Volatile global lithium prices has forced Green Technology Metals to tweak its mine development plans for its Root Project, northeast of Sioux Lookout.
The Australian company recently released a new mineral resource estimate and an updated preliminary economic assessment for Root, one of its two lithium plays in the region.
In examining various mine development scenarios, the company said the PEA shows “favourable economics” for Root by using a combination of open-pit and underground mining methods.
The new estimate for Root shows the resource has increased by 38 per cent to 20.1 million tonnes at 1.24 per cent lithium oxide. The estimate comes from two deposits on the 23,000-hectare property.
Green Tech imagines Root as a 213,000-tonne-per-year producer of lithium-enriched spodumene rock.
In a news release, managing director Cameron Henry commented Root can be a “technically and economically robust standalone operation.”
Root is projected to have a 10-year mine life. An investor presentation released in March projects first mine production for Root to start in 2029.
The up-front capital costs to build the mine are reduced to $438.5 million, which helps the project economics.
Green Tech aims to become Ontario’s first lithium mine operator and processor. The company has two lithium projects, dubbed Root and Seymour, the latter near Armstrong. The two projects contain a combined 30,000 tonnes of lithium.
Seymour is the more advanced of the two projects and has attracted Ottawa’s attention with $100 million in federal funding available for its development once the due diligence phase is complete.
Both projects will feed a proposed lithium refinery in Thunder Bay with the intention of supplying the domestic electric vehicle battery market.
Through international partnerships with EcoPro Innovation and LG Energy Solution, two major South Korean companies, Green Tech wants to establish an integrated mining and processing operation in northwestern Ontario. Green Tech has selected a property on Thunder Bay’s waterfront to establish the refinery.
“The economic advantages of executing a project in Ontario are obvious and compelling, driven by outstanding infrastructure, government incentives and proximity to the North American EV supply chain,” said Henry. “We remain committed to advancing our Root Lithium Project to realize our overall strategy in Ontario.”
The next moves, the company said, are to advance permitting and Indigenous consultation as it moves Root to a more detailed pre-feasibility study stage.
There has been a steep decline in lithium prices over the last two years due to a global oversupply of the battery metal that’s shuttered some mines and put lithium exploration companies in cash conservation mode. But analysts are expecting a rebound in prices and world demand to pick up again in 2025.
The strategy to finance Root is still in the early stages, the company said. More details will come out when a feasibility study is tabled sometime next year.
Green Tech said discussions are being held with “multiple groups” to come aboard as strategic partners. There are also sources of financing available through bank lending options, off-take agreements with customers and government funding programs available through the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund, Export Development Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
