With its rich mineral resources, Quebec could benefit from the revolution disrupting the world of transportation.
By way of example, electric car sales are growing strongly around the world. This situation presents great opportunities for Quebec, which has the natural resources and the expertise to meet the growing needs of the electric vehicle industry.
The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2030, 120 million of these vehicles will be cruising the planet’s roads. Global sales rose from 700,000 vehicles in 2016 to around one million in 2017, the year in which a total of three million electric vehicles were on the world’s roads[1].
Quebec’s mining sector extracts a number of metals and minerals—including nickel, copper, zinc, graphite and lithium—that are used in battery manufacturing. Steel and aluminum, used in several automotive components, are also important elements of Quebec’s mining sector. The province also has nine aluminum smelters and the industry already accounts for more than 30,000 jobs[2].
Among all the resources in Quebec, lithium represents the greatest economic potential. Its price rose from $7,000 per tonne in 2015 to $20,000 per tonne in 2017[3]—an increase of more than 285%. Because it is an essential component of batteries, demand will undoubtedly continue to increase significantly in the coming years.
Quebec's white gold
Quebec is home to the world’s third-largest lithium deposit. Operated by Nemaska Lithium, it is located 300 kilometres north of Chibougamau. The Quebec company is also about to open in Shawinigan the very first lithium processing plant, and to patent a very promising technology. The latter will make it possible to transform the spodumene concentrate extracted from the mine into lithium hydroxide purified to 99.9997%, a product sought after around the world.
The secret of their innovation: the use of electrolysis to separate lithium from other metals and impurities. This extraction method—one of the least polluting thanks to hydroelectricity—reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 98% compared with the traditional extraction method, which uses astronomical amounts of chemicals.
“In addition to being revolutionary from an environmental point of view, our process reduces transportation costs by a factor of seven. Since spodumene extraction and conversion to lithium hydroxide both take place in Quebec, the ore can be transported by truck or by rail. That is not the case for lithium extracted in Australia, which must be transported to China for processing,” says Simon Thibault, Director, Social and Environmental Responsibility at Nemaska Lithium. Thanks to this method, the Quebec company believes it can satisfy 30 to 35% of global lithium hydroxide demand in 2020, and generate revenues of $20 billion over the next 30 years.
At present, four companies share 90% of the world’s lithium production. They are mainly located in Australia and Chile. Canada currently produces less than 0.5% of the world’s lithium, 2.5% of the graphite and 3.9% of the cobalt sold worldwide[4].
We're almost there
Beyond the mining potential, Quebec is equipping itself with the know-how and resources to shine on the international market—notably through the creation, in March 2018, of Hydro-Québec’s Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage. The Centre of Excellence will commercialize Hydro-Québec technologies protected by 800 patent applications developed over the past twenty years. Hydro-Québec is recognized worldwide for its technological expertise and its intellectual property portfolio, notably in lithium-ion, lithium–sulfur and lithium–air batteries. As an example of this status as a global leader, it should be noted that a large majority of cell phones produced worldwide today contain a component derived from a Hydro-Québec patent. The Centre of Excellence will thus become an important actor in promoting Quebec know-how in the various industries related to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV)[5].
Quebec’s mining potential is very real. Thanks to very strong global demand, the development of the lithium sector will certainly have a strongly positive effect on the province’s mining landscape. We are therefore in an excellent position to stand out, provided we keep up the pace!
[1] Global EV Outlook 2017, International Energy Agency.
[2] Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation du Québec, "Information / Aluminum", Government of Quebec, November 2018
[3] EnergyTrend, 2018.
[4] "Electric vehicles, should we believe the rumor?", Joëlle Noreau (Desjardins, April 2018).
[5] "Centre of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage", Hydro-Québec, October 2018, https://www.hydroquebec.com/ce-electrification-transports-stockage-energie/
