Name of the Project
Rose lithium/tantalum project.
Location
Eeyou-Istchee – James Bay, in Quebec, Canada.
Project Owner/s
Critical Elements Lithium Corporation.
Project Description
The Rose project will produce technical-grade spodumene concentrate for the glass and ceramics industry, and chemical-grade spodumene concentrate for conversion for use in batteries for e-mobility.
The project will also include the production of a tantalite concentrate.
Envisaged is a standard truck-and-shovel openpit mining operation using conventional lithium processing technologies.
The mine will excavate 26.3-million tonnes of ore grading an average of 0.87% lithium oxide and 138 parts per million of tantalum pentoxide after dilution.
The mill will process 1.61-million tonnes of ore a year to produce an average of 224 686 t/y of technical- and chemical-grade spodumene concentrates and 441 t of tantalite concentrate.
The ore is contained in several parallel and continuous, shallow-dipping pegmatite dykes outcropping on surface.
The ore zones are open at depth and a future underground operation is possible.
Over the 17-year life-of-mine, the openpit will excavate 182.4-million tonnes of waste rock and 10.9-million tonnes of overburden.
The average strip ratio is 7.3 t of waste per tonne of ore.
Contract mining will be used for the removal of the overburden, while Critical Elements will undertake the mining of all hard-rock material using its equipment fleet and operators.
A standard froth flotation process will be used to produce technical- and chemical-grade lithium concentrates and a tantalum concentrate.
The mineral process plant will comprise beneficiation and dewatering areas.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, an 8% discount rate, $3.36-billion and an internal rate of return of 125%, with a payback of one year.
Capital Expenditure
$357-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.
Latest Developments
None stated.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
Critical Elements Lithium Corporation director of investor relations and corporate development Patrick Lapperière, tel +1 514 817 1119 or email plaperriere@cecorp.ca.