Partnership involving Arianne Phosphate receives $1.4M for work with LFP battery

Arianne Phosphate (TSX-V: DAN; OTCQX: DRRSF) – a development-stage phosphate mining company advancing the Lac à Paul project in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region – announced a partnership involving Arianne and several other organizations has received a grant of $1.4M from the Consortium de recherche et d'innovation en transformation métallique (CRITM). The Consortium for Research and Innovation in Metal Processing (CRITM) is one of the nine sectoral industrial research groups in Quebec. It is a network dedicated to industrial research.

Arianne Phosphate is developing the Lac à Paul phosphate deposits located about 200 km north of the Saguenay/Lac St. Jean area in Quebec. The company’s feasibility study shows these deposits will produce a high-quality igneous apatite concentrate grading 39% P₂O₅ with little or no contaminants.

The grant covers an initiative aimed at developing a new process for producing high-purity iron for use in Quebec's lithium-iron-phosphate battery cathode manufacturing process. As part of this effort, Arianne will be providing tailings containing magnetite (iron) from its Lac à Paul deposit that will be further processed and purified into the material necessary for these batteries. 

In addition to the work being done as part of the Partnership, Arianne is advancing its efforts towards the development of a downstream facility to produce purified phosphoric acid, another necessary ingredient required for the LFP battery. Both phosphate and high-purity iron were placed on Quebec's critical mineral list in 2024 because of the rapid growth of the LFP battery. Despite the importance of the LFP, the West currently has little production capability with over 95% of these batteries being manufactