Pacific Rim Cobalt Opens Shanghai Office

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacific Rim Cobalt Corp. (CSE:BOLT) (XFRA:NXFE) (OTCQB:PCRCF) (the “Company” or “Pacific Rim Cobalt”) a resource company with assets located in close proximity to the world’s largest cobalt market, China, is pleased to announce it has officially opened a business development office in Shanghai.

The Company recently visited and met with several industry colleagues representing a variety of battery sector and resource industry interests in China. The strategic information gained from the visit was extraordinary and ultimately led to the decision to provide a more meaningful ongoing presence in the region. As a result, Pacific Rim Cobalt has added Mr. James Foster as an Advisor at its newly opened, centrally located offices in the Jing’an commercial district of Shanghai.

Mr. Ranjeet Sundher, CEO of Pacific Rim comments, “During our recent visit to China, the feedback we encountered was fantastic. China is aggressively leading the world in the battery sector and is equally forceful in its determination to build a robust supply chain network to bolster their significant investments in the space. We are looking to secure a Chinese partner, and this trip was the beginning of that process. Our meetings included some very informative sessions which highlighted our proximity to the Chinese marketplace, and several of the companies provided cobalt resource demand projections which crystalized our sense that the time is right to position a full-time business presence in the region. To that end, we welcome James as the Company’s in-country advisor and expect we will be regularly visiting this growing territory.”

James Foster notes, “China has been actively involved within the Indonesian resource market for some time. Industrial leaders here have argued that there has been a growing sense of over-reliance on Africa for some time now. This discussion has even been noted in recent western articles on the topic. Plus, the country is poised for the 2019 launch of the New Electric Vehicle (NEV) mandate which bears a striking resemblance to California’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and could significantly boost EV production demand. Subsequently, Chinese industry has been highly active in their pursuit of cobalt and have engaged in a number of pre-production offtake agreements. Lastly, there’s been a lot of investor demand in China as demonstrated when the country’s largest lithium battery maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. raised approximately $850MM USD and soared 44% on IPO. Retail investors actually applied for 3,201 times the shares they were offered, and fund managers bid for 537 times the shares available. according to IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication. Its an exciting and busy time to be involved in the cobalt space and I’m delighted to have this opportunity with Pacific Rim.”

About Pacific Rim Cobalt (CSE:BOLT) (XFRA:NXFE) (OTCQB:PCRCF)
Pacific Rim Cobalt Corp. is a Canadian publicly listed company currently focused on the development of cobalt projects within Indonesia. It’s Cyclops cobalt project (formerly known as the TNM cobalt project) encompasses cobalt and nickel mineralization as well as excellent infrastructure for year-round development activities. The Company believes cobalt will be the next dominant investment trend related to the critical components of lithium-ion batteries. Cobalt is currently in a global supply deficit, has a vulnerable supply chain, and is part of an emerging sector with extraordinary potential. Pacific Rim believes that the quality of our assets and our proximity to markets give us the opportunity to be a leader in the cobalt development space. For more information, visit: www.pacificrimcobalt.com.

Follow Pacific Rim Cobalt on Twitter

CONTACT
Pacific Rim Cobalt Corp.
Ranjeet Sundher – President and CEO
(604) 922-8272
rsundher@pacificrimcobalt.com

Steve Vanry – CFO & Director
(604) 922-8272
steve@vanrycap.com

Sean Bromley – Director & Investor Contact
(778) 985-8934
sean@theparmargroup.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in both Pacific Rim Cobalt’s periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding future oriented events and other statements that are not facts. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which Pacific Rim Cobalt operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in light of such factors. Although Pacific Rim Cobalt has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and Pacific Rim Cobalt disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Pacific Rim Cobalt does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company herein.