Arianne Phosphate, a development-stage phosphate mining company advancing the Lac à Paul project in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, announced on Jan. 30 that it has commenced work on a Prefeasibility Study (PFS) to construct a downstream purified phosphoric acid plant (PPA) in the region, capable of converting the company’s phosphate concentrate into a finished PPA product.
The company hopes to move beyond being a producer and seller of concentrate and leverage its geological advantage into becoming a dominant player in the high-purity, battery, and specialty markets. Arianne noted that its project is well situated near necessary infrastructure, fully permitted, and shovel ready.
The project anticipates the production of 350,000 mt/y of battery-grade PPA, which would make Arianne the single largest producer outside of China and capable of addressing a significant portion of battery requirements in the West.
The facility would also produce more than 200,000 mt/y of a secondary premium phosphoric acid used for animal feeds and specialty fertilizers. Due to projected closures both in North America and Europe, Arianne said this secondary market will be greatly underserviced and provides additional economic opportunity to Arianne.
Arianne noted that the Government of Quebec recently placed the phosphate-bearing mineral apatite on its critical and strategic mineral list. This move follows other jurisdictions that have done the same, including the European Union.