After years fighting against the opening of a mining project with ties to the Pentagon, Louis Saint-Hilaire is breathing a sigh of relief.
That’s because this week, the Quebec government rejected the mining company’s application for public funding, a decision Saint-Hilaire says reflects the will of many of the people who live near the proposed site in the Laurentians region. “It’s a big victory for us, but it’s not a total victory,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
Lomiko Metals Inc., a mining company based in Surrey, B.C., wants to mine graphite — one of the world’s most sought-after minerals — at a site near Duhamel, Que. Initially, residents’ main fear was about the potential harm to the environment.
But in May, the company announced it received a grant of $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defence and another $4.9 million from Natural Resources Canada to study the conversion of graphite into battery-grade material for powering electric vehicles.
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