Battery and Base Metals Development and Exploration
Regaining confidence
The supercharged demand has cooled. While the buzz around battery metals and the energy transition remains, that sector saw more price crunches than positive news in 2023. Two years after the International Energy Agency cautioned that increasing demand for lithium, nickel, and cobalt could "jeopardize a decades-long trend of declining costs for clean energy," their prices have dropped by 82%, 64%, and 65%, respectively. The drop in meters drilled and exploration activity worldwide did not spare lithium juniors in Québec’s James Bay, and the province’s developers and explorers will hope for more incentives, such as those seen in the graphite space, to navigate the tumultuous markets ahead.
How could market setbacks affect Québec’s chances in the worldwide EV race? For one, the market downturn in “white oil” is forcing developers to reconsider production timelines to make sure of their operations’ profitability once up and running. Companies will likely seek to preserve cash, as these cannot stop production without risking their cash flow, prompting them to consider options like high-grading or cutting expenses.
Securing lithium feed
James Bay’s potential to become a global white lithium hub able to rival the likes of South America’s lithium triangle will require producers to come online sooner rather than later. Nemaska Lithium’s mine, one of the largest high-purity deposits in North America, is scheduled for commissioning in 2025. Born in January 2024 out of the merger of Allkem and Livent, Arcadium Lithium (which owns 50% of Nemaska) will leverage its spodumene expertise gained at Mt. Cattlin to put online the Galaxy project located within 100 km of the Nemaska spodumene operation at Whabouchi. Later down the line, another ASX-listed firm, Patriot Battery Metals, will be looking to commission its Corvette project before 2028.
While the “Vallée de la Transition Energétique” is well underway in the South, with factories and plants cropping up in Shawinigan, Trois-Rivières, and Bécancour, investing in the future feed from Northern Québec is what is mostly needed for those plants not to be starved (or having to rely on Chinese products). Beyond support for building battery cells and cathode capacity, Arcadium’s chief strategy officer and general manager of Canada, Sarah Maryssael, explained that the upstream will require significantly more attention for Québec to execute its ambitions: “Bringing mines and converter facilities online takes significantly longer than building battery factories, and increased focus and support should now be given to the upstream part of the supply chain so that we have materials to feed to the downstream part of the supply chain.”
Thankfully, Québec institutions have stepped up to counter the effects of the market downturn, further reminding the industry of what makes La Belle Province’s ecosystem unique: both Arcadium and Nemaska received governmental support, with the latter seeing a C$250 million investment from Investissement Québec in its share capital.
Dotted around these upcoming producers, a plethora of juniors are in the discovery race to become the next Corvette or Adina in spodumene-rich Québec. These players are inspired by a similar geological profile as seen in Western Pilbara, which became the most prolific jurisdiction for lithium mining. Pilgangoora, Greenbushes, and Wodgina are hosted within big pegmatite swarms in a Greenstone belt, and looking at the James Bay region, in certain circumstances, similar characteristics emerge. Projects like Corvette, for instance, are dominated by spodumene and large crystal structures, important characteristics for a successful hard rock lithium mine. Having delivered a maiden inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 10 million t of lithium at 1.4% oxide, Cygnus is another ASX-listed newcomer in James Bay. Its CEO, David Southam, explained the unique opportunity that Québec represents: “There are geological similarities with Western Australia where spodumene was discovered in the same rocks 60 years before spodumene was discovered in James Bay.”
Having launched one of the largest lithium-focused exploration initiatives in the world, Brunswick Exploration made a substantial discovery at Mirage. The junior notably extended the length of the spodumene-bearing pegmatite boulder field and announced a drill campaign in the latter parts of 2024, with confidence in the project’s potential for a hard-rock lithium deposit. Brunswick CEO Killian Charles commented: “This is a generational opportunity to redefine Québec’s position in the world. It is possible to envision opening a textbook and seeing that lithium comes from Québec.”
“Québec stands ready to meet the increasing demand for essential minerals, including titanium dioxide and vanadium. These minerals serve as fundamental components in renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and advanced technologies, thereby supporting the objectives of the green transition.”
