Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ:PLL) Inc (ASX:PLL, NASDAQ:PLL, XETRA:) partner Sayona Mining has awarded a four‐year contract valued at around C$200 million to Québec company L Fournier & Fils for mining operations as it looks to fast-track the restart of production at its North American Lithium (NAL) JV operation in Canada.
Piedmont, a leading, diversified developer of lithium resources, formed a partnership with Sayona in March 2022, shortly after Sayona completed a resource update for the North American Lithium and Authier projects in Quebec totalling 119.1 million tonnes at 1.05% Li2O.
The company has a 25% project interest in the North American Lithium and Authier projects via an equity stake in Sayona Quebec as well as an equity interest of around 17% in Sayona Mining.
Sayona Mining’s estimate, including 73.7 million tonnes at 1.05% Li2O of measured and indicated resources, was reported in accordance with JORC Code (2012) and NI 43-101 standards.
Sayona’s production restart at NAL would be music to PLL’s ears, with works to start from next month as Sayona targets the restart in the first quarter of 2023.
One of biggest contracts in Quebec’s mining history
The contract between Sayona and L Fournier & Fils is set to deliver significant economic benefits to the region of Abitibi Témiscamingue, including the creation of 120 new jobs, mostly recruited from the region and from the First Nations communities of Pikogan and Lac Simon.
Under the agreement, Fournier takes responsibility for the supervision of all stripping and drilling, blasting, loading and transportation of ore and waste rock, the maintenance of mining roads and all other services related to operations.
Drilling and blasting work will be conducted by another local Québec company, Dynamitage Castonguay.
“We are very happy to have found a partner of the calibre of Fournier & Fils for our mining operations at the North American Lithium site in La Corne,” Sayona Québec CEO Guy Laliberté said.
“We are thrilled that this commercial agreement is not only a win‐win solution for both parties but that it also allows us to work with a local company. This partnership with Fournier, therefore, helps fulfil our promise to ensure that the success of our projects deliver genuine benefits to the local community.”
Sayona’s managing director Brett Lynch said: “We are delighted to further advance NAL towards the recommencement of production in the first quarter of 2023, with the selection of a skilled and experienced mining operator being a crucial step in this process.
“With both demand and pricing for lithium currently at all‐time highs, we are well placed at NAL to become the first supplier of spodumene in North America, paving the way to becoming the region’s leading supplier of lithium carbonate/hydroxide.”
Target (NYSE:TGT) date for production: Q1 2023
When operations begin in October, work will be carried out continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The fleet of equipment mobilised on‐site will include more than 10 trucks with a capacity of 100 tonnes, and two excavators weighing 125 tonnes.
The agreement follows recent progress at NAL towards the restart of production, with permitting and procurement largely completed and construction ramping up, among other achievements.
Of the upcoming work, L Fournier & Fils president and CEO Jérémi Fournier said, “It is with great pride that Fournier & Fils positions itself as a partner of choice for major mining projects in Eastern Canada. Our company's vision, strategy and service offer are once again highlighted through this major operation.
“We thank Sayona for the trust shown in our team, and more particularly for allowing us to occupy a leading position in the battery sector in Québec. It is a partnership that will benefit an entire industry!”