JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Phase 1 plant and site preparation of TSX-listed project developer Nemaska Lithium’s Whabouchi mine, in Quebec, Canada, is advancing on time and within budget.

Nemaska, which has signed a five-year natural gas contract, noted on Thursday that electrical lines had been installed at the Phase 1 plant facility, with construction modifications to the interior of the Phase 1 plant building nearing completion, as the company expected to receive plant equipment soon.

The company noted that all the major equipment items had been ordered from suppliers and that certain items had already been received. The electrolysis cells were expected to be received by month-end, with commissioning to start in November and December.

Further, the company expects to install and start operating a dense media separation (DMS) modular mill once it receives authorisation to do so. The mill, which is in transit to the mine site, is expected to start processing a 60 000 t bulk sample by November.

The DMS modular mill is designed to produce a 6% lithium-oxide DMS concentrate. This concentrate will be shipped to Shawinigan, Quebec, where it will be processed into battery-grade lithium hydroxide for customer evaluation and qualification.

Meanwhile, Nemaska has also started site preparation at the mine, including the construction of year-round commercial access roads on the mine site; clear-cutting, excavation and blasting/levelling of the commercial concentrator area; and other areas of the mine site. In addition, one mine building is under construction with a target for enclosures to be completed before winter sets in later this quarter.

Nemaska CEO and president Guy Bourassa said he was pleased with the work happening at both sites. "We are working to tight timelines and budgets and the team has risen to the challenge and is consistently delivering results," he said.

CUSTOMER DISTRIBUTION
Nemaska expects to start distributing initial shipments of battery-grade lithium hydroxide from the Phase 1 plant to Johnson Matthey Battery Materials (JMBM) in the first quarter of 2017, under a tolling agreement.

The company aims to ship battery-grade lithium hydroxide commercial representative samples to JMBM and other potential customers by the second quarter of 2017, enabling customers to qualify Nemaska's hydroxide products while the corporation builds its commercial mine and hydromet plant.

Having recently returned from Japan on business, Bourassa commented that he had had the opportunity to meet with several end-users who expressed an interest in new lithium suppliers.

“Indeed, supply of high-quality lithium salts is very tight at the moment. Without exception, every customer requested samples from the Phase 1 plant in order to start qualifying our product," said Bourassa.

Nemaska intends to become a lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate supplier to the emerging lithium battery market, which is largely driven by electric vehicles, cell phones, tablets and other consumer products.