MD Update - Quebec Prepares for Post-Pandemic Future
Brisbane, April 16, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium miner Sayona Mining Limited (
ASX:SYA) (DML:FRA) (DMNXF:OTCMKTS) has welcomed Quebec's plans for a post-pandemic future and its support for the battery minerals sector as another vote of confidence in the Canadian province's lithium industry.
Highlights
- Quebec mines reopening from 15 April 2020, with strict measures in place to protect against COVID-19 pandemic
- Quebec Premier Franeois Legault maps out plan for province's post-pandemic future to support rapid economic recovery, including support for battery minerals sector
- Diversification of global supply chains provides Quebec's lithium industry with strategic advantage due to proximity to North American battery market.
On 6 April 2020, Quebec Premier Franeois Legault announced plans for the province's rapid economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including a C$100 million (A$112 million) program for training workers. The Quebec Government is working on plans to increase the province's self-sufficiency in areas such as healthcare and food, while also boosting domestic industry including the battery minerals sector.
The Quebec Government recently announced a C$90 million investment in the strategic minerals sector including lithium, as part of its budget for fiscal 2021 (refer ASX announcement 25 March 2020).
The mining industry has also received a boost with the announcement that mines in Quebec can reopen from 15 April 2020, with strict measures in place to protect against contagion from COVID-19. These measures include reducing the number of people on flights into and out of mining areas, using more aircraft to ensure social distancing and ensuring workers have personal protective equipment.
Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch commented: "Ensuring the health and wellbeing of the community is the highest priority and we welcome the Quebec Government's protective measures. The resumption of mining operations is an important step and the Government's support for mining and the battery minerals sector is extremely important in enabling a speedy economic recovery."
He added: "Significantly, analysts have pointed to the increased need for diversification of supply chains following the global pandemic. Quebec is extremely well positioned in this regard, due to its proximity to the North American battery market and its other competitive advantages, including access to world-class infrastructure, skilled labour and economical and sustainable hydroelectric power."
Trends such as automakers localising lithium-ion battery manufacturing to their electric vehicle (EV) assembly plants are expected to accelerate, amid a logistical slowdown caused by the pandemic, according to analysts such as EY. As an example, U.S. automaker General Motors has announced its intention to source lithium and nickel from North America for its new range of EVs.
Meanwhile, as part of its expansion plans in Quebec, Sayona has continued to advance its bid for North American Lithium (NAL) while progressing the approvals for its flagship Authier Lithium Project.
Concerning NAL, Sayona has been asked by the court-appointed monitor (administrator) to allow the Company's bid to remain open for acceptance until 1 May 2020, "or such later date that may be mutually agreed upon in writing with the monitor." Sayona has confirmed its acceptance and looks forward to engaging further with the monitor and other key stakeholders concerning its bid.
Together with a world-class support team, the Company considers it has a unique competitive advantage of being able to combine lithium produced from the nearby Authier project with the lithium produced at NAL, facilitating a significant improvement in plant performance and economics.
Mr Lynch added: "Quebec has managed the COVID-19 pandemic extremely well and its plans for economic recovery should see the province quickly bounce back from the tragic effects of the coronavirus. Sayona looks forward to helping advance the recovery through our planned new investments, which will result in increased jobs and other economic benefits for the province while supporting its clean energy future."
About Sayona Mining Limited
Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is a North American lithium producer with projects in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia. In Quebec, Sayona's assets comprise North American Lithium together with the Authier Lithium Project and its emerging Tansim Lithium Project, supported by a strategic partnership with American lithium developer Piedmont Lithium Inc. (ASX:PLL). Sayona also holds a 60% stake in the Moblan Lithium Project in northern Quebec.
In Western Australia, the Company holds a large tenement portfolio in the Pilbara region
prospective for gold and lithium. Sayona is exploring for Hemi-style gold targets in the world-class Pilbara region, while its lithium projects include Company-owned leases and those subject to a joint venture with Morella Corporation (ASX:1MC).
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