THUNDER BAY – Experts say the rise of the electric car could...

THUNDER BAY – Experts say the rise of the electric car could make Northwestern Ontario a “middle player” in global lithium mining.
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Jun 8, 2016 2:13 PM by: Jon Thompson
Updated Jun 8, 2016 2:15 PM

(Photo supplied)
THUNDER BAY – Experts say the rise of the electric car could make Northwestern Ontario a “middle player” in global lithium mining.

Lithium discoveries in the 1950s were staked near Beardmore and north of Lake Nipigon but it’s the deposit near Kenora that holds the greatest promise.

The mineral was historically mined for glass and ceramics. That changed early this year when the electric car company Tesla’s announced it intends to build 500,000 vehicles powered by lithium batteries in 2018 and increase production to a million vehicles in 2020.

The shift has sent prices soaring. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, lithium carbonate prices rose 47 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the average price last year. Every Canadian lithium mining company has seen its stock rise this spring.

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Ontario Prospectors Association executive director Garry Clark sees untapped potential in Northwestern Ontario where known lithium deposits are not only high-grade but also accessible.

“I don’t think we’ll be a global leader but we’ll probably be a middle player if batteries go the way they’re forecasted to go,” Clark said.

“We’ve got significant amounts of lithium. The question is, is it economical to get it out of the ground? If the drive for lithium through the battery need is there, we could be in a really good position.”

No project is further along than the Separation Rapids Lithium Project north of Kenora. Avalon Advanced Materials first discovered lithium derivative petalite in the 1990s and envisaged producing glass ceramics but the plan stalled when major industrial players exited the market.

Avalon revisited its plan in 2014, around the same time research into the electric car market emerged that showed the Kenora deposit could have a competitive advantage over inexpensive mining operations in Chile and Argentina.

“They’re starting to require much higher purities on inputs to lithium compounds than they did historically to get better performance out of the batteries,” said Avalon president Don Bubar.

“It dawned on me if high purity is important, we ought to be well positioned to meet that need because the reason this petalite was really valued in the glass industry was there were no impurities in the mineral concentrate.”

Even as Avalon conducts lab work this month that will form the basis for the mine's preliminary economic assessment, the company is seeking land in Kenora for a plant that will refine the raw material.
Bubar pointed out the Separation Rapids site already has road access, natural gas, energy and most importantly for the company's intended market, is near to Kenora's railways.

“(Deposits) aren’t really rare occurrences but finding one that’s the right size and quality to justify mining it is the challenge,” he said.

“Telsa isn’t the only player thinking of building lithium battery production in North America. We want to be a local source for new markets emerging in North America and those would be best served by rail.”