Mr. Trent Mell reports

FIRST COBALT TO ISSUE SHARES TO GLENCORE IN REPAYMENT OF LOAN

First Cobalt Corp. has entered into a loan amendment agreement with Glencore AG on March 25, 2021, to repay an existing loan of approximately $5.5-million (U.S.) of debt by issuing common shares of the company. The common shares to be issued to Glencore in connection with the repayment of the loan represents approximately 4.8 per cent of the current outstanding shares of First Cobalt.

In August, 2019, First Cobalt entered into a loan agreement with Glencore to finance engineering studies, metallurgical test work and permitting activities for an expansion of the company's refinery in Ontario, Canada, to produce battery-grade cobalt sulphate. The loan bears interest at London interbank offered rate plus 5 per cent, with all accrued interest having been capitalized to date. The loan agreement includes a right for Glencore to convert all or a portion of the balance owing into common shares at a discount of 15 per cent of the market price of the common shares (determined with reference to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) on the maturity date of Aug. 23, 2022. The loan agreement provides the company with the right to prepay the loan prior to maturity. The amendments expressly permit First Cobalt to repay the loan by issuing common shares on broadly similar terms to the conversion right.

Specifically, under the terms of today's amending agreement, the company and Glencore have agreed to expressly allow the company to voluntarily repay all amounts outstanding through the issuance of common shares. Accordingly, the company and Glencore have agreed that subject to the terms of the amended loan agreement, the company may repay the loan representing an outstanding debt of $5,505,830 (U.S.) by issuing 23,849,737 common shares at a deemed price of 29 cents per share and the company has provided Glencore with notice that subject to the terms of the amended loan agreement, the company intends to repay all such amounts outstanding under the loan by issuing common shares.

The deemed price per common share represents a 15-per-cent discount to the closing trading price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on March 24, 2021, the trading date immediately prior to the agreement date. The U.S.-dollar-denominated debt was converted from United States dollars into Canadian dollars using an exchange of $1 (U.S.) to $1.2562 (Canadian), representing the average daily exchange rate for United States dollars in terms of Canadian dollars presented by the Bank of Canada on March 24, 2021.

Trent Mell, president and chief executive officer, commented:

"We are appreciative of Glencore's ongoing support for our strategy of producing the world's most sustainable cobalt and establishing First Cobalt as the only North American producer of cobalt for the EV [eletric vehicle] market. This transaction will eliminate all corporate debt ahead of a financing package that is being negotiated for the refinery expansion and frees up the security package associated with the refinery. Glencore has been a valuable partner and a significant contributor to the success of First Cobalt to date and we are excited to deliver value to them as shareholders of the company moving forward."

The company has raised significant funds to date through a $10-million joint investment from the government of Ontario and government of Canada, a $10-million equity raise, a $4-million asset sale and more than $7-million in early warrant exercises. The financing process for the debt portion of the refinery financing plan is in progress, remains on schedule and is expected to provide the remaining financing required for the project to be fully financed.

Completion of the repayment of the loan contemplated by the amendment to the loan agreement and related notice is subject to, among other things, obtaining necessary regulatory approvals, including acceptance of the TSX-V under TSX-V Policy 4.3 -- Shares for Debt. The company has entered into this loan amendment agreement to settle outstanding debt for shares in order to preserve cash and reduce the amount of project debt required to fully finance the refinery project.

The company is in the process of seeking to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals.

About First Cobalt Corp.

First Cobalt's mission is to be the most sustainable producer of battery materials. The company owns North America's only permitted cobalt refinery, a critical asset in the development and manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles. First Cobalt owns the Iron Creek cobalt-copper project in Idaho, United States, as well as several significant cobalt and silver properties in the Canadian cobalt camp.

We seek Safe Harbor.