Mason Graphite is hopeful to obtain the government decree authorizing the launch of the works in the first months of 2018. While in Baie-Comeau last week, the Minister of the Environment, Isabelle Melanon, agreed in the same direction. Photo courtesy
Baie-Comeau - Mason Graphite no longer talks about a $ 166-million construction investment, but a $ 200-million investment for the completion of its Lac Guret project. Yes, inflation costs since 2015 partly explain the rise, but there is more.
In a recent press release, the mining company explains that $ 25 million, originally planned in maintenance investments, is now included in the final construction investment. That leaves a $ 9-million jump due to inflation, as well as the advancement of detailed engineering, pre-work and negotiations with key OEMs, among other things.
Mason Graphite and the Government of Quebec seem to agree on the moment when will be issued the decree allowing the first shovel of the graphite processing plant in the Jean-Nol-Tessier Industrial Park. Indeed, the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Mason Graphite, Luc Veilleux, is now targeting the beginning of the next year.
Speaking to Baie-Comeau last week, the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Isabelle Melanon, said she expected to give the green light to the project during the summer. 'winter.
"This winter, we will probably be able to give an answer," she said after explaining the delays, considered lengthy by some, by the necessary rigor in environmental matters. "There has been no (hearings of) the BAPE, but there is still the rigor to respect," she said when asked on the subject.
Upon obtaining the decree, the start will be fast. Moreover, orders for processing equipment requiring a long delivery time, including grinders, have already been placed with suppliers.
Added value
In addition, Mason Graphite is continuing its work on the second transformation of graphite to be taken from its Lac Guret deposit, located 285 km north of Baie-Comeau, before being processed at its primary processing plant.
In the past year, analyzes for micronization, purification and spheronization (rounding) of the raw material have been successfully completed with the collaboration of the National Research Council of Canada. "We did our analyzes and there, we will do laboratory tests to make sure everything works," says Veilleux.
This phase will make it possible to carry out the detailed engineering of the project and to establish the economic returns on the basis of the indications of supply of the possible customers.
By the second transformation, the mining seeks to produce a graphite powder whose properties would allow its use in the manufacture of anodes lithium-ion batteries.