The company has completed site preparation in spring and this month started on-site work as part of a 30-month construction and commissioning timeline to deliver the project by the end of 2023.

“This first milestone kickstarts the construction of the Matawinie mine, as we strive to build the high-quality, ethical and sustainable project that can cater to the growing electric vehicle and energy storage markets,” president and CEO Eric Desaulniers said.

“We have spent the past months refining our execution plan to carry out engineering, procurement and construction activities safely and with a focus on cost and timeline efficiency. I am confident in the expertise of the technical team that we have assembled, coupled with the support of tier-one service providers such as Metso Outotec, L. Fournier & Fils and many local contractors, to deliver on our commitments of safety, responsible practices and excellence.”

Specialised mining contractor L. Fournier & Fils has been hired to build the nearly 8-km-long access road connecting the Matawinie mine project to the local highway. Construction of the access road is scheduled to be completed in September to facilitate subsequent civil works and on-site activities.

Metso Outotec, a global service provider specialising in sustainable minerals processing technologies and end-to-end solutions, has been retained to supply key mineral processing equipment required for the Matawinie concentrator plant.