Not sure if this has been posted but interesting....mmmm the...

Not sure if this has been posted but interesting....mmmm the paper placed Sayona and Lion Electric on the article...and stated "The province and the Canadian government invested $100 million in the project." for Lion Electric.....

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Freshii has just been bought for millions by the company that owns Milestones - Quebec News (canadatoday.news)

Toronto, Ontario ⁠— All eyes are on Quebec in this weekly ticker as Sayona Mining positions itself as Canada’s sole lithium supplier – for now. Meanwhile, Montreal-based Lion Electric announces a stock offering in hopes of expanding factories.

The first lithium mine of its kind

A Quebec lithium mine will soon become the only Canadian site to mine the material used in EV batteries, following regulatory approval from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Australia-based Sayona Mining Ltd. plans to open a pit mine near Val-d’Or in northwestern Quebec.

“Sayona will be the sole producer of lithium concentrate in Quebec and Canada,” said Annie Blier, Sayona Quebec’s vice president of environment. “This is a very promising position for our region, putting us at the forefront of the upcoming energy transition.”

Read also: Lion Electric Announces Start of Overnight Marketed Public Offering of Units

Sayona says it has received more than 130 regulatory approvals⁠ — both at the federal and provincial levels⁠. The Company first purchased the project in 2021 and worked with American Piedmont Lithium Inc. to form a joint venture; Sayona Quebec.

Sayona owns three quarters of the company; Piedmont, the rest.

The two companies first agreed to invest in the mine in June 2018, spending $98 million to restart and modernize the mine. Previous operations at the site, managed by another company, began in 2018. Operations later ceased due to low lithium prices, but not before the original owner invested $400 million in the project.

An agreement between the companies also stipulates that Piedmont will buy at least 113,000 tons of spodumene concentrate per year, which is 65 percent of its production, said the CEO of the American company Automotive News Canada.

Sayona also said it is forming plans to process lithium concentrate destined for integration into EV batteries.

Leave room for Lion

In other Quebec EV news, Montreal-based electric bus and truck maker Lion Electric (TSE:LEV) is planning a $50 million stock offering aimed at expanding its factories.

The company plans to raise approximately $47 million from the offering⁠ after the underwriters claimed a $3.25 million fee. Canadian and US underwriters National Bank Financial and B. Riley Securities are offering 19.7 million shares at $2.54 each.

The company plans to use the funds to expand factories in Joliet, Illinois and Mirabel, Que. Lion Electric first opened its Mirabel factory a year ago; The province and the Canadian government invested $100 million in the project. The Joliet site was first announced in May 2021.

Lion Electric has raised $222.4 at $10 per share in four funding rounds since its IPO in May 2021.

The company’s shares are down 79 percent year-to-date, trading at $2.62 per share as of 11:00 a.m. ET on December 19.