PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Restart activities at the North American Lithium (NAL) operation, in Quebec, are gathering steam, with ASX-listed Sayona Mining nearing completion with both its procurement and permitting processes.
“NAL is progressing rapidly towards next year’s restart, and our recent move to expand NAL’s potential resource and mine production capacity will only further enhance its long‐term productivity,” said Sayona MD Brett Lynch.
“With lithium demand continuing to increase and supply remaining constrained, we are focused on achieving our targets as we build the largest lithium resource base in North America.”
Production at NAL is on track to restart in the first quarter of next year, and construction activities are continuing to ramp up, with all installation packages awarded. At the end of October, the company had committed C$46.1-million in funding towards the restart operations.
An earlier prefeasibility study estimated that the 1.5-million-tonne-a-year NAL operation could deliver 4.4-million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over a mine life of 27 years.
Sayona is targeting an expansion of NAL’s future mine production capacity following the recent acquisition of 48 new claims spanning nearly 2 000 ha, located adjacent to the NAL operation.