Nemaska Lithium has been given the option to purchase 500000 square meters of land in the Becancour Industrial Park in Quebec. The company plans to build a chemical conversion facility to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The feed will come from the Whabouchi spodumene mine in the James Bay area.
There are several reasons for choosing a Becancour site, the main of which is access to deep-water ports throughout the year. This is an undeveloped site, so new facilities can be designed and built without problems associated with existing buildings. Finally, the site is located outside the urban environment.
The patented lithium hydroxide technology was developed at the company's phase I plant in Shawinigan, Quebec.
The Whabouchi mine is 30km from the Cree community of Nemaska and 350km north of Chibougamau, Quebec. An open-pit mine and concentrator are under development for 24 years at a mining rate of 2830 tons per day. This will be followed by nine years of underground mining at a rate of 3665 tons per day.
