LITHIUM: Nemaska finalizes 5-year supply deal with Northvolt

QUEBEC CITY – Nemaska Lithium has finalized a five-year deal with Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker. The agreement calls for Nemaska to supply battery grade lithium hydroxide to Northvolt at a rate between 3,500 and 5,000 t/y on a take-or-pay basis.

The arrangement begins as soon as Nemaska’s electrochemical plant in Shawinigan, Que., is commercialized and Northvolt builds its plant in Skellefteå, Sweden.

Nemaska already has offtake agreements for 90% of its projected output. Although the company is still fielding requests from several other would-be customers, it plans to make its first priority the satisfaction of its existing clients.

Nemaska operates the Whabouchi lithium mine in the James Bay region, 300 km northwest of Chibougamau, Que. The mine has a planned life of 33 years from both underground and open pit mines. The concentrator at the mine site features dense media separation, and will produce 215,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate.

The resource estimate includes measured and indicated material of 37.6 million tonnes at 1.48% lithium oxide that will be recovered from the pit and 245,000 tonnes at 1.60% lithium oxide that is amenable to underground mining. There is also inferred resources of both types.

The 2017 feasibility study is posted at www.NemaskaLithium.com.