Saskatchewan’s energy minister celebrated the first targeted lithium well drilled in Saskatchewan at a Tuesday event where she said the element is “having a moment” that can help the province diversify its mineral sector.
“I just held a jar of the first lithium carbonate produced here in the province of Saskatchewan out of 400-million-year-old lithium brine water,” Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre told media gathered at a Prairie Lithium facility in Emerald Park, just east of Regina.
The well itself was drilled this fall in southeast Saskatchewan. Lithium is in high demand, including as a component in batteries for electric vehicles. Eyre called it a “future-facing commodity” that is already skyrocketing in price. The government expects demand to grow five-fold.
Prairie Lithium CEO Zach Maurer said the brine his company is using has one of the highest lithium concentrations in the country. Prairie Lithium extracted 99.7 per cent of the lithium from brine in a matter of minutes.
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