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Lithium exploration growing in N.L.
Evan Careen · Multimedia journalist | Posted: Jan. 13, 2023, 6:41 p.m. | Updated: Jan. 13, 2023, 6:41 p.m. | 3 Min Read
Paul Smith, geologist with MLK, examining multiple pegmatite dikes for elevated lithium and other critical metal content. ContributedPaul Smith, geologist with MLK, examines multiple pegmatite dikes for elevated lithium and other critical metal content. - Contributed
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Interest in lithium seems to be picking up in Newfoundland, and a Memorial University geology professor said it isn’t hard to see why.
Derek Wilton, an honorary research professor with the department of earth sciences, said lithium projects have been popping up in different parts of Canada in recent years because the element is used in a variety of high-tech batteries and has been identified as a critical mineral by the federal government.
“It’s a whole group of minerals that Canada has decided are important for the future,” Wilton said. “With this interest in critical minerals, we’re trying to find sources of elements that are close to home, in our own country.”
Canada has no mines producing lithium, but is estimated to have approximately 2.9 million tonnes of the resource nationwide. A number of lithium projects are in various stages across the country, but none are actively producing the element.
All the lithium projects on the island are in the Burgeo area, where Sokoman Minerals and Benton Resources announced in 2021 what they believe is a significant lithium discovery.
The rock in the area is part of the Appalachian Mountain chain, on the same Palaeozoic belt as the Caledonian and Variscan mountain ranges in Europe, and lithium has been discovered on that belt in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Since the company announced what it refers to as the Kraken Pegmatite Field, at least two other companies have begun looking for the element in the region.
Wilton said he’s not surprised the discovery drew interest from other companies, and he wouldn’t be surprised to see more with the increased attention from the federal government.
“The thing is, nobody really looked for it here before,” he said. “There was no real interest in looking for lithium in Newfoundland and Labrador. It would have been a mineralogical curiosity. People would occasionally find some lithium minerals in granite or something, but we never thought of it as an economic endeavour.”
High hopes
One company hoping to find more of the element in Newfoundland is Nova Scotia-based MLK Gold Ltd. MLK, which may already be familiar to industry watchers in the province because of its three gold plays on the island, including its flagship Caledonia Brook project in central, announced recently it had acquired a potential lithium asset near the Sokoman discovery.
Bill Fleming, executive chairperson of the company, told SaltWire Network that after the Sokoman discovery was announced, the company decided to do some looking at other land in the area, and liked what it saw.
“After doing our initial reconnaissance off the Burgeo Highway, we found some great signs, some really good indications of it being a potential host body,” he said. “So we elected to further our portfolio of properties on the critical side and we staked those properties. We’re pretty stoked about the entire project, and I think that Newfoundland, especially with metals and critical minerals, this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Fleming said there’s a lot of interest in critical minerals in Ontario and Quebec, but Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are an untapped region that’s going to attract a lot of foreign capital.
“It’s going to happen. We’re starting to see that interest already,” he said. “It’s knocking on our door right now. Newfoundland is a large jurisdiction with the potential for a lot of untapped resources and we’re just excited to be a part of it.” |
