Cobalt Blockchain Appoints Members to Special Advisory Committee and Announces Settlement of Debt

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 8, 2021) - Cobalt Blockchain Inc. (TSXV: COBC) (OTC Pink: COBCF) ("COBC" or the "Company") announces that it has appointed Messrs. Julian Knight, Ngoy Kaumba Banza, Simeon Tshisangama, and Benjamin Clair, as members of its Special Advisory Committee.

The Special Advisory Committee will provide guidance to the Board of Directors and management on strategic and operational matters of particular relevance to operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"), as well as in other jurisdictions and industry verticals of interest.

"The Board is honoured to formally convene our Special Advisory Committee," noted Mr. Peter Copetti, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

"In addition to their unique expertise, each of the members has in-country experience in the DRC and elsewhere in Africa," he added. "We are confident that their insights will assist our operational effectiveness and deliver enhanced value to our shareholders."

Biographies of the members of COBC's Special Advisory Committee are as follows:

Julian Knight

Mr. Julian Knight has extensive consulting experience in mining projects across the globe, and across various commodities and minerals, such as gold, copper, platinum group metals ("PGMs"), coal, ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals such as cobalt, tin, zinc and nickel. Julian started his career as a process control engineer designing and implementing advanced process control solutions in Southern Africa and South America. Since then he moved into a role as Senior Process Engineer for a consulting firm in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he eventually headed up the metallurgy and process engineering department for a number of years.

He has expertise in designing and managing metallurgical test work programs, completing technical feasibility studies and due diligences, competent person reporting, capital and operating cost modelling, metallurgical accounting and process plant optimisation. A large part of Julian's role has been to evaluate projects at various stages of project life in terms of resources, metallurgy, mining, processing potential and costs in order to determine economic viability.

Ngoy Kaumba Banza

Mr. Ngoy Kalumba Banza has extensive experience as the Chairman of TIAfrica, with offices in Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, and Kolwezi in the DRC, with a background in global management, accounting and taxation, human resources management and workforce placement, specific to the region.

He graduated in Economic and Social Law at the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC. During his career as a lawyer, he was twice a member of the Lubumbashi Bar Council and was assigned as a member of the commission in charge of ensuring the twinning between the Bar of Lubumbashi and that of Dutch-speaking Brussels.

He assumed the role of the Mines and Quarries Representative in the DRC and is a former member of the International Criminal Bar. After a 24-year career in law, he retired as a lawyer to focus on the creation and development of Group TIA.

Simeon Tshisangama

Mr. Simeon Tshisangama has run multiple mining operations in the DRC. He is the founder and CEO of TSM Entreprise, a private DRC-based mining company focused on the production of copper and tin, with a portfolio of exploration and production projects. TSM owns and operates a blister copper smelter plant and logistical facility in Lubumbashi.

He served for a period of six years between 2012 and 2018 as Chairman and President of Clairmont Metals Corporation, a private mining company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario that focused on copper and cobalt intermediate products, including concentrates and alloys.

He holds a degree in Social Science from the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC.

Benjamin Clair

Mr. Benjamin Clair is an expert in mining and the global mineral trade, with experience in banking and commodity trading and specific expertise in the fields of Artisanal & Small-scale Mining and supply chain due diligence. He brings over 15 years of experience working in post-conflict and high-risk areas, with a focus on Central Africa, where he has implemented large international development projects and built an extensive network of contacts and information relays.

As general manager of supply chain innovation firm BetterChain, Benjamin has developed several traceability and monitoring solutions to raise the quality of information available from remote locations and underserved communities, thus improving risk management and stakeholder engagement. He is also a co-founder of the non-profit research and advisory group HIVE, and founder and CEO of DataStake, a data crowdsourcing software.

Benjamin holds two MA degrees, one in International Business from Paris Dauphine University, and the other in Economics & Finance from Bordeaux Montesquieu University.

Options Grant

Concomitant with the appointments, the Company announced grants, subject to regulatory approval, of stock options to Advisory Committee members, pursuant and subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan, to each acquire up to 200,000 common shares for a 5-year term and exercisable at a price of $0.085 per share. The stock options vest as to 25% on grant date, and 25% on each of the 6 month, 12 month and 24 month anniversary dates of the grant.

Shares for Debt

The Company also announces that subject to regulatory approval it has reached agreement to settle debt totalling $187,822 through the issuance of an aggregate of 500,000 common shares at a deemed price of $0.085 to arm's length creditors.

About Cobalt Blockchain Inc.

Cobalt Blockchain Inc. (TSXV: COBC) is a Canadian resource company expanding its exploration and development business to include cobalt assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"). The Company believes that it is the first mining and mineral trade company set up specifically to procure cobalt in compliance with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") due diligence framework. COBC has developed and is implementing a blockchain-based reporting platform to provide greater certainty of provenance and further assurance that all minerals procured are ethically sourced.

For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

For additional information, please contact:

Peter Copetti,
Executive Chairman and CEO
Cobalt Blockchain Inc.
Telephone: +1-416-519-4009
Email: pc@cobc.co
Website: www.cobc.co

Forward-Looking Statements

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 activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements.Such statements include those regarding the anticipated guidance to the Board of Directors and management by the Special Advisory Committee and their contribution to the operational effectiveness of the Company and the delivery of enhanced value to our shareholders. 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/73894