PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Lithium miner Sayona Mining has received first cash proceeds from is North American Lithium (NAL) operation, in Quebec, following the first shipment of spodumene concentrate.

Some 20 500 t of spodumene concentrate was sold via a major trading company and an initial 90% of the cash payment has been received, with the balance of the payment due once final disport assays and weights were made available on the arrival of the export vessel to its destination.

“We are delighted to secure the cash proceeds from NAL’s first sales of spodumene concentrate, marking another major milestone for North America’s leading source of hard rock lithium production,” interim CEO James Brown said on Wednesday.

“We are focused on continuing to safely ramp up production at NAL and consistently delivering high quality spodumene concentrate to port ahead of multiple shipments planned for the remainder of the year, delivering increasing cash proceeds to NAL for the benefit of the joint venture (JV). It is also pleasing to see our partner at NAL in readiness to take their first shipment under our offtake agreement.”

Sayona said on Wednesday that the company’s current port inventory is around 30 000 t of spodumene concentrate, sufficient to supply offtake partner Piedmont Lithium with its maiden cargo of around 15 000 t, due to be loaded in September.

The current port inventory, along with the positive additional product volume from mine production, will be sufficient for an upcoming cargo for the NAL JV in late September and October, Sayona said.

“Sayona has an exciting outlook as we work to maximise value and cashflows from the NAL operation, while seeking to expand our lithium resource base, including at the Moblan lithium project, as per our commitment to delivering value for all shareholders,” Brown added.

Sayona is targeting total NAL spodumene concentrate production of between 85 000 t and 115 000 t during the first half of the 2024 financial year. At full production, the 1.5-million-tonne-a-year NAL operation could deliver 4.4-million tonnes of spodumene concentrate over a mine life of 27 years.