VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The TSX-listed stock of lithium development company Nemaska Lithium jumped to a new 52-week high of C$2.24 apiece on Monday, after the company confirmed that it had delivered 1.5 t of lithium hydroxide produced from its Wabouchi spodumene mine, in Quebec.
"This is the first time a new entrant to the market has produced battery-grade lithium hydroxide from ore to final product," boasted president and CEO Guy Bourassa in a press release.
According to the Quebec City-based miner, independent laboratory analyses confirm that the lithium hydroxide produced from its Phase 1 plant, in Shawinigan, meets the specifications of cathode manufacturers globally. The lithium hydroxide is ready for delivery and was shipped on Monday to a cathode manufacturer in Quebec.
The company continues to produce lithium hydroxide from Whabouchi mine concentrate and further deliveries of lithium hydroxide will take place on a regular basis over the next months for customers globally to begin qualifying Nemaska Lithium's products.
The lithium hydroxide was derived from a 6.3% lithium oxide spodumene concentrate that was produced from a 1 100 t bulk sample taken from the Whabouchi mine earlier this year.
"We are very pleased with the purity level of the lithium hydroxide produced to date and have verified that our product is at least of the same quality as lithium hydroxide currently sold to cathode manufacturers around the world. This is a major step forward for Nemaska as it confirms the quality of its product, as well as the robustness of its electrochemical process,” Bourassa added.