Mining company holds public engagement meetings before drilling for lithium mineral near Hidden Lake, N.W.T.

A company is taking steps to drill for spodumene, a mineral containing lithium deposits, close to Hidden Lake. 

"I think it's an amazing opportunity for the community, for the First Nations, for the country," said Adam Ritchie, the managing director of Loyal Lithium. 

Lithium is used to make batteries, including electric vehicle batteries. Ritchie said the demand for the mineral is increasing, which has increased its price. He said the mine would potentially create 200 jobs. He said previous mining tests from five years ago show that there is spodumene in the area. 

The project is located near the end of Ingraham Trail, three kilometres east of Hidden Lake. It comes as a partnership between Loyal Lithium and another lithium hard rock exploration company called Patriot Battery Metals. 

Ritchie said Hidden Lake is a prime location for drilling because they think there's enough spodumene there to support the mine. 

The company is currently holding public engagement talks with community leaders, First Nations and the territorial government in their community engagement process meant to last until the end of September. The company is hearing concerns and feedback from stakeholders, and will then apply for a land use permit which will allow the organization to start drilling. 

Once the permit is obtained the company can drill a rock called pegmatite, which contains spodumene, and will also drill underground too to see how much of the mineral is in the area. 

Samples from the pegmatite will be extracted and laboratory tests will be done to analyze the rock and look for impurities. 

"You know it's like a blood sample. You go and test the blood to see what's in there…that's what we're trying to do with this rock," said Ritchie.  

Once the samples are taken, geological studies will be done before the eventual potential development of a mine. 

Eventually, the company is hoping to concentrate the spodumene, remove the rocks that don't have that lithium in it, and truck it out of the area. Then a partner company would work to extract the lithium from the mineral.

"I think there's a lot of employment opportunities for Indigenous people," said Eileen Marlowe, the manager for land and community with Loyal Lithium. 

She added that given that the diamond mines are shutting down, this new mine will offer employment opportunities for people with the same set of skills. 

Employment is also something on Marc Whitford's mind. The president of the North Slave Métis Alliance showed up to a community engagement meeting held on Monday at the Explorer Hotel. 

"It's economic opportunities for our people, that's the most important thing," he said. 

Whitford said he's encouraged at this point, and says that the environment needs to be protected and the North has to develop at the same time. 

While the project is just getting started, he said the project seems like it would be environmentally friendly. 

Ritchie said an environmental advantage for the company is that less power would be needed to separate the spodumene from pegmatite rock it's found in, because of the large size of the  spodumene crystals. 

This lithium extraction project isn't the first around the area. Li-FT Power Ltd began drilling for lithium in the area in June.