Canada Lithium Announces Commissioning Under Way at Quebec Lithium Mine and Process Plant
TSX: CLQ; U.S. OTC: CLQMF
TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ – Canada Lithium Corp. (TSX: CLQ)
(U.S. OTC: CLQMF) announced today that commissioning has commenced at
its open-pit mine and processing facility near Val d’Or, Québec. During
the month of November approximately 12,000 tonnes of ore and 380,000
tonnes of waste were mined. The waste material is predominantly used to
construct the Tailings Management Facility. The ore has been crushed
and stockpiled. Mining operations will continue through the Holiday
period.
During December, commissioning of the concentrator has been ongoing. All
major circui ts, comprising crushing, conveying, ore storage, ball and
rod mills and flotation cells were dry-commissioned early in the month
and sequentially wet-commissioned. All major sections of the
hydrometallurgical circuit have been installed and are substantially
completed and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), piping and
electrical installation is now underway in this section of the plant.
The EPCM contractor will demobilise a significant proportion of the
construction workforce on December 21. A small completion crew will
return to site on January 7 to work with the CLQ operations team to
finalise the hydrometallurgical installation and assist with the
commissioning stages of the project.
The company now has 119 employees on-site and this will build up to
approximately 160 personnel over the next few months. At full
production, the project will have approximately 200 full-time
employees. The planned first shipment of lithium carbonate under the
five-year Tewoo off-take agreement is on schedule for end-March 2013.
(See press release dated November 12, 2012, for the Tewoo/Canada
Lithium agreement.) Full production of the 20,000-tonne-per-annum
lithium carbonate processing plant is scheduled for Q4, 2013.
About Canada Lithium Corp.
The Company holds a 100% interest in the Québec Lithium Project near Val
d’Or, the geographical heart of the Québec mining industry.
Construction is nearing completion on an open-pit mine and processing
plant with estimated annual capacity of approximately 20,000 tonnes of
battery-grade lithium carbonate. Commissioning is under way and the
Company anticipates first production of lithium carbonate late in the
first quarter of 2013. A five-year offtake agreement for a minimum of
12,000 tonnes per year up to a maximum 14,400 tonnes was recently
signed with Tewoo-ERDC, one of China’s largest commodities traders.
Lithium carbonate is used in lithium-ion batteries that power consumer
electronics (laptops, tablets, etc.) power-grid storage facilities and
electric and hybrid vehicles. The Company trades under the symbol CLQ
on the TSX and on the U.S. OTCQX under the symbol CLQMF.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the
meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information
is based upon the Company’s beliefs, estimates and opinions as at the
date of this press release, which the Company believes are reasonable,
but no assurance can be given that these will prove to be correct.
Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
forward-looking information contained herein if these beliefs,
estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as
otherwise required by applicable law.
Forward-looking information relates to future events or to future
conditions, performance or results of operations and reflects current
expectations or beliefs regarding such matters including, but not
limited to, information or statements with respect to: (i) the amount
of mineral resources; (ii) exploration, development and production
activities, including information regarding the potential
mineralization and resources; (iii) the amount of future output over
any period; (iv) net present value and internal rates of return of the
mining operation; (v) assumptions relating to capital costs, operating
costs and other cost metrics; (vi) assumptions relating to gross
revenues, operating cash flow and other revenue metrics; (vii)
assumptions relating to future price and demand for lithium and other
macroeconomic metrics; (viii) exploration and development plans,
including anticipated costs and timing thereof, time frames for
completion, and anticipated time to production; (ix) mine potential and
expected mine life; and * sources of and anticipated financing
requirements.
All information other than matters of historical fact may be
forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information
can be identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “expect”,
“anticipate”, “budget”, “plan”, “project”, “estimate”, “assume”,
“continue”, “forecast”, “intend”, “believe”, “predict”, “potential”,
“target”, “strategy”, “goal”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, or
“will” and similar words or phrases (including negative variations)
suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.
Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions by the
Company or its consultants and other important factors that, if untrue,
could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from future results, performances or
achievements expressed or implied by such information. Such information
is based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business
strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the
future, including the price of lithium, anticipated costs and ability
to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual
results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those
in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: (i)
required capital investment and estimated workforce requirements; (ii)
estimates of net present value and internal rates of return; (iii)
future demand and market prices for lithium; (iv) receipt of regulatory
approvals on acceptable terms within commonly experienced time frames;
(v) anticipated timelines for the commencement of production; (vi)
anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of
those consultations on the regulatory approval process; and (vii)
future exploration plans and objectives.
By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results,
performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.
Some of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking
information contained in this press release include, but are not
limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to: (i) the interpretation
of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits
and conclusions of economic evaluations; (ii) results of feasibility
studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or
mining results will not be consistent with the Company’s expectations,
(iii) the outcome of litigation in which the Company is or may in the
future become involved; (iv) risks relating to possible variations in
reserves, grade, planned mining dilution and ore loss, or recovery
rates and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be
refined; (v) mining and development risks, including risks related to
accidents, equipment breakdowns, labor disputes (including work
stoppages and strikes) or other unanticipated difficulties with or
interruptions in exploration and development; (vi) risks related to the
inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential
for unexpected costs and expenses; (vii) risks related to future
commodity demand and price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations;
(viii) the uncertainty of profitability based upon the cyclical nature
of the industry in which the Company operates; (ix) risks related to
failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on
acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in
the completion of development or construction activities; * risks
related to environmental regulation and liability; (xi) political and
regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; (xii) risks
related to the uncertain global economic environment; and (xiii) other
risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s prospects, properties
and business strategy. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from those described in the forward-looking information,
readers are cautioned that this list is not exhaustive and there may be
other factors that the Company has not identified. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information
contained in this press release. All forward-looking information
contained in this press release or incorporated by reference herein is
expressly qualified by this cautionary note.
SOURCE CANADA LITHIUM CORP.
