Martin Guindon (go to the author's page)Martin GuindonJanuary...

Martin Guindon (go to the author's page)

Martin Guindon

January 13, 2022

Sayona clarified on Tuesday its plan for its various mining projects focused on lithium production, most of which are located in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

In front of the members of the Canadian Mining Institute - Amos section, CEO Guy Laliberté first recalled Sayona's desire to be a key player in the plan for a green economy in Quebec.

The company was particularly active in this regard in 2021, investing $200 million in the acquisition of Lithium North America (LAN) in La Corne and the Moblan project in Nord-du-Québec For Abitibi-Témiscamingue, development will be based on the La Corne mining complex. The company is working on the relaunch of the mine with the objective of producing 6% spodumene concentrate at the beginning of 2023 and thus creating 220 jobs. Sayona's flagship project is Lithium North America. At the moment, preparations are being made to restart the site, the restart of the concentrator. An investment plan between $50 and $70 million is being put in place. It is important to do it properly”, said Yves Desrosiers, Technical and Projects Director at Sayona, adding that benefits of about $20 million are expected in the region with this project.

All the ore in the region

The investment aims to improve the performance of the concentrator and the spodumene content of the concentrate that will be produced there, in order to better meet market needs.

The La Corne concentrator will also process the ore extracted at the Authier mine in La Motte, if it obtains all the authorizations to start. He will also receive production from Tansim, Timiskaming, which is still at the exploration stage.

The company is also always looking for community support for this project.

Yves Desrosiers said that the company was busy revalidating the approximately 160 environmental permits of the La Corne mine.

“Most were obtained in 2012-2013. Regulations changed in 2016 as well as in 2020. Sayona wants to ensure that it operates with a factory or site in the latest and hardest-to-reach environmental standards. Currently, more than half of the permits have already been received by Sayona and approved by the various ministries”, he said.

Yves Desrosiers is Technical and Projects Director at Sayona. (archives)

PHOTO: NORTH AMERICAN LITHIUM

By acquiring LAN, Sayona also committed to second transformation in Quebec by 2025. It is due to rule in the coming months whether it will produce carbonate or lithium hydroxide. It favors the La Corne site, where 40% of the facilities of a lithium carbonate plant are already located.

Authier: a booster mine

Sayona also confirms that the Authier project is becoming a backup mine.

It will only be extracted ore, which should greatly limit the impact of the mine on the environment. There is no longer any question of installing a concentrator, which at the same time eliminates the need for a tailings management park. There will be a pit, a waste rock pile and two buildings. It undertakes to use a fleet of green trucks to transport ore, as soon as technology permits.

The company is currently answering questions from the Ministry of the Environment and is amending its environmental impact statement to take into account the new reality.

Sayona anticipates public hearings before the BAPE by the end of 2022 or early 2023.