Piedmont Lithium Inc. announced the successful production of initial spodumene concentrate (SC6) at its jointly-owned North American Lithium (NAL) project as plans to fully restart the Quebec operation progresses.
Around 70 metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate were produced as part of the commissioning, with the first shipment of marketable product planned for Q3 2023.
Piedmont Lithium Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Brindle praised the progress towards full-scale production.
“This initial production from NAL underscores the diligence and dedication of the management team to restart the mine and concentrator both on time and on budget. NAL is the most advanced lithium project in terms of development in the U.S. and Canada, and we expect the operation to provide the only major source of new SC6 production in North America in the near term,” Brindle said.
NAL is one of the projects of Sayona Quebec, a joint venture between Piedmont and Sayona Mining Limited. In addition to Piedmont’s economic participation in the joint venture, the Company has an offtake agreement with Sayona Quebec to purchase more than 113,000 metric tonnes per year or 50% of the joint venture’s SC6 production.
Piedmont has further agreements with LG Chem and Tesla to provide spodumene concentrate from NAL commencing in H2 2023. Sayona Mining has stated a goal of four shipments from NAL, totalling 85,000 to 115,000 metric tonnes by the end of 2023.