Tim Fernback, CEO, Temas Resources
Defense gets involved in graphite
Uniquely, the US and Canada have teamed up to address the ‘dragon in the room’. In May 2024, Lomiko Metals secured a US$8.35 million grant from the United States Department of Defense (DoD) through a Technology Investment Agreement, along with C$4.9 million in funding from Natural Resources Canada, to advance studies at the La Loutre natural flake graphite project in Québec. This is indicative of North Americas efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese graphite after Beijing imposed graphite restrictions in December, along with pushing to develop a strong critical mineral supply chain. With 3 million t of graphite in the measured and indicated category, La Loutre is the seventh-largest deposit in the world. Lomiko COO Gordana Slepcev shared: “I believe we will continue to see government funding being awarded to critical mineral mining and downstream projects in North America.”
Down the line, global conglomerates are piling up to secure a portion of Québec’s future graphite feed. In 2024, Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) announced key offtake agreements with Panasonic and GM, covering 85% of production, allowing the company to finalize engineering plans for the refining plant. Québec’s importance in graphite production will only strenghten, according to NMG’s CEO Eric Desaulniers: “The current focus on onshoring and the increasing demand for graphite in North America enhance Québec's standing in the graphite market.”
“While there are only a few significant graphite projects in North America, they are insufficient to meet the growing electric vehicle battery production demand. The rapid expansion of battery manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe underscores the urgent need for a local, sustainable graphite source.”
James Cross, CEO, E-Power Resources
Discoveries to meet historical copper demand
The absence of significant copper discoveries in North America in the past decade ought to be worrisome for the success of the green energy transition. The red metal surged to new highs in 2024, trading at over US$5/lb in May, bolstered by renewable energy, electrification, and AI dynamics. In Québec, the most advanced copper developers remain intent on breathing new life into existing camps, while discoveries in recent months also put the spotlight on juniors.
Doré Copper has been revitalizing the Chibougamau camp, a historic mine that had been operated for over 50 years until 2008. In 2022, the firm completed a PEA that outlined a production of over 50 million lb/y of copper equivalent over 10.5 years, with an all-in-sustaining cost of US$2.24/lb and an initial capital cost of C$180 million. Doré CEO Ernst Mast commented: “Having another copper producer is crucial. Currently, Québec has a copper smelter, but very little of its feed originates from within Québec.”
In 2024, Osisko Metals will aim to complete a drill program that will give the firm the resource base needed to complete the PEA by Q1 2025 at Gaspé Copper, the biggest copper resource in the province. Beyond the underlying trend of the green energy transition, restarting Gaspé would also give a significant booth to the local economy. Osisko Metals president and CEO Robert Wares shared: “In the case of Gaspé Copper, if we produce 3.2 billion lb of copper at C$5, it is C$15 billion worth of wealth created into the economy.”
In the absence of production, a price between US$4 and US$5/lb of copper will at least incentivize exploration. The province is currently surfing on a new wave of discoveries; Renforth sampled 2.76% copper on the surface at the Beaupre copper discovery in 2023; SOQUEM discovered Richelieu, a new magmatic nickel-copper system on its Cardinal property, and Abitibi Metals discovered a new target at the B26 deposit, eyeing a PEA in 2025. According to the latter’s CEO, Jon Deluce, the geological potential of the trend suggests Québec will see more such discoveries in the future: “7 km northwest lies the historical Selbaie mine, which produced over 53 million t of polymetallic ore. This site serves as a testament to the vast potential of polymetallic deposits in the area, forming part of a trend that includes B26, Selbaie mine, Beschefer gold project, and recent discoveries by SOQUEM.
Now is the time for Québec institutions, financial players, and miners to scatter investments across the critical mineral mining lifecycle. Major conglomerates remain bullish on Québec’s future critical mineral output: Ford signed an 11-year deal with Nemaska Lithium to secure IRA-compliant supply, while Panasonic and GM put pen to paper on NMG’s graphite. In the coming months, Québec will race against time and markets to further position itself as a critical minerals leader in the decade when North America and Europe hit their straps, with critical mineral demand and EV adoption growing in those jurisdictions.
Article header image courtesy of Brunswick Exploration