Mr. Trent Mell reports

ELECTRA REPORTS Q3 2023 RESULTS AND PROVIDES UPDATE ON BATTERY MATERIAL REFINERY PROJECT

Electra Battery Materials Corp. has released its financial results for the three- and nine-month periods ended Sept. 30, 2023, and has provided an update on the commissioning of its cobalt refinery and its black mass recycling trial.

"Against a backdrop of challenging market and economic conditions, we completed a number of milestones in [third quarter], sustaining the momentum we established over the past 18 months," said Trent Mell, Electra Battery's chief executive officer. "Most notably, we closed an equity financing that generated gross proceeds of $21.5-million, extended our supply agreement with LG Energy Solution to five years from three and signed [a memorandum of understanding] with Three Fires to form a joint venture focused on battery waste recycling in Canada.

"Backed by a stronger balance sheet, our near-term focus will be to complete our black mass recycling trial at our refinery complex and accelerate efforts to secure the $60-million (U.S.) in funding required to complete our refinery project. Once completed, the estimated replacement value of the cobalt refinery will be approximately $260-million (U.S.). An integrated facility will allow Electra to make MHP from battery scrap, then upgrade the cobalt to a battery-grade sulphate for LG Energy Solutions and other battery manufacturers."

Mr. Mell concluded, "Over the longer term, we remain committed to advancing plans for a second refinery in Becancour, Que., and advancing our exploration projects in the Idaho cobalt belt."

Electra Battery Q3 2023 highlights and developments:

• Closed concurrent brokered and non-brokered private placements for aggregate gross proceeds of $21.5-million: Under the terms of the equity financings, the company issued 19,545,454 units in aggregate, at a price of $1.10 per unit, with each unit consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at a price of $1.74 at any time on or before Aug. 11, 2025. Electra Battery intends to use the net proceeds of the equity financing to advance its black mass recycling strategy, for its cobalt refinery, for working capital to retire existing payables and for general corporate purposes.
• Held cash and marketable securities of $15.7-million as at Sept. 30, 2023, up from $7.4-million as at June 30, 2023: The increase was driven by the equity financing completed in August that generated gross proceeds of $21.5-million, but offset by capital costs related to the construction of the cobalt refinery project and costs related to the company's black mass trial. Electra Battery's cash balance at the end of Q3 2023 does not include the remaining $5.1-million of government investments expected to be received.
• Net loss for the quarter was $9.2-million or 20 cents per share. The net loss was driven by $4.4-million of fair value adjustments relating to the company's 2028 convertible notes.
• Operating loss for Q3 2023 was $4.2-million, down from $4.8-million for Q3 2022. The decline was primarily driven by lower exploration costs for Iron Creek, Electra Battery's exploration assets in Idaho.
• Progressed with the first plant-scale recycling of black mass material in North America using Electra Battery's proprietary hydrometallurgical process: Progress in Q3 was marked by recoveries of critical metals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese and graphite, needed for the electric vehicle battery supply chain and the production of high-quality nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide, graphite and lithium carbonate products.
• Made the first customer shipment of nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) produced at the company's refinery complex north of Toronto from recycled battery material: To date, Electra Battery has shipped approximately 20 tonnes of nickel-cobalt MHP to customers.
• Electra Battery extended and expanded the terms of its battery-grade cobalt supply agreement with LG Energy Solution whereby Electra Battery will supply up to 19,000 tonnes of contained cobalt in sulphate over a five-year period beginning in 2025, up from 7,000 tonnes over a three-year period when the supply agreement was first announced in September, 2022.
• Announced a change in auditor from KPMG LLP to MNP LLP, chartered professional accountants, effective Sept. 18, 2023: At Electra Battery's request, KPMG resigned as auditor. KPMG did not issue any modified opinions on the financial statements of the corporation for the two fiscal years preceding the resignation, nor for any interim financial information preceding the date of its resignation.
• Announced receipt of a notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC stating that the company is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1 (U.S.) per share under Nasdaq's listing Rule 5550(a)(2) based upon the closing bid price of the company's common shares for the 30 consecutive business days prior to the date of the notice, Sept. 21, 2023: The company has 180 calendar days from the date of the notice, or until March 19, 2024, to regain compliance with the minimum bid requirement, during which time the company's common shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq.

Highlights subsequent to quarter-end:

• Extended the processing of black mass material at its refinery complex based on the successes of its battery recycling trial, which have included improved recoveries of high-value elements, higher metal content in saleable products produced and reduced use of reagents: Additional MHP product deliveries to customers are expected in fourth quarter.
• Received $5-million (U.S.) in long-lead, critical equipment, including pressure vessels, tanks and structural steel, needed for completion of the company's cobalt sulphate refinery: Installation of the equipment delivered at site will occur as Electra Battery secures capital financing requirements for its refinery project.

For complete details of the consolidated financial statements and the associated management's discussion and analysis, please refer to the company's filing on SEDAR+ or the company's website.

Electra Battery will host a conference call on Nov. 17, 2023, at 10 a.m. ET, to review its third quarter performance and discuss near-term outlook.

Dial-in and webcast details

North American dial-in number:  1-800-319-4610

International dial-in number:  1-416-915-3239

Webcast and slide presentation:  at the Electra Battery website

Corporate matters

In accordance with its long-term incentive plan, the company has granted $52,500 in deferred share units to the independent directors of the company for second and third quarter director fees taken in DSUs in lieu of cash. The DSUs will be granted and priced two trading days from today on the closing price of the company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange. The DSUs may not be exercised until a director or officer ceases to serve the company, and will vest in one year from the grant date.

About Electra Battery Materials Corp.

Electra Battery is a processor of low-carbon, ethically sourced battery materials. Currently constructing North America's only cobalt sulphate refinery, Electra Battery is executing a multipronged strategy focused on onshoring the electric vehicle supply chain. Keys to its strategy are integrating black mass recycling and nickel sulphate production at Electra Battery's refinery located north of Toronto, advancing Iron Creek, its cobalt-copper exploration-stage project in the Idaho cobalt belt, and expanding cobalt sulphate processing into Becancour, Que.

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