Sayona submits bid for North American Lithium

Australia-based lithium developer Sayona Mining has submitted a bid for Quebec-based North American Lithium (NAL), which went into creditor protection in May last year.

Queensland-headquartered Sayona submitted a bid to the court-appointed monitor, Raymond Chabot, before the 21 February deadline, it said. It is not known how many other bids were submitted.

NAL halted production in February 2019 and has been administered by the Quebec Superior Court since May last year. NAL produced 114,000t of lithium concentrate in 2018, well short of nameplate capacity of 180,000t. Potential is also seen for the production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide at the plant if the necessary investment is made.

Sayona, which is developing the hard rock Authier lithium project in Quebec, sees synergies between its project and NAL's lithium mine and concentrate operation at Abitibi near the Val d'Or mining district in Quebec.

A recently revised definitive feasibility study indicates that Authier can produce 114,116 t/yr of lithium concentrate at an average grade of 6pc lithium oxide over a period of 14 years.

Sayona has assembled a team comprising operational, technical, environmental, engineering and financial expertise to combine lithium production at its Authier with NAL's output to improve plant performance and economics. The plan is for two mines to feed one concentrator.

By Angus Macmillan