QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Feb. 8, 2017) - Nemaska Lithium Inc. ("Nemaska Lithium" or the "Corporation") (TSX:NMX)(OTCQX:NMKEF) announced today that it has successfully commissioned the electrolysis cell of its Phase 1 plant in Shawinigan. Nemaska Lithium continues to make significant progress on construction and commissioning of the Phase 1 Plant. Below are the steps that have been completed to date as well as upcoming steps:
Step 1 - Pressure Testing and Electrical Systems Start-up
The auxiliary systems, piping, holding tanks, etc. have all been pressure-tested using compressed air and water. Systems have performed as expected. Electrical systems have been commissioned.
Step 2 - Membrane Electrolysis Start-Up
The Corporation has begun feeding the electrolysis cell with synthetic lithium sulphate in a closed loop system. The electrolysis cell is successfully converting lithium sulfate solution into lithium hydroxide solution on a continuous basis.
Step 3 - Phase 1 Plant Ramp-up
The next step is to produce lithium hydroxide from lithium sulphate solution provided by a client. This will test the impurity removal systems and the electrolysis cells' handling of this material, as well as the crystallization process.
Step 4 - Lithium Hydroxide Samples to a customer
Initial samples of lithium hydroxide are expected to be sent to a customer in Q1 2017 for quality control purposes and evaluation.
Step 5 - Lithium Hydroxide from Whabouchi Concentrate
The Corporation intends to start processing spodumene concentrate from the Whabouchi Mine into lithium hydroxide samples in Q2 2017 after the commissioning of the calcination and roasting section of the process. These samples will be sent to numerous potential customers globally.
"The successful commissioning of the electrolysis cell clearly demonstrates the core patented technology that we developed to produce lithium hydroxide using commercial scale equipment," said Guy Bourassa, President and CEO of Nemaska Lithium. "We are using a synthetic lithium sulphate solution to begin the commissioning as we believe it is the best way to start the system. As we log hours on the electrolysis cell we will expand the commissioning to include the other sections of the Hydromet plant, including our patented impurity removals systems. This step will use commercial lithium sulphate solution and should demonstrate the system's ability to produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate from a less pristine material."
For an up-close look at the progress being made at the Whabouchi Lithium Mine and Shawinigan Phase 1 Plant, join Guy Bourassa, President and CEO, as he gives you a tour of the facilities under construction and discusses the Corporation's milestones for 2017. https://vimeo.com/202417527
About Nemaska Lithium
Nemaska Lithium intends to become a lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate supplier to the emerging lithium battery market that is largely driven by electric vehicles, cell phones, tablets and other consumer products. The Corporation is developing in Quebec one of the most important spodumene lithium hard rock deposit in the world, both in volume and grade. The spodumene concentrate produced at Nemaska Lithium's Whabouchi mine will be shipped to the Corporation's lithium compounds processing plant to be built in Shawinigan, Quebec. This plant will transform spodumene concentrate into high purity lithium hydroxide and carbonate using the proprietary methods developed by the Corporation, and for which the Corporation holds four granted patents and several patent applications that are pending in different countries, covering different aspects and improvements of its proprietary technology for preparing high purity lithium hydroxide and carbonate.
