(Yicai Global) Feb. 26 -- Mesnac Co., a Chinese rubber equipment systems maker, plans to invest in newly-issued shares of Canadian mine developer Ecobalt Solutions Inc. as it looks to foray into new-energy car battery materials.

Mesnac plans to use cash to buy up to 19.9 percent of the Vancouver-based firm, the Qingdao-based investor said in a statement, adding that it will also provide loans to the target company.  The total value of the shares purchased and loans issued will not exceed USD80 million, Mesnac said.

The Chinese firm will seek approval from the local government to sell more than 50 percent of the cobalt that Ecobalt produces each year, with the two companies negotiating prices on an annual basis, the statement said.

Cobalt is essential to the creation of lithium-ion batteries that power new-energy vehicles, a sector in which China excels. The nation sold some 605,500 plug-in passenger cars last year to take a 49-percent of the global NEV market, growing 30 times faster than the worldwide average, data from industry researcher EV Volumes shows.

The pair hasn't yet decided on a subscription price but plans to conduct the investment via two phases, it added. Mesnac will buy a 9.9-percent stake in the first stage and as much as double that in the second.