ABAT American Battery Technology Company

Company commences battery recycling operations and the manufacturing of recycled products for near-term revenue generation and continues the development of its primary battery metals resource

• Commencement of operations at commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility, and successful manufacturing of recycled product for revenue generation;
• Completion of third Tonopah Flats Lithium Project drill program, intended to improve confidence in the mineral resource estimate and upgrade the third-party analysis to include Measured and Inferred classifications;
• Contracting of additional grant awards from U.S. Department of Energy, bringing total to approximately $70 million of federal projects being executed concurrently; and
• Company listed and began trading under the stock symbol ABAT on the Nasdaq Exchange.

RENO, Nev., Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American Battery Technology Company (ABTC) (NASDAQ: ABAT), an integrated critical battery materials company that is commercializing its technologies for both primary battery minerals manufacturing and secondary minerals lithium-ion battery recycling, announced its first quarter fiscal year (FY) 2024 financial results, for the period ending September 30, 2023.  

The company continues to implement its market-matched strategic growth trajectory for its lithium-ion battery recycling operations and its diversified business model by also developing and constructing its primary lithium-bearing resource and lithium hydroxide refinery near Tonopah, Nevada to produce domestic battery metal products.  This quarter, ABTC noted key milestones towards revenue-generating operations.

Commencement of Commercial Battery Recycling Operations
ABTC has designed, constructed, commissioned, and now begun operations at its first commercial-scale lithium-ion battery recycling facility with a nominal throughput of 20,000 metric tonnes per year when fully ramped. While other prospective battery recyclers within the U.S. have attempted to construct very large facilities that require substantial amounts of capital and battery feed materials to be operational, ABTC recognized the risks associated with this early on. The company strategically chose the design of its first facility to be large enough to demonstrate the full set of integrated recycling processes at commercial scale while still aligning with the market scale of recycled feedstock at this early stage in the domestic-U.S. battery industry.

A single battery Gigafactory with a manufacturing capacity of 30-40 GWhr/yr of batteries tends to produce 20,000 – 30,000 metric tonnes per year of waste battery materials. Not coincidentally, ABTC as part of its right-sized phased growth approach, has designed its first commercial recycling facility to match the typical average of battery waste that a single Gigafactory produces.  Currently, there is one battery Gigafactory in operation in the U.S. (near Sparks, Nevada) and over twenty additional battery Gigafactories currently under development and construction.

The ABTC team is comprised primarily of engineers, construction managers, and operators of large-scale battery manufacturing facilities, and as such has significant experience managing large construction projects and bringing first-of-kind technologies to market.  The ABTC team has successfully managed its internal team and external contractors to bring this first commercial-scale recycling facility to operations in a compressed timeline and under the estimated budget.

ABTC's strategically sized operations, prime location in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRIC), and in-house project development expertise greatly de-risked this project and ultimately led to a successful commencement of operations.  Securing battery recycling feedstock from sources such as the recently announced strategic partnership with BASF, and the company's participation in a consumer-facing e-waste pilot program sponsored by FedEx, the ABTC recycling facility has now manufactured recycled products that are able to be sold for revenue generating operations through ABTC's already contracted offtake and marketing agreements.

Tonopah Flats Lithium Project – Third Drill Program
ABTC has completed its third exploration drill program at its Tonopah Flats Lithium Project in Big Smoky Valley, Nevada. This program included both infill and step-out drill programs, and consisted of 8 holes totaling approximately 6,700 feet of sampling and at depths of over 1,400 feet, one of the deepest lithium sampling activities in the region. To date, the company has shared third-party assay results for 6 of the 8 holes, with results further supporting the development of this domestic resource towards upgraded Measured and Indicated classifications.

Based on a third-party audited SK-1300-compliant Maiden Resource Report published in February 2023, and before the integration of the data from this third drill program, the Tonopah Flats Lithium Project was one of the largest known lithium resources in the United States, containing approximately 15.8 million tons of Inferred economically accessible lithium on a carbonate equivalent basis.

