NAL is set to become the only lithium operation with a concentrator and carbonate plant all on the same site in North America
Australian miner Sayona Mining Limited announced it is moving forward with the restart of a lithium carbonate production plant at its North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Quebec, bringing it closer to becoming a downstream producer of lithium chemicals.
In late June, the company released the results of a preliminary study for the standalone lithium carbonate project, outlining the production of 372,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate from 2.9 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate from the NAL mine over a project life of 16 years. All-in sustaining costs per tonne of lithium carbonate are estimated to be $15,996.
Results from the study showed the project could generate a pre-tax net present value of $2.9 billion at an eight per cent discount rate and a pre-tax internal rate of return of 60 per cent. The study anticipates capital costs of $555 million and assumes an average selling price of $34,113 per tonne of lithium carbonate.
Brett Lynch, Sayona Mining’s managing director, said in a June 21 press release that taking advantage of existing infrastructure and assets will help accelerate NAL’s pathway to lithium carbonate production.
For the rest of this article: https://magazine.cim.org/en/news/2023/sayona-advances-planning-for-quebec-lithium-carbonate-plant-en/