International Cobalt Provides Blackbird update

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Cobalt Corp. (CSE:CO) (the “Company” or “International Cobalt”) is pleased to provide an update on the Company’s exploration plans for its flagship Blackbird Creek Cobalt Project (“Blackbird” or the “Project), within the prolific Idaho Cobalt Belt (“ICB”).

The Company is preparing to mobilize crews to the Blackbird creek area to undertake extensive surveys. Highlights of the exploration plans include:

	•	Verify the location and grade of historic surface sampling at the main mineralized Ludwig prospect with channel sampling (see Figure 1 below).
		Highlights of the historical sampling by Noranda Exploration Inc. in 1980 revealed a weighted average continuous chip sample of 5.18 metres of 0.76% cobalt across the width of the outcrop. Sampling within a short exploration adit revealed mineralization with a width of 7.0 metres of 0.71% cobalt. With drilling and outcrop mapping, the prospect has a strike length of about 300 metres and is open at depth and along strike. Drill hole DDH-79-2A returned 7.9 metres of 0.4% cobalt
	•	Property-wide soil geochemical surveying. The majority of the Project has not been explored in a modern and systematic method. Soil sampling has been found to be a very useful targeting method for the discovery of bedrock cobalt-copper mineralization in the ICB.
	•	Site specific soil sampling and discovery-oriented prospecting at the following locations:
		The Project contains numerous historically documented cobalt and copper prospects with little-to-no detailed information available. These areas will be a primary target for follow up work. Historical orientation soil sample surveys in the Property area conducted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1953 reveal several sample lines with clusters of anomalous samples with greater than 100 ppm cobalt. There is no documented follow-up of these anomalies, and represent a high priority target. Additionally, a separate copper soil anomaly at the west end of the property contains several samples with greater than 1,000 ppm copper. The cluster of toumalinized breccia samples with greater than 0.10% and up to 4.5% cobalt (see International Cobalt news dated March 8^th, 2018)
	•	Follow up airborne electromagnetic anomalies from the VTEM survey. A total of eight high-priority targets have been identified following a detailed review of the survey. (see figure 2 below)

To view Figure 1 - Ludwig Prospect, please visit the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e5e31a47-1850-40f0-bde0-d39d8c878af2

To view Figure 2 - Electromagnetic Targets, please visit the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/74b09300-37f3-4a43-9fdc-9a6636f500a2

President of International Cobalt, Tim Johnson states: “The company anticipates launching its activities in the coming days. The Company is pleased with the compilation of new data and of historical work, some of which has only recently been discovered. The integration of this data into the evolving geological model has provided a rich data-set with which focus on.

ABOUT THE COBALT MARKET

Cobalt prices recently reached a 10 year high of $42.75 US per pound and have shown a steady increase since the mid-point of 2015. Cobalt is a vital component of many of the lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications from cell phones to electric vehicles (EV) and the home energy storage market. Driven primarily by the EV market demand for cobalt is expected to remain strong and growing for the near future. Currently over 60% of the global supply of cobalt is sourced from mines operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Political instability in the DRC coupled with social-economic issues surrounding mining in the country including reports of child labour have led many tech companies to seek supplies of the metal from more stable jurisdictions.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COBALT CORP

International Cobalt Corp. (CSE:CO) is a Canadian based mineral exploration and development business focusing on the burgeoning cobalt sector. The rapidly growing large battery industry, a major consumer of cobalt, makes cobalt an appealing sector of focus. The Company seeks to add shareholder value by sourcing and developing projects in safe, progressive jurisdictions adhering to strict environmental and social standards. International Cobalt is well funded to pursue its objectives and currently holds in excess of $10 million in treasury at the time of this publication.

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Neil McCallum, P.Geol., of Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of:

INTERNATIONAL COBALT CORP.

“Timothy Johnson”

Timothy Johnson, President

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future production, reserve potential, exploration and development activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward‑looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see our public filings at www.sedar.com for further information.

Contact:
International Cobalt Corp.
T: 604-687-2038
F: 604-687-3141
www.internationalcobalt.com