St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. and Call2Recycle Canada announced the operational launch of EVSX's new battery processing plant in Thorold, Ontario. This facility will recycle the increasing volumes of alkaline and carbon zinc batteries collected through Call2Recycle's extensive battery recycling program in Ontario and other provinces.

Located at the Bioveld Complex in Niagara, this innovative new facility boasts a processing capacity of 4,200 tons of alkaline batteries per year, achieving an 87.7% ratio of battery components effectively recycled (RER or recycling efficiency rate), the highest efficiency rate for single-use battery recycling in Canada. The addition of this facility supports the increasing volumes of alkaline batteries recycled by Canadians and collected by Call2Recycle (+21% collection growth nationally since 2023, with Ontario contributing approximately 40% of these volumes). The plant will also work with St-Georges Metallurgy (SXM) to transform black mass (a concentrated powder created from the recovery of several battery materials) and develop agricultural fertilizer products.

Since its inception in 1997, Call2Recycle has safely collected and responsibly recycled almost 50 million kilograms of batteries across Canada, preventing them from ending up in landfills. The development of this new plant follows a 2022 agreement between Call2Recycle and EVSX to build a full battery recycling ecosystem in Ontario, culminating in a three-year supply agreement, and helping support the province's ambitious waste diversion goals. EVSX's facility further strengthens the program's operations in Ontario, as over 60% of the batteries collected by the program in the province can now be processed locally, reducing the transportation footprint and associated carbon emissions.

This local approach also provides economic benefits, including regional job growth and bolstering Ontario's circular economy. It will also support national efforts to provide Canadians with convenient and accessible recycling solutions, contributing to a strong circular economy nationwide.