Frontier Lithium Files NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study for PAK Project, Outlining Path to Become Major North American Lithium Supplier

Frontier Lithium is a Canadian mining company focused on becoming a strategic domestic supplier of spodumene concentrates and lithium chemicals like lithium hydroxide to the growing North American electric vehicle and energy storage markets. The company is advancing its 100% owned PAK Lithium Project, located in Ontario's Great Lakes region, which contains North America’s highest-grade lithium resource.

As communicated by the company in a previous news release, Frontier Lithium recently released a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its PAK Lithium Project, highlighting the potential for the project to be developed into North America's largest, lowest-cost producer of lithium hydroxide. 

The PFS outlines a 24-year project life, with after-tax payback of capital expenditures forecast within 5 years of commercial production.

Key Highlights:

• Lithium Chemicals for North American EV Market: The PAK Project has the ability to produce 7,360 metric tonnes per year of lithium carbonate and 12,520 metic tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide monohydrate to meet the requirements of North American electric vehicle manufacturers.
• Phased Approach: Development will occur in phases, starting with a spodumene concentrate operation to generate early revenue, followed by the construction of a hydrometallurgical plant to produce lithium chemicals. This minimizes upfront capex and de-risks execution.
• Growing Regional Demand: Located in Ontario, the project can capitalize on rapidly growing regional battery and EV manufacturing capacity, with over C$25 billion committed in the province by 2030.
• Opportunities for Further Upside: Significant potential to convert additional resources into reserves and further scale production. Only one-third of identified resources were included in the PFS.
• Life of project after-tax cash flow of US$8.07 billion over 24 years. NPV of US$1.74 billion and IRR of 24.1%.
• Initial capex estimate of US$468 million for Phase 1 concentrator, plus US$576 million for Phase 2 chemical plant expansion
• Average annual EBITDA of US$251.3 million
• Chemical plant producing 12,520 tonnes of battery-quality Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate (LiOH-H 2 O) per year with an average selling price of US$22,000 per tonne and a 7,360 tonnes of battery-quality Lithium Carbonate per year with an average selling price of US$20,500 per tonne
• All-in cash costs estimated at US$7,433 per tonne of lithium carbonate equivalent
• After-Tax Pay Back of Capital Expenditures is 4.9 years after the start of commercial operations. 

With strong demand growth projected in the North American EV market, Frontier Lithium represents an exciting investment opportunity. The robust economics demonstrated in the PAK Lithium Project PFS, combined with the project's strategic location, support Frontier's goal of becoming a major regional lithium chemicals supplier as electrification continues accelerating. Investors should keep an eye on Frontier as they advance PAK through permitting and project financing over the coming year.