St-Georges Eco-Mining Secures Federal Funding for Lithium Processing Project

Montreal-based St-Georges Eco-Mining has announced that its subsidiary, St-Georges Metallurgy, in partnership with LiOH Corp and COALIA, has received a $3.66 million contribution from Natural Resources Canada’s Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration Program (CMRDD).

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson confirmed the funding, stating that the initiative aligns with the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, aiming to enhance Quebec’s sustainable production of rare earths essential for electronics, clean energy, aerospace, automotive, and defence industries.

COALIA is leading the pilot project, which focuses on extracting and purifying lithium from spodumene concentrate. The project, in collaboration with LiOH and St-Georges Metallurgy, seeks to validate a laboratory-tested process capable of recovering over 90% of lithium using nitric acid as a leaching agent. The process also generates high-purity aluminum concentrate and nitrogen-based fertilizer as by-products.

The technology enables production of lithium nitrate or lithium hydroxide at competitive prices with minimal waste. St-Georges Metallurgy plans to process spodumene from Canadian producers and lithium black mass from EVSX. The company also aims to explore the direct production of LiFePO4 battery metals from lithium nitrate with limited processing steps, alongside a planned partnership with a Canadian phosphoric acid company.

The CMRDD program supports the advancement of mineral processing technologies to aid the development of zero-emission vehicle value chains in Canada by providing raw materials for batteries and permanent magnets.