Bourassa on the lithium price almost tripling – and Nemaska's advanced plan to meet demand
Channel: InvestorCoffee
Date: 2016-04-19

Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSXV: NMX | OTCQX: NMKEF) intends to become a lithium hydroxide supplier and lithium carbonate supplier to the emerging lithium battery market, a market largely driven by electric vehicles, cell phones, tablets and other consumer products. The spodumene concentrate produced at Nemaska Lithium's Whabouchi mine will be shipped to the Corporation's lithium compounds processing plant to be built in Shawinigan, Quebec.

April 19, 2016 -- InvestorIntel Publisher Tracy Weslosky talks to Guy Bourassa, CEO and President of Nemaska Lithium, Inc. Guy Bourassa has so far secured more than $50 million in financing for the project.

In this interview Bourassa outlines:
◾How lithium consumers underestimated demand, and hence why the price has almost tripled;
◾The competitive advantage of locating in Quebec, not the least being the hydro power available (with Hydro-Quebec having two transformation plants within 20km of the planned mine);
◾How Canada’s drive for green energy brought Federal money for a plant to demonstrate Nemaska’s process to potential clients, and
◾How Nemaska became the first lithium junior to do a $12 million deal with one of the world’s leading specialty chemical companies.

Tracy Weslosky: Guy I’m going to start by congratulating you. You won so many awards recently, fastest moving stock on the OTCQX. You were the number two mining company on the TSX Venture. We had that your stock was up 166% on the OTCQX and I read somewhere that your market capitalization was up over 200% last year. Can you tell us why in these depressed market times last year you fared better and defied gravity?

Guy Bourassa: Well, we were able to achieve this because we were reaching important milestones in the development of the company, mainly getting fully permitted for the Whabouchi Mine, getting Johnson Matthey to sign a MOU with us for a $12 million dollar purchase agreement of material to be produced in the future, support from the Quebec government and obviously we’re involved in lithium so we are one of the very few around the world that are fully permitted presently to start building and producing and entering this train of supply in the next couple of years. When people start realizing − when you compare with less advanced exploration projects − what we have in our portfolio: 100% ownership of the second largest and richest deposit of spodumene in the world, second only to Talison. And I insist on reserves; people brag about resource, potential resource − I’m talking about reserve that’s economically proven, second richest, second largest. We’ve developed our own process of making lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate high purity at the lowest possible cost and the greenest way of making it. So, the more we talk about it the more, I would say, informed investors do look at the story.

Tracy Weslosky: I have so many questions to ask you. Let me just jump in here. I think I read in one of your answers as well the lithium salts required for lithium batteries is one of the reasons why lithium has taken off in the last little while. Is that what you think is the primary catalyst for the demand for lithium, lithium prices?

Guy Bourassa: Yes, of course. There’s an interesting normal growth for all industrial, known traditional applications for the different compounds, but in the past 5-6 years we’ve seen a very big increase in demand from batteries, all type of batteries, rechargeable batteries obviously for EV, hybrids, larger energy storage, obviously comes from a device. That, I think, was not really properly assessed by the actual suppliers and producers so there is currently a shortage of supply. There is not enough lithium − battery grade quality − that is available out there for the fast growing demand. Obviously this reflects on the price, spot price. The spot price has almost tripled in the past 6 months for lithium carbonate in China so obviously it reflects everywhere so very good place to be presently in the lithium space...to access the complete interview, click here

Disclaimer: Nemaska Lithium, Inc., is an investor relations client of InvestorIntel Corp.