TORONTO, April 3, 2018 /CNW/ - Cobalt Blockchain Inc.
(the "Company" or "COBC") (TSXV:COBC) and DLT Labs Inc. ("DLT") are
pleased to announce that they have signed a Letter of Intent to
establish a joint venture to provide secure, traceable and
transparent methods for tracking and certifying the provenance of
metals and minerals, through the entire supply chain from source to
end-user.
Leveraging the expertise of COBC, and DLT's supply chain and
logistics product DL Asset Track, the joint venture will develop
and deploy a new enterprise-grade platform based on international
blockchain standards. The new platform will be specifically
designed for companies trading in base and precious minerals,
including cobalt, gold, and diamonds. The initiative addresses the
growing need for complete transparency in the movement of minerals
and metals, especially where conflict-free certification is
important. The new platform will be selectively piloted prior to
being offered on a commercial basis, beginning with COBC's
recently-announced cobalt assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC").
COBC's business is to provide conflict-free cobalt to address
the demand for advanced batteries in smartphones and electric
vehicles, tracked via a blockchain-based platform, providing
transparency and immutability of the certification record. COBC has
12 years of on-the-ground experience, and holds licenses for 3T
(tin, tungsten, tantalum) conflict-free metals, in the DRC. The
Company recently announced two definitive agreements for
cobalt/copper concessions in proximity of active artisanal and
small-scale ("ASM") copper/cobalt mining in the DRC, totalling over
48 square kilometers. COBC has also signed letters of intent and is
working towards definitive agreements for several other mineral
concessions in addition to exclusive supply agreements with local
mining cooperatives.
More than 12 percent of global cobalt production currently
originates from ASM operations in the DRC and the announced joint
venture represents a significant step forward in COBC's goals of
delivering certified, ethically-sourced cobalt to the market in the
near-term. Trading partners from ASM sources to smelters to
automotive partners can collaborate and establish a shared view of
end-to-end transactions without compromising confidential details
or privacy.
"This initiative is a significant milestone in ensuring the
supply and use of conflict-free minerals, and will have an enduring
and positive impact on our industry," said Lance Hooper, President and Chief Operating
Officer at COBC. "The combination of COBC's mining and metals
trading, conflict-free certification experience, and DLT's
innovative and enterprise-grade blockchain capabilities, signal an
ability to automate trust within the minerals and metals supply
chain."
"Companies and consumers demand assurances that the minerals and
metals in their products are conflict-free. We now have the
technology and tools to protect workers and prevent abhorrent labor
practices so there is no excuse to support bad actors", said
Loudon Owen, Chairman and CEO of
DLT. "We are excited to partner with COBC, with their vast
experience and deep domain expertise, to ensure supply chain
transparency and the ethical sourcing of minerals."
DLT is a global leader in blockchain platforms, properly known
as Distributed Ledger Technology, which enable an immutable record
of the transactions in the supply ecosystem, allowing permissioned
parties real-time access to secure and trusted data. Blockchain
technology is ideally suited for application to a large network of
partners.
About Cobalt Blockchain Inc.
Cobalt Blockchain Inc. ("COBC") (TSX-V:COBC) is a Canadian
resource company expanding its exploration and development business
to include cobalt assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"). COBC
has been authorized by its shareholders to acquire a 100% interest
in an existing metals trading business specializing in sourcing
conflict-free minerals from artisanal and small-scale mines in the
DRC. Leveraging its experience with existing mineral
traceability systems, COBC is developing a Distributed Ledger-based
certification platform to provide manufacturers and end-users
greater certainty of provenance and further assurance that all
minerals procured are ethically-sourced. COBC senior management
have over twelve years of experience working in the DRC and have a
proven international track record in exploration success and the
trading of certified conflict-free, child-labour-free minerals.
About DLT Labs Inc.
DLT Labs Inc. ("DLT") is a global leader in the development and
implementation of Blockchain solutions for enterprises, with
offices in Canada, India and Japan. With the world's premier team of
distributed application designers and integrators, DLT has
extensive enterprise experience and expertise with all distributed
ledger/Blockchain technologies including Enterprise Ethereum, IBM's
Fabric, R3's Corda, JP Morgan's Quorum, and other leading
enterprise platforms. DLT's leading group of architects, using
proprietary DNC Cluster Framework and Parent & Child Smart
Contract Architecture, have designed and deployed a suite of secure
and scalable Distributed Applications that provide enterprise
solutions for data and digital asset provenance storage, management
and exchange. DLT is an Authorized IBM Business Partner.
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical facts, that address future
production, reserve potential, exploration drilling, exploitation
activities and events or developments that the Company expects are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the
expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the statements. There are certain factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements. These include market prices,
exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of
capital and financing, and general economic, market or business
conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company,
investors should review registered filings at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Cobalt Blockchain Inc.