Whabouchi
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
The Whabouchi Property is composed of one block totaling 33 claims covering an area
of 1,761.9 ha. Claims are 100%-owned by Nemaska Lithium Inc. The Whabouchi property
is located about 300 km from Chibougamau. The property benefits from being located
close to existing infrastructure: the Route du Nord, a road maintained year-round,
the Nemiscau road-house/camp, located 15 kilometres West of the property that provides
food, housing, and light and heavy machinery maintenance services; the Nemiscau
airport, serviced daily by Air Creebec, is located 18 km West of the property; and
two Hydro-Québec electricity transformation plants are located within 20
km of either side of the property. In addition, the Nemaska property—including
the Whabouchi property—is serviced by a cellular telephone network.
GEOLOGY
The Whabouchi property is located in the North-East part of the Superior geological
province, more precisely in the North-East part of the Lac des Montagnes formation.
The Lac des Montagnes volcano-sedimentary belt is an aluminum-bearing meta-sediments
and amphibolite sequence containing basalts and ultramafic sills. These rocks are
highly sheared and cut by 20% late granitoids (leucogranite and biotite-bearing
pegmatite). The spodumene-bearing pegmatite zone is located in the heart of the
Lac des Montagnes belt. It is hosted in an amphibolized meta-basalt along a NE-SW
direction. Its approximately 1.3 km in length by 130 metres wide, with a depth reaching
at least 300 metres below the surface.
MINERALIZATION
At the Whabouchi deposit, lithium is almost exclusively found in the spodumene.
Spodumene crystals are pale green and can reach a size of 30 cm. The amount of spodumene
found in the Whabouchi deposit is on average 20% by volume. Petalite, which is another
lithium mineral, represents on average less than 2% of the deposit. The deposit
also contains small occurrences of beryllium and rubidium.
MINE DEVELOPMENT
• Continue acquiring permits and environmental approval;
• Complete and publish a final feasibility study;
• Complete hydrometallurgical tests for the production of lithium carbonate
and lithium hydroxide;
• Complete metallurgical pilot plant tests launched in June 2011 in order to
determine the spodumene concentration process and obtain the data required to determine
the process to be used at the lithium carbonate and hydroxide plant.
TECHNICAL REPORT