Avalon planning for Kenora lithium open-pit mine $AVL.ca
The economics look good so far for Avalon Advanced Materials to begin mapping out their plans for an open-pit lithium mine and processing plant near Kenora.
Company president Don Bubar is said to be “delighted” with the positive results coming from a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its Separation Rapids lithium project.
Micon International’s report said the minerals in the ground and the rechargeable battery markets look favourable enough for the company is press ahead with a more detailed feasibility study for an open-pit capable of a producing 950,000 tonnes a year with an annual yield of 14,600 tonnes of lithium hydroxide for a 10-year mine life.
The purpose of the PEA is to evaluate the potential mineral recoveries of a lithium product that might be suitable for the rechargeable battery market. Micon reports the company has positive economics and a technically viable process for a battery-grade lithium hydroxide product.
The measured and indicated mineral resources at Separation Rapids show a total of 8.0 million tonnes averaging 1.29 per cent lithium oxide and 38 per cent feldspar.
Feldspar is an industrial mineral used in glass and ceramic manufacturing, and as a filler and extender in making paints, plastics and rubber.
Avalon’s development model also calls for a concentrator to be located on the company’s mining lease, 75 kilometres north of Kenora.
MinRes, Neometals eye Goldfields lithium plant
The move to build a downstream lithium processing plant in the Goldfields is gathering pace, with Chris Reed’s Neometals and Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources signing a memorandum of understanding to progress development.
Neometals and MinRes announced the MOU on Friday and laid out a plan to use lithium concentrate from their jointly owned Mt Marion project to produce “a battery-quality, lithium hydroxide product suitable for direct sales to the lithium ion battery industry for use in production of battery cathodes”.
Neometals said building a plant near Mt Marion in the Eastern Goldfields would ensure “operational and logistical cost benefits” while locking in an important economic driver for the region. The plant would have of capacity of 25,000 tonnes a year of of lithium carbonate equivalent.
“With the transition of Mt Marion to production we are now confident that a downstream lithium processing plant located nearby to Mt Marion will deliver superior economic outcomes for the JV partners with the added benefit of bring new employment opportunities to the Goldfields,” Mr Reed said.
The partners will immediately begin selecting a site, applying for various environmental and regulatory permits and start front-end engineering and design work. A final investment decision is expected by the third quarter of next year.
MinRes subsidiary Process Minerals International owns 43.1 per cent of Mt Marion owner RIM. Neometals, which Mr Reed founded as Reed Resources in 2001, owns 13.8 per cent and China’s Ganfeng Lithium owns the balance of RIM.
MinRes and Neometals have signed offtake arrangements with RIM, which allow them to buy 51 per cent of the spodumene, which is a source of lithium, produced from Mt Marion from 2020.
Ganfeng is taking all production until 2020, when its take will drop to 49 per cent.
Neometals and MinRes are separately continuing their program to commercialise their patented ELi process,which the companies believe can cheaply produce lithium hydroxide from the hard-rock lithium prevalent in Australia.
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The Language of Lithium
Talking to people is hard.
We’ve all felt the embarrassment of telling a bad joke or using the wrong slang word and watching every eyebrow in the immediate area shoot skyward.
And possibly worse, many have experienced the horror of posting something online and having to swim through the onslaught of angry corrections from the entire Internet.
Case in point: one of Energy and Capital‘s most popular reports has a tagline that touts lithium as the energy source of the future. As soon as it went up, it was clear that people were getting fixated on that one line of text.
It’s not technically wrong. But I also understand why so many people are picking on it.
So I’d like to set the record straight and explain the implications of this misunderstood phrase.
No: Lithium Does Not Make Energy
Keith actually addressed this before when he admitted that calling lithium “metal oil” was a bit much. It’s a pretty common hyperbole now as the EV market continues to grow faster than anyone really expected.
Saint Jean Carbon Increases Whabouchi Lithium Project $SJL.ca
OAKVILLE, ONTARIO–(Sept. 30, 2016) – Saint Jean Carbon Inc. (“Saint Jean” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:SJL), a carbon science company engaged in the exploration of natural graphite properties and related carbon products, is pleased to announce the Company has entered in to an agreement to increase its lithium holdings by 27 claims, bringing the total claims to 109. The claims are contiguous with the Whabouchi Lithium Project the Company acquired in August 2016. The new claims are located in the James Bay region of Quebec and lie approximately 45 kilometres southeast of the village of Nemaska. The area is linked by a network of all-season roads to the mining centre of Chibougamau, 300 kilometers to the south. An airport and a network of high-voltage hydroelectric transmission lines service the area.
Paul Ogilvie, CEO, commented: “The added claims gives the Company a significant presence in the region where many other successful development operations are progressing nicely. We feel our properties give us a real advantage in our research and development work, which is being carried out at the universities. This enables us to move closer to being a full electric materials supply company in the future. These expanded claims also offer us greater areas to explore and attract joint venture partners. Our overall strategy to be able to supply the complete chemistry for an lithium-ion battery in future starts with owning the raw material.”
Tianqi purchase of SQM stock sends lithium companies soaring $SQM.us
Tianqi Lithium Industries Inc. (SHE:002466) announced it would buy 2.1 per cent of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (ADR)(NYSE:SQM) for $38 a share — more than a 50 per cent premium to the company’s share price — sending many Canadian junior lithium explorers to new highs this week.
Tianqi is a direct competitor to SQM, and establishing a foothold in the company’s shares might be a precursor to the Chinese entity’s drive to gain control over Chile’s No. 1 lithium producer. Paying such a high premium over market suggests there is a great deal of strategic value to Tianqi in the acquisition.
The situation in Chile is further complicated by the fact that Corfo, which is the government body that administers leases on the country’s lithium salars, is in a dispute with SQM over discrepancies in what is owed versus what was paid by SQM in past years. The dispute is before an arbitration panel presently, but SQM has expressed confidence that a resolution is near.
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