ABTC intends to publish an updated resource report that includes the data from this third drill program in the coming weeks.

Contracting of Additional U.S. Department of Energy Grants
ABTC previously had two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grants under contract, and recently completed the contracting of two additional U.S. DOE grant awards.  These four U.S. DOE grant-supported projects are now being executed in parallel, and total approximately $70 million in contracted federal dollars to advance the robust development of ABTC's battery recycling and primary lithium manufacturing operations.

These grant awards operate on a cost reimbursable basis, with a portion of expenses reimbursed to ABTC as such expenses are incurred for internal labor hours, equipment, supplies, contracted services, or other expenses.  With these four grant projects operating in parallel, a substantial portion of all of ABTC's operating and capital expenses are covered.

Listing on Nasdaq Exchange
ABTC listed its shares and began trading on Nasdaq on September 21, 2023. The listing of its shares on this exchange represents a long-term strategic move for the company, allowing it to expand its reach in the capital markets and support the company's next phases of growth as it works to address the immense shortfall of low-cost and low-environmental impact domestically manufactured battery critical materials.

Financial highlights from first quarter FY2024 include: 

• On August 21, 2023, the company finalized the purchase of its commercial-scale, lithium-ion battery recycling facility located in TRIC at 2500 Peru Drive, McCarran, Nevada.
• As of September 30, 2023, the company had total cash on hand of $5.4 million. The company is currently manufacturing recycled products for revenue, and in addition to the federal government grant income which supports payroll coverage and other expenses, the company has the potential to access additional capital through the High Trail and Tysadco financing transactions to support growth plans..Cash used for the acquisition of property, construction, equipment, and water rights for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $7.3 million. Cash used in the same period of the prior year totaled $4.1 million for water rights and equipment.
• Cash used in operations for the three months ended September 30, 2023 was $4.8 million, up $0.7 million year–over–year compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022.
• Total operating costs for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $6.4 million, up $3.8 million year–over–year, largely due to increased hiring related to R&D and exploration activities compared to the three months ended September 30, 2022.
• The company recorded $2.2 million in research and development costs for the three months ended September 30, 2023, an increase of $1.9 million when compared to the same period of the prior year. The company recorded an offset to research and development costs of $0.5 million and $0.3 million for federal grant funds recognized for the three months ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

About American Battery Technology Company 
American Battery Technology Company (ABTC), headquartered in Reno, Nevada, has pioneered first-of-kind technologies to unlock domestically manufactured and recycled battery metals critically needed to help meet the significant demand from the electric vehicle, stationary storage, and consumer electronics industries.  Committed to a circular supply chain for battery metals, ABTC works to continually innovate and master new battery metals technologies that power a global transition to electrification and the future of sustainable energy.

Inferred Resource
Inferred mineral resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological uncertainty associated with an inferred mineral resource is too high to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability. Because an inferred mineral resource has the lowest level of geological confidence of all mineral resources, which prevents the application of the modifying factors in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability, an inferred mineral resource may not be considered when assessing the economic viability of a mining project and may not be converted to a mineral reserve.

Indicated Resource
An Indicated Mineral Resource is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to assume geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to a Probable Mineral Reserve.

Measured Resource
A Measured Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource. It may be converted to a Proven Mineral Reserve or to a Probable Mineral Reserve.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements." Although the American Battery Technology Company's (the "Company") management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the inability to source and recycle lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion battery manufacturing scrap economically and efficiently; the inability to materially increase recycling capacity; risks and uncertainties related to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; changes in the volume or composition of feedstock materials processed at the Company's facilities; interpretations or reinterpretations of geologic information, unfavorable exploration results, inability to obtain permits required for future exploration, development or production, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; fluctuating mineral and commodity prices, final investment approval and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Additional information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements is available in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the information contained or referenced in this press release.

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SOURCE American Battery Technology Company