TORONTO – Under the name PAK Lithium Project, a new mine will be located at Pakeagama Lake, which is about 175 km north of the municipality of Red Lake.
Trevor Walker, president of Frontier Lithium, said the beginning stage of the project is about “laying down the foundation” and bringing capital to the province and Canada’s economy.
According to Walker, Frontier will contribute all assets related to the project in exchange for a 92.5 per cent interest while Mitsubishi will hold a minority partnership of 7.5 per cent interest.
The Japanese company will obtain $25 million upon completion of the definitive feasibility study for “both the mine and downstream lithium refinery or chemicals plant to produce lithium salts required for batteries,” Walker said.
A clause in the two companies' joint venture partnership allows Mitsubishi to increase their interest to 25 per cent through purchases of additional shares.
As part of their investment, Mitsubishi will work closely with Frontier to secure financing to ensure the project is fully funded for production.
Frontier will develop and operate the mine and processing plant.
Although the development of the mine is in the early stages, Walker said the endeavour to build the mine will cost $1.5 billion and the investment by Mitsubishi goes a long way in achieving that goal.
“We hope to have definitive feasibility for the mine and the mill will be done at the end of this calendar year and the final investment decision for the first part of 2025 with a little bit of luck,” Walker said.
From there, Walker said by 2026 construction of the mine will begin and by 2030 it will be completely operational.
“This is our chance for Northern Ontario to get on the map to mine. I see the added value, creating jobs and expertise for northern communities and northern Indigenous communities bringing us together around a tier one resource to produce the salts required for the electric vehicle transition,” Walker said.
