THUNDER BAY — An aspiring Australian lithium producer in northwestern Ontario is eyeing a new site in Thunder Bay to place a refinery.
Green Technology Metals is scoping out a brownfield on the city’s waterfront to evaluate its suitability to host a lithium chemical conversion plant.
The Perth-headquartered has shifted focus away from the former Cascades Paper plant property in the city’s north end to the Midcontinent Terminal property on Maureen Street in the centre of the city, near a grouping of grain elevators.
In a Feb. 5 news release, Green Tech said it’s signed a letter of intent with the property owner, a numbered company, to have exclusive access to the site to perform its due diligence over the next 12 months.
Green Tech is an ambitious company that’s among a pack of four emerging lithium players in the region with a goal of becoming Ontario's first lithium miner and processor.
The company holds two advanced stage lithium deposits in the northwest that it wants to put into production.
Its Seymour Project is near Armstrong at the top end of Lake Nipigon. The Root Project is northeast of Sioux Lookout. Both deposits would feed the Thunder Bay plant.
The lithium hydroxide conversion facility takes lithium concentrate, processed at the mine site, and converts it into a battery-grade lithium hydroxide product that electric vehicle manufacturers are seeking.
Midcontinent Terminal is billed as an 81-hectare (200 acres) transloading space with marine and highway access, a rail spur running onto the property, municipal water, natural gas and power connections.
It’s an historic industrial property in Thunder Bay, first used by Canadian National Railway as a coal dock in the 1800s before it became a large forest products milling operation run by Northern Wood Preservers and later Northern Sawmills.
With that in mind, Green Tech wants to do a geotechnical investigation over the next 12 months and examine the site for any environmental contaminants of concern before formalizing any agreement with the owner and starting the government permitting process.
To help with the refinery's development, Green Tech has struck up a strategic arrangement with EcoPro Innovation, a South Korean-based global battery technology giant, that it wants to bring aboard as a joint venture partnership at some point.
A one-tonne bulk sample, extracted from the Seymour Project, is being tested at EcoPro’s Pohang facility in South Korea with the aim of producing a lithium hydroxide product by the middle of this year.
Green Tech also said a pre-feasibility study will shed more light on what this refinery will look like when that report comes out later this year.
If everything goes to plan, the company expects to make an investment decision on a refinery at the end of 2026 and start construction by late 2028 or 2029 should permit and social approvals be in hand.
Green Tech’s mine and refinery strategy has resonated with the federal government.
A show of support came from Ottawa through a letter of intent for up to $100 million in federal funding. On the provincial side, “active discussions” are underway with Invest Ontario and the Strategic Innovation Fund to support the refinery and the Seymour Project.
Some project backing could come from the South Korean government and other lenders.
On a recent trip to Seoul, Green Tech management met with the Korea Export-Import Bank (KEXIM), a government-run export credit agency, for discussions on project financing that could involve commercial bank lenders. KEXIM helped EcoPro with a similar project in Hungary.
The South Korean government also comes to the table with a funding pool of US$29 billion through its Framework Act on Supply Chain Stabilization for Economic Security. It provides loans to finance mega projects and foster economic cooperation with other countries.
In a statement, Cameron Henry, Green Tech’s managing director, said collaborating in a strategic partnership with EcoPro has “catalysed progress on the Thunder Bay lithium conversion facility, with several critical workstreams advancing rapidly.”
“We have identified a preferred site for the conversion facility in Thunder Bay and are currently conducting detailed due diligence. Simultaneously, significant technological advancements in the facility’s engineering have been made, leveraging EcoPro’s proven expertise and experience.”
While 2024 was a lacklustre year for global electric vehicle and lithium demand, Henry said they are confident on the long-term demand for the mineral commodity.
“The work completed and ongoing reflects our commitment to driving Ontario’s lithium supply chain development.”
