Sayona Mining Ltd: Quarterly Activities Report (June quarter 2020)

Brisbane, Australia - Emerging lithium miner Sayona Mining Ltd. (ASX:SYA) (FRA:DML) (OTCMKTS:DMNXF) announced today its activities report for the June quarter 2020, as it continues to advance its lithium projects in Canada and Australia amid growing demand for the metal of the 21st century.

North American Lithium (NAL) bid

In February 2020, Sayona submitted its official bid for North American Lithium (NAL) with the courtappointed monitor (administrator), Raymond Chabot Inc.

NAL has a lithium mine and concentrator located in Abitibi, near the established mining district of Val d'Or, Quebec. Sayona considers NAL a near-term growth opportunity, given its proximity to the Company's flagship Authier Lithium Project. It provides Sayona with the unique competitive advantage of being able to combine ore produced from Authier with ore produced at NAL, facilitating a significant improvement in plant performance and economics.

Sayona has assembled a world-class bid support team to ensure a successful turnaround operation. The team comprises environmental, engineering and financial expertise and includes former NAL management. In early July, subsequent to period end, Sayona announced the addition of Evercore Group LLC (Evercore) to the bid team. Evercore is a global banking advisory firm with a strong track record of advising corporations and investors on acquisitions and investments amounting to billions of dollars of transactions since its founding in 1995.

However, the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec has caused delays to the bidding process, which was extended by the administrator to the end of July, pending any mutual agreement for a further extension. This comes amid broader industry restructuring, including Nemaska Lithium, which had its bidding process similarly extended under a court-administered process.

A successful bid for NAL would fast-track the Company to becoming a world-scale spodumene producer, advancing from junior explorer to mid-tier miner with potentially three operating mines supplying a central concentrator. It would also secure local jobs and investment and support Quebec's plans for a clean energy future based on the development of its own battery industry.

As highlighted in a recent investor presentation at the Noosa Mining Virtual conference (refer ASX release 17 July 2020), Quebec is the economic, strategic and green supplier of choice for the North American battery industry, which continues to show rapid growth in line with the acceleration of the electric vehicle (EV) and battery storage industry.

Authier Lithium Project

The Company's flagship project, the Authier Lithium Project in Quebec is a hard rock spodumene lithium deposit scheduled for development as an open cut mine.

A revised definitive feasibility study (DFS) announced last year (refer ASX announcement 11 November 2019) showed its potential to become a sustainable and profitable new mine, with an estimated NPV of C$216 million, a pre-tax IRR of 33.9% and estimated capital payback within 2.7 years. It also showed its potential to generate up to 176 new jobs for the benefit of the local community.

Pending the necessary stakeholder support and regulatory approval, which is expected by late 2020 or early 2021, construction could commence as early as 2021, with the start of mining operations the following year.

To view the full quarterly report, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/DGS5FD85

About Sayona Mining Ltd:

Sayona Mining Ltd. (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:DMNXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia.

Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au

Source: Sayona Mining Ltd.



Contact:

Brett Lynch Managing Director Phone: +61 (7) 3369 7058 Email: info@sayonamining.com.au