Metallica Commodities Corp. And SungEel HiTech Announce Joint Venture To Redefine North American Metals Recycling And Energy Markets

Joint Venture to be North America's Largest and Most Environmentally Friendly Recycler of Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB)

New York, NY & Seoul, South Korea /PRNewswire/ -- Metallica Commodities Corp. LLC (MCC) and SungEel HiTech Co. Ltd. (SungEel) today announced the establishment of a joint venture which will redefine the North American lithium-ion battery, e-waste recycling, energy and metals markets.

The joint venture, SungEel MCC Americas LLC (SMA), will leverage MCC's extensive worldwide network of agents, traders, suppliers, electronic recyclers and customers, as well as SungEel's proprietary lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling process. SMA will initially recycle over 3,000 tons of spent lithium-ion batteries annually and will create over 100 new hi-tech manufacturing jobs. Cobalt, nickel, lithium and copper will be recovered from the recycled batteries through an efficient and environmentally friendly process. The recovered metals can be used in the manufacture of new lithium-ion batteries as well as in a number of similar industrial applications.

Cobalt and lithium are the two most "exotic" metals found in LIBs. Over 50 percent of the world's cobalt reserves are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whereas over 50 percent of the world's lithium is found in South America's lithium triangle. Consumption of both materials has outpaced supply in recent years, with the United Stateslacking local production of both.

"We are excited to partner with SungEel to bring environmentally friendly LIB recycling to the North American market. We believe SMA will revolutionize the e-waste recycling and energy markets, create well-paying jobs and bring the Americas to the forefront of the renewable energy movement," said Danish Mir, COO of Metallica Commodities Corp.

"SungEel HiTech Co. Ltd., based on internationally recognized leading recycling technologies, has a great opportunity to challenge the North American recycling market with MCC, which has built a wide network. SMA will expand into North and Central America to become a leader in the LIB recycling market and will expand its eco-friendly recycling process based on solid technology," said Yi, Kang Myung, CEO of SungEel HiTech Co. Ltd.

About SungEel HiTech Co. Ltd.

SungEel is one of the few major recyclers of LIBs worldwide. Established in 2000, it is based in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, Korea, and employs over 140 individuals.

SungEel recycles over 8,000 tons of spent LIBs and scraps annually. The company's patented technology recovers valuable metals found in lithium-ion batteries such as cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese and lithium through a hydrometallurgical process. To prepare for the expected increase in LIBs caused by the growth in the EV industry, the company's current capacity is undergoing a five-fold expansion by 2021.

To secure the raw materials, SungEel operates a pretreatment plant in Klang, Malaysia, and has two new plants beginning operations this year in Hungary and India. More than eight plants will be established worldwide.

About Metallica Commodities Corp. LLC

Metallica Commodities Corp. (MCC) is a specialist group of over 115 professionals focusing on the commercial recycling of non-ferrous concentrates, residues and byproducts resulting from the mining, metallurgical, recycling and processing industries. MCC has 24 employees at its White Plains, New York, headquarters fully dedicated to non-ferrous trading activity, has representative offices in Peru, France, the United Kingdom and Canada, and leverages a vast network of agents with access to a large customer base worldwide. The company operates an electronic scrap recycling plant in France which employs 30 individuals and has mining operations in Guyana and Tanzania, employing 35 and 15 individuals, respectively. MCC's founders have over 50 years of non-ferrous trading experience.