Sayona raising $50 million for Quebec lithium projects

Sayona Mining (ASX: STA; OTC: SYAXF) is raising $50 million (A$54.9 million) which will be used to advance its lithium projects in Quebec. The company will issue approximately 174.5 flow-through shares at a price of roughly $0.287 per share, representing a 41% premium over the 10-day value weighted average Sayona price.

The proceeds of the offering will be used to advance exploration efforts, while the company is restarting its North American Lithium (NAL) operation near Rouyn-Noranda, Que. Also in the province, Sayona has active lithium exploration projects that include Authier, Tansim, Moblan, and Lac Albert. Sayona Quebec operates the Canadian projects. Sayona is planning what it considers to be North America’s leading hard rock lithium hub.

Sayona’s managing director, Brett Lynch said, “Sayona has made significant progress in developing the leading hard rock lithium resource base in North America, with the pending restart of production at NAL set to mark our progression from explorer to producer.”

Last year, the company delivered a positive prefeasibility study and raised $173 million for the restart of the NAL project. Ore from the Authier project will also be processed at NAL. With the restart, Sayona will signal the start of revenue generation. The company also says production will support the Quebec government’s goal of a clean energy future based on the development of its own integrated battery industry. The first spodumene concentrate is to be produced in this quarter.

Update: On March 8, Sayona announced that the first spodumene concentrate was produced at NAL. Commissioning is proceeding on schedule and within budget.

Proven and probable reserves for the NAL project total 29.2 million tonnes grading 0.96% lithium oxide (LiO₂) and containing 280,300 tonnes LiO₂. The measured and indicated open pit resources are 54.3 million tonnes at 1.01% LiO₂, plus a measured and indicated underground resource of 19.4 million tonnes at 1.18% LiO₂. These numbers comply with Australia’s JORC guidelines, which are equivalent to NI 43-101 rules in Canada.

See the company’s corporate presentation at https://SayonaMining.com.au.