Junior miner Arianne Phosphate, Saguenay, Quebec, a development-stage phosphate mining company advancing the Lac à Paul phosphate rock project in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, said on April 3 that it has received a grant of C$1.5 million from Quebec’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
This funding was provided as part of the government’s plan to help advance the Quebec phosphate sector. Arianne will use this funding in support of its previously announced program to produce additional high-purity phosphate concentrate and to conduct further pilot-scale tests. This grant follows an equity investment by the province last month for $1.4 million (GM March 16, p. 30).
“Demand continues to grow on the part of potential customers,” said Jean-Sébastien David, Arianne chief operating officer. “Many of those interested have already received product samples and are now asking for even larger volumes to carry out large-scale tests in their own facilities. Further, legislative changes in Europe regarding cadmium content in phosphate entering the EU, and supply disruptions out of certain phosphate-producing regions, have continued to push new requests for Arianne’s concentrate.”
Sample testing will be conducted at COREM (Research Consortium for the Treatment and Processing of Mineral Substances) in Quebec City, where the company conducted its previous pilot-scale tests. Materials will be sent on to potential offtake partners.