Canada's First Cobalt Corp entered into a deal with Glencore Plc's unit under which it will repay an existing loan of about $5.5 million by issuing shares, the cobalt miner said on Friday.

First Cobalt will issue 23.8 million common shares to Glencore AG at $0.29 per share, representing about 4.8% of the company's current outstanding shares.

In 2019, First Cobalt entered into a loan agreement with the miner and commodity trader to fund engineering studies, metallurgical testwork and permitting activities for an expansion of the company's refinery in Ontario, Canada.