Nemaska Lithium Preps Whabouchi Mine Site for 60,000 t Bulk Sample and Modular Mill Installation

Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX:NMX,OTCQX:NMKEF) has provided an update on the bulk sample and modular mill installation at the Whabouchi mine located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, Quebec, Canada. Nemaska Lithium has applied for a Certificate of Authorization to install and operate a new self-contained dense media separation (DMS) modular mill. The modular mill has a processing capacity of 10 t/hour. The Corporation has also decided to increase the mine representative bulk sample from 29,000 t to 60,000 t. This bulk sample will be milled to obtain a 6% Li2O concentrate that will be further processed into lithium hydroxide at Nemaska Lithium’s Phase 1 Plant which is under construction in Shawinigan, Quebec. With the General Certificate of Authorization for the Whabouchi Mine site already in hand, Nemaska Lithium is not anticipating any issues with the ongoing further permitting and has given a mandate for site preparation and installation of the modular mill to Met-Chem Canada, member of the DRA Group. The Corporation is anticipating installation and commissioning of the DMS modular mill to be completed by the end of October 2016 with the mill producing a DMS concentrate over the next 12 to 18 months following the commissioning phase. Part of the DMS material will be further processed through flotation before being shipped to the Phase 1 plant in Shawinigan, Quebec.
“The modular mill is a critical component of our Phase 1 Plant project as it will produce the necessary concentrate that will be further processed into lithium hydroxide samples for customers that are seeking to qualify our products,” said Guy Bourassa, President and CEO of Nemaska Lithium. “With the recent addition of Mr. Francois Godin as VP Operations, I am very confident that this project is in good hands and we will be on track to start shipping mine representative commercial samples of lithium hydroxide to customers including Johnson Matthey Battery Materials by Q1 and Q2 2017.” Bourassa continued, “Qualifying ourselves with customers as a new lithium hydroxide supplier is normal course of business in this industry and is the rationale behind building the Phase 1 Plant and operating the DMS modular mill. This strategy will enable us to more rapidly start realizing revenue from the commercial Hydromet plant which is still on target for commissioning in Q2 2018.”
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