and CEO Anthony Milewski did not comment on the report. However, corporate filings show the large majority of Cobalt 27’s 2,900-tonne holding is stored in Rotterdam warehouses run by C. Steinweg Group, Bloomberg said, adding that the company holds 100 tonnes of metal in Vollers depots in the port. However, Bloomberg said Cobalt 27 has insurance on all of the metal it holds, according to company filings.

The report said thieves would have been attracted by the explosion in the price of cobalt. Prices have tripled since early 2016 to a decade high in April, 2018 on the back of forecasts that rising demand for electric cars will boost demand for cobalt, which is a key component of lithium-ion batteries.

However, after trading above US$43 a pound earlier this year, 2018, prices have since softened to around US$29.26.

Cobalt 27 is setting itself up as an investment proxy on the electric vehicle revolution by offering investors pure play exposure to cobalt.

But rather than mine cobalt directly out of the ground, Milewski and his partners decided to take a different approach. In addition to owning 2,982 tonnes of physical cobalt, the company has opted to invest in a cobalt-focused portfolio of streams, royalties and direct interests in mineral properties containing cobalt.

Cobalt 27 recently acquired a 1.75% net smelter royalty on all future production of all metals from the Dumont nickel-cobalt project in the Abitibi region of Quebec.

Held by RNC Minerals [RNX-TSX], the Dumont project contains the world’s largest undeveloped, permitted and construction-ready reserves of nickel and cobalt. Production is expected to commence in 2020.

In June, 2018, the company completed the acquisition of a US$300 million cobalt stream on the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Labrador. The deal entitles Cobalt 27 to 32.6% of the cobalt production or 1.9 million pounds of cobalt per year.

Cobalt 27 Capital holds 2,982.9 tonnes of physical cobalt, consisting of 2,270.3 tonnes of premium grade cobalt and 712.6 tonnes of standard grade material.

The company started buying this metal from mining companies and putting it in warehouses in 2015 when most industrial commodity prices were slumping.

On Thursday, Cobalt 27 shares eased 1.21% or $0.08 to $6.51. The 52-week range is $5.73 and $14.