Snow Lake Resources Ltd. has just revealed plans to establish the world’s first all-electric lithium mine on a 55,000 acre lot in Manitoba, Canada. According to Snow Lake Lithium, the company can utilize Manitoba’s hydroelectricity to run the entire mining operation on 98 per cent renewable energy. This marks a pivotal step towards the sustainable mining of EV battery materials in North America, which has been an on-going challenge for the segment.
Now, as Snow Lake Lithium looks to begin mining, it is reportedly seeking an OEM to “enter in a joint venture to help process the lithium into EV batteries for North America.” This partnership would help Snow Lake Lithium process the raw material into lithium hydroxide suitable for EV batteries. The land on which the mine will be constructed was acquired in 2016 by an Australian exploration company called Nova Minerals Ltd., which is a majority shareholder to Snow Lake Lithium.
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Over the past year, Snow Lake Lithium has been fast at work consolidating and prepping the land, and has effectively doubled the size of the property by staking and filing claims with the Manitoba Mineral Resources Division. As production demands continue to grow, Snow Lake’s all-electric lithium mine will become an integral resource for automaker’s hoping to source EV materials domestically and cleanly, and streamline supply chains.
Snow Lake Lithium reportedly began its initial assessment last month, but it will take 18 to 24 months for environmental work such as permitting to be complete before lithium mining can actually begin in North America.
