VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Project developer Nemaska Lithium has received the first C$2-million tranche of a C$3-million milestone payment for delivering the first shipment of lithium hydroxide to offtake partner Johnson Matthey Battery Materials (JMBM), the company said Friday.

Quebec City-based Nemaska now expects to receive the final C$1-million payment by JMBM once Nemaska delivers a second shipment of lithium hydroxide that meets JMBM's final criteria.

Nemaska expects to send the final samples once the lithium hydroxide solution is processed through the crystalliser, which has been received at the Phase 1 plant and is being commissioned.

"JMBM's encouraging reaction to this first shipment of lithium hydroxide is a clear stamp of approval from a leading cathode material manufacturer for the lithium ion-battery market. I am very pleased with the quality of the lithium hydroxide produced to date given the stage of plant commissioning. The crystalliser technology has been used in the lithium sector for years and no issues are anticipated with this equipment,” Nemaska president and CEO Guy Bourassa said in a press release.

"As we have said in the past, securing the long-term supply of lithium salts is an important part of our strategy as we continue to grow our battery materials business and Nemaska Lithium is a key supplier in that strategy,” JMBM MD Neil Collins commented.

"Qualifying our products with customers has always been the purpose of the Phase 1 plant and today we have started to achieve this objective,” Bourassa continued.

Nemaska said it intends to start processing spodumene concentrate, from its cornerstone Whabouchi mine, into lithium hydroxide samples, in the current quarter, after commissioning the calcination and roasting section of the hydromet plant, located in Shawinigan. These samples will be sent to many potential customers globally, the company said.

The state-of-the-art plant will use Nemaska’s patented process to convert the spodumene concentrate into some of the purest lithium hydroxide on the market.

Growing demand for lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles and other mobile technology has driven prices for the niche lithium hydroxide product up from about $6 500/t in 2015, to $17 000/t in March, with spot prices currently trading higher than $20 000/t in China.