LITHIUM: Nemaska adjusts Whabouchi, Shawinigan budgets upwards

[caption id="attachment_1003726991" align="aligncenter" width="531"] Surface facilities at the Whabouchi property 300 km northwest of Chibougamau in the James Bay region of Quebec. (Image: Nemaska Lithium)[/caption] QUEBEC – Nemaska Lithium has been forced to revise the budget for the Whabouchi lithium mine and Shawinigan electrochemical plant upward by $375 million according to a cost-to-completion reassessment. Construction and purchasing at both sites is on schedule for the undertaking. Nemaska arranged a $1.1 billion financing for the lithium project in May 2018. To the end of 2018, the company had already spent $138.4 million toward the Whabouchi mine and mill plus another $67.3 million for the plant in Shawinigan. The additional funding is largely related to installation and indirect costs, said the company. Direct purchase package costs – mainly equipment – are in line with the original budget. Nemaska president and CEO Guy Bourassa said, “The revised overall project cost reflects a more precise outlook on installation costs and other key variables to the completion of our project. “Our objective remains to close the required financing on time to stay on target to complete mine construction in October 2019, in order to make the first shipment of spodumene concentrate in December 2019, followed by the start-up of the Shawinigan facility the year after.” A number of job opportunities are listed on the company’s website at www.NemaskaLithium.com.