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Allkem (ASX, TSX: AKE) has solidified the status of its James Bay lithium project in northern Québec as a tier-1 lithium pegmatite asset following a significant update to the deposit’s mineral resource.
The new resource is estimated at 110.2 million tonnes averaging 1.30% Li2O (lithium oxide), including 54.3 million tonnes at 1.30% Li2O in the indicated category and 55.9 million tonnes at 1.29% Li2O in the inferred category. The total resource represents a 173% increase over its previous estimate.
The updated resource is a culmination of two drilling campaigns conducted on the project since early 2022, adding approximately 37,500 metres of delineation drilling to the deposit since the release of the previous feasibility study.
Now included in the James Bay resource is an initial resource estimate (inferred) for the NW Sector, which is open along strike and at depth with excellent growth potential. The NW Sector resource, according to Allkem, is higher grade than the remainder of the deposit and represents a potential opportunity to improve the grade profile of the future operation.
The entire deposit also remains open both along-strike and at depth, and the Australian lithium company says it has implemented a resource growth strategy to continue to grow the resource with more drilling.
“James Bay is now one of the largest spodumene lithium assets and clearly has the potential to grow even further as the boundaries of mineralization are tested through an additional drilling program commencing later in the year,” Allkem’s managing director and CEO Martin Perez de Solay commented.
“The size and grade of this resource is amongst the best in the world and will underpin Allkem plans for future production and processing of lithium in Québec,” he added.
Allkem is proposing to develop the James Bay project as a sustainable, hard-rock operation that maximizes the usage of renewable energy, utilizing spodumene expertise gained from its Mt Cattlin operation in Australia.
A December 2021 feasibility study for the project outlined an average annual production of 321,000 tonnes per annum of 5.6% Li2O spodumene concentrate with an approximate 19-year mine life.
