US Strategic Metals (USSM) has teamed up with Chilean Cobalt Corp. (C3) and Glencore AG, a subsidiary of Glencore, for US downstream processing of cobalt and copper intermediate products from C3’s Chilean project.

The three-way partnership aims to establish an Americas-centric cobalt supply chain, connecting C3's La Cobaltera project in Chile with USSM's integrated critical minerals processing site in Missouri, US.

USSM expects the collaboration to bolster US critical minerals supply chains and provide sustainable raw materials for the burgeoning domestic lithium-ion battery and high-performance metal alloy markets.

In July 2024, C3 signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Glencore concerning an offtake agreement for cobalt and copper products, as well as a strategic partnership for the La Cobaltera project.

The current announcement builds on this with an additional processing LOI with USSM, exploring US domestic processing solutions.

This new partnership is contemplating the development of a processing line for La Cobaltera concentrate at USSM's Missouri site.

USSM, C3 and Glencore expect that a significant portion, if not all, of the cobalt and copper intermediate product stream will be shipped to the US and/or US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries.

This partnership is also designed to meet the strategic project financing conditions precedent of USSM and C3, potentially involving the US EXIM Bank.

The agreement will be subject to standard conditions precedent.

All involved parties have agreed to include responsible sourcing and sustainability provisions in the agreement.

Last month, USSM received a non-binding letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the US for a potential $400m debt funding package to help advance its mining and metallurgical project in Missouri.