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In the news

Rock Tech selects Red Rock as the location for Ontario's First Lithium Converter and secures $5.5M project investment from the BMI Group.

Rendering of Rock Tech Lithium Convertor at the Port of Red Rock
Rendering of Rock Tech Lithium Convertor at the Port of Red Rock

Red Rock Strategically Positioned as Northern Ontario's Lithium Refining and Logistics Hub

Rock Tech will develop Ontario's first lithium converter on the former Norampac Paper Mill site in Red Rock after successfully completing an extensive site selection process.

Site selection activities were initiated in early 2023 and considered several sites across North America. The selection process was aided by Rock Tech's comprehensive expertise in developing Europe's first Lithium Converter, where the Company has invested over 350,000 engineering hours and $60M CAD since 2021.

The township of Red Rock is located approximately 110 km northeast of Thunder Bay, along the Trans-Canada Highway 17, on the north shore of Lake Superior. Rock Tech's 100% owned Georgia Lake mining project is located approximately 60 km north of Red Rock.

Among others, the location in Red Rock was primarily selected due to:

  • Its proximity to Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project.

  • The availability of major supporting infrastructure including the proximity to BMI's emerging multimodal logistics hub and an energy grid providing abundant affordable and clean electricity.

  • Strong support for the Project by the local community and Indigenous partners.

With BMI developing multimodal road and rail logistics capabilities in the port of Red Rock, the location isstrategically positioned to become the prime lithium refining destination in Northern Ontario. Equipped with the capability to process lithium from third-party mining projects, the Red Rock Converter will further unlock Northern Ontario's nascent lithium mining sector. This is a fundamental milestone for our North American Lithium refinery plans. Lithium Converters are arge value-added production facilities. Substantial infrastructure and several supporting factors are required to enable such projects. Our site selection process evaluated more than 150 different criteria and determined that Red Rock is the best location for us.

Kerstin Wedemann, Chief Legal & Operations Officer, Rock Tech Lithium

We believe in strong partnerships and the community benefits our projects can generate. For over a decade now, we have been committed to developing relationships with our Indigenous partners in the area. With our decision to build our first Ontario Lithium Converter in Red Rock we are proud to honour their request to ‘refine where we mine’. We have found a strong interest by the community of Red Rock to see a large industrial project return, and with BMI we have found an infrastructure development specialist eager to support our vision of realizing sustainable economic development in Ontario’s North.

Dirk Harbecke, Chairman, Rock Tech Lithium

Harvest Spirit makes trial run to future site of Port of Red Rock.
BMI Group, Rock Tech Lithium, Red Rock Indian Band group photo.

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