Mining Intelligence and News
Canada

Authier Project

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Lithium
  • Spodumene
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotSayona’s Authier Lithium Project in Québec, Canada is a hard rock spodumene lithium deposit set to play a key role in the Sayona’s planned multi-project Abitibi lithium hub, as a source of supplementary ore for processing at NAL.

Sayona is undertaking a review of the Authier Lithium Project in order to optimise potential operations and profitability within the context of potentially sourcing additional ore at NAL.

In addition, the Authier Lithium Project is subject to review procedures under the BAPE (Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement) as the Sayona seeks permitting approval to develop and operate a new mine.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Piedmont Lithium Ltd. 25 % Indirect
Sayona Mining Ltd. 75 % Indirect
North American Lithium (NAL) and Authier are part of Sayona Québec, owned 75% by Sayona Mining and 25% by Piedmont Lithium Inc.

On 19 November 2024, Sayona Mining Limited and Piedmont Lithium Inc. announce the signing of a definitive agreement to combine the two companies to create a leading lithium business, resulting in Sayona being the ultimate parent entity (“MergeCo”).

Completion of the Transaction is subject to shareholder approval for both companies and is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2025.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Intrusion related
  • Pegmatite

Summary:

The mineralisation observed at the Authier project in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites is principally lithium with trace amounts of beryllium, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, cesium and rubidium.

Detailed logging of drill core suggests that the main pegmatite at Authier is composed of several internal phases related to intrusive placement and progressive cooling. The outside border of the pegmatite in contact with the host rocks has been identified as a transition zone or border zone. This transition zone is often significantly less mineralised in spodumene and is characterised by a centimetre-scale fine to medium-grained chill margin, followed by a medium to coarse-grained decimetre to metre-scale zone. The transition zone often includes fragments of the host rock and can also be intermixed with the material from the core zone.

The main intrusive phase observed in the pegmatite is described as a core pegmatitic zone characterised by large centimetre-scale spodumene and white feldspar minerals. The core pegmatitic zone shows internally different pegmatitic phases characterised by different spodumene crystal lengths, ranging from coarse-grained (earlier) to fine-grained (later). The contacts between different spodumene-bearing pegmatite phases are transitional and well defined at core logging scale. Higher lithium grades are correlated with higher concentrations of larger spodumene crystals. Late mineral to post-mineral aplite phases cut earlier spodumene-bearing mineralisation, causing local diminishing of lithium grade. The core zone hosts the majority of the spodumene mineralisation at Authier.

The spodumene-bearing pegmatite is principally defined by one single continuous intrusion, or dyke, that contains local rafts or xenoliths of the amphibolitic host rock, which are a few metres thick and up to 200 m in length at shallow levels within the western zone. The main pegmatite outcrops in a small, 50 m by 20 m, area at the central-eastern sector that orients east-west and is mostly covered by up to 10 m of overburden. Based on the information gathered from the drilling, the pegmatite intrusion is more than 1,100 m in length and can be up to 60 m thick. The intrusion is generally oriented east-west, dips to the north at angles ranging between 35° and 50° and reaches depths of up to 270 m below surface in drilling, to date.

A second spodumene-bearing pegmatite, not visible from the surface, was intersected by diamond hole AL-16-10 at shallow levels, between 15 m and 22 m downhole depth, approximately 400 m north of the main pegmatite. Follow-up drilling in early 2017 and 2018 outlined this new body, the Authier North pegmatite, which has a strike extension of 500 m east-west, 7 m average width, gently dipping 15 degrees to the north. The Authier North pegmatite appears at shallow levels, 15 m to 25 m vertical depth, and is open in all directions.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

Combined production numbers are reported under North American Lithium (NAL)

Operational metrics

Metrics
Daily ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Stripping / waste ratio  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Operating Costs

CurrencyAverage
OP mining costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Transportation (haulage) costs $M CAD 223.4
G&A costs $M CAD 21
Total OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Net revenue (LOM) $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 5% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 14, 2023
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....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 13, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 13, 2024

Aerial view:

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