TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Canada Lithium Corp (CLQ) on Monday posted an updated feasibility study for its Quebec lithium project, showing that while planned annual production remained static at 20 000 t/y of lithium carbonate, operating costs had shot up by around 20%.

The company in March said it had made a mistake in calculating the project’s resources, and in May reported measured and indicated resources were about one-third smaller than previously thought.

The rise in operating costs to $3 164/t of lithium carbonate compared with the previous $2 600/t estimate was because of higher stripping ratios and increased dilution and ore loss factors, Toronto-based CLQ said in a statement, adding that the mine remained viable.

The reserves grades slipped to 0.85% lithium carbonate, compared with the previous 1.17%.

As a result, the Quebec project’s net present value got slashed from $270-million to $190-million.

Construction costs remain unchanged at $202-million, while the life-of-mine rose slightly to 14.9 years.

CLQ aims to start building the project by the third quarter, reaching first production by the start of 2013, and building up to full capacity the same year, subject to financing and final permitting, it said.

This is roughly the same schedule it had previously disclosed for the Quebec project, located near Val d'Or.

“Over the next two weeks, the company will finalise design specifications and place orders for key long-lead equipment such as ball mills, crushers, high-voltage infrastructure and the processing kiln,” CLQ said.

The company has shed about 50% of its market value since it announced its mistake in calculating the project’s resources in March, and closed 5% down on Friday afternoon at C$0.70 a share.
 

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