VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Project developer Nemaska Lithium has commissioned the electrolysis cell of its Phase 1 plant, in Shawinigan, Quebec.

The company on Wednesday reported continued progress on construction and commissioning of the Phase 1 Hydromet plant.

"The successful commissioning of the electrolysis cell clearly demonstrates the core patented technology that we developed to produce lithium hydroxide using commercial-scale equipment," stated president and CEO Guy Bourassa.

To date, the auxiliary systems, piping, holding tanks and other plant equipment have all been pressure-tested using compressed air and water, with the systems having performed as expected. Electrical systems have been commissioned.

Nemaska on Wednesday said it had started feeding the electrolysis cell with synthetic lithium sulphate in a closed loop system, with the electrolysis cell successfully converting the lithium sulphate solution into lithium hydroxide solution on a continuous basis.

The next step is to produce lithium hydroxide from lithium sulphate solution provided by a client. This will test the impurity removal systems and the electrolysis cells' handling of this material, as well as the crystallisation process.

This will be followed by initial samples of lithium hydroxide being sent to a customer in the current quarter for quality control purposes and evaluation.

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

"We are using a synthetic lithium sulphate solution to begin the commissioning as we believe it is the best way to start the system. As we log hours on the electrolysis cell, we will expand the commissioning to include the other sections of the Hydromet plant, including our patented impurity removals systems. This step will use commercial lithium sulphate solution and should demonstrate the system's ability to produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate from a less pristine material,” Bourassa said.