07:26 AM EDT, 10/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Electra Battery Materials Corporation ( ELBM ) was at last look up 4.7% in US premarket trade Monday as it launched a new program to advance mineral deposit modelling and feedstock integration at its Iron Creek cobalt-copper project in Idaho, "supporting U.S. efforts to onshore critical mineral production and reduce dependence on foreign supply chains".

With financing for its North American cobalt refinery now completed and construction scheduled to resume, Electra in a statement said it is leveraging its strengthened balance sheet to advance its next phase of growth, "onshoring not only mineral processing but also mining capabilities."

"America needs cobalt, and we see Idaho as the best opportunity to produce it domestically," said CEO Trent Mell.

Electra said it has commenced a bench-scale lab program evaluating cobalt feedstocks from several North American deposits. It added the testing is focused on potential modifications to the company's existing refinery flowsheet that would allow for broader acceptance of polymetallic sulfide concentrates. The company noted these studies complement its current sourcing arrangements with Glencore and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), and "represent a key step toward integrating domestic mine feed, including potential future production from Electra's Idaho assets, into its refining operations".

ELBM said a new geological research program at Iron Creek is being conducted in partnership with the Centre to Advance the Science of Exploration to Reclamation in Mining (CASERM), based at the Colorado School of Mines. The initiative builds on earlier trial studies that used Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging to identify iron-rich chlorite alteration zones associated with cobalt-copper mineralization at Iron Creek and the adjacent Ruby zone.

The new phase will apply this technique across a broader set of drill holes to map the margins of mineralized zones, refine the geological model, and guide future drill targeting, the company added.

ELBM was down near 13% in Canada trade last Friday.