Elevra Lithium has released a pre-feasibility study for the expansion of its North American Lithium mine in Quebec, outlining a plan to nearly double annual spodumene concentrate production while lowering unit operating costs.

The study puts average annual production after the expansion at 373,000 tonnes of 5.4% Li2O spodumene concentrate, compared with 199,000 tonnes in the unexpanded base case. That is also around 10% above the 338,000-tonne estimate contained in Elevra's updated scoping study released in May. The company attributed the increase primarily to higher expected mill feed grades resulting from ore sorting.

The brownfield expansion carries an estimated initial capital expenditure of C$366 million (US$271 million), including C$73 million of contingency. Elevra said that the capital requirement is unchanged from its May estimate and that the project is fully funded through a strategic financing package announced earlier this year.

The PFS estimates an incremental post-tax net present value of C$943 million, using an 8% discount rate, along with a 49.9% post-tax internal rate of return and a 34-month payback period. The entire expanded operation has a post-tax NPV of C$3.22 billion under the study assumptions.

Elevra expects life-of-mine C1 costs of C$876 per tonne of concentrate under the expansion case, falling to C$851 per tonne after the expansion is complete, compared with C$1,048 per tonne in the unexpanded base case. Post-expansion all-in sustaining costs are estimated at C$918 per tonne.

The project will be developed in three stages. Stage 1 is designed to increase production by 15%-20% while remaining within the mine's existing 4,500-tonne-per-day milling permit, with additional production scheduled from mid-2027. Stage 2 would increase milling capacity to 6,500 tonnes per day from mid-2028, while Stage 3 would install a permanent crushing circuit and additional ore-sorting capacity by mid-2029.

The expansion is supported entirely by North American Lithium's existing 47.2 million tonnes of proven and probable ore reserves grading 1.12% Li2O, with no inferred resources included in the production target or economic analysis. The PFS assigns the expanded operation a roughly 20-year mine life.

North American Lithium, located at La Corne in Quebec's Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, restarted concentrate production in 2023 after several previous operating campaigns. The asset is now wholly owned by Elevra following the 2025 merger of Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium, giving the company an operating base from which to expand at a time when North American governments are seeking to develop more domestic critical-mineral supply chains.

The PFS remains subject to the usual development risks, including permitting. Elevra identified permitting as a critical path for the expansion, particularly for later-stage pit development and associated tailings, waste-rock and water-management infrastructure.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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