First Cobalt Corp (TSX-V: FCC) expanded its coverage of the Cobalt Camp district and added battery-materials cobalt refining capacity with last year's three-way corporate consolidation with Cobalt One and CobalTech Mining.

Now it plans to assess "different geological settings" at 13 different targets on its 10,000-hectare tenement holding.

"The 2018 program is a significant expansion over 2017 exploration activities and will test mineralized areas throughout the Cobalt Camp proximal to more than 10 past-producing mines known to contain cobalt in addition to new targets within three regional areas," the company said this week.

"The drill program will test cobalt targets occurring in different styles of mineralization and in diverse geological settings."

Vice president exploration Frank Santaguida said last year's exploration gave valuable insights into structural controls in various parts of the district.

"We have undertaken a review of the historical records as well as integrated new data from the Camp and, with our expanded team and increased budget, now plan to target at least 13 different areas over the year. The broad range of cobalt mineralization styles and associated metals such as silver, nickel, copper, zinc and lead require a widespread, systematic approach across the Camp. We are also looking at applying innovative methods and techniques to maximize the efficiency of this program."

First Cobalt raised more than C$30 million late last year via an equity financing.

The company's share price has risen about 182% in the past 12 months, giving it a market value this week of C$240 million.