Investissement Québec has reached an agreement with Sayona Québec and Piedmont Lithium concerning the acquisition of the assets of Lithium America North, a milestone in the government strategy to lead to the creation of a 100% Québec lithium battery for electric vehicles.
Posted on May 27, 2021 at 11:58 am
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Quebec made the announcement Thursday morning.
Located in La Corne, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the North America Lithium mine has a capacity of 180,000 tonnes of lithium concentrates. The mine is also capable of producing lithium carbonate (from lithium spodumene), an essential element used to manufacture electric batteries.
“The proposal from Sayona Quebec and Piedmont Lithium offers excellent prospects for the development of the battery industry in Quebec,” said Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of the Economy and Innovation, in a press release. This agreement provides that the ore extracted from the La Corne mine would be converted and transformed into lithium hydroxide here in Quebec. It contributes to our goal of producing the cleanest battery in North America in Quebec. Piedmont Lithium’s proximity to electric vehicle producers in the United States brings significant value to our strategy, which goes from ore to battery. ”
Reached by phone, the mayor of La Corne Éric Comeau was, as we can imagine, very happy with the outcome. He ignores the timetable for resuming operations, but points out that the mine has already employed 200 people before its financial woes caused by the low price of lithium spodumene concentrate. “The key is the secondary transformation of lithium,” he says. The mine is a major city property taxpayer of less than 1,000, accounting for a third of its revenue in 2019.
The mine will be in its third life since the early 2010s. It was operated under the name Quebec Lithium (2012-2014) then North American Lithium (2016-2019).
The transaction also seeks to create synergies between the Sayona Authier Lithium project at La Motte, which will soon be in operation, and that of Lithium North America, at La Corne.
Lithium North America had filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and IQ was one of the company’s secured creditors. The agreement is made within the framework of the legal process supervised by the controller Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. The Superior Court of Quebec will have to rule on the agreement in the coming weeks.
Who are the buyers?
Sayona Québec, a subsidiary of Sayona Mining from Australia, was created in 2016, following the acquisition of the Authier Lithium project, in La Motte, by Sayona Mining. Since then, the team has invested more than $ 7 million in exploration work.
Piedmont Lithium, owned by the NASDAQ listed company Piedmont Lithium Limited is a preproduction project in North Carolina to produce 160,000 tonnes per year of spodumene concentrate and manufacture 22,700 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide from battery quality. Piedmont Lithium owns 40% in Sayona Quebec.
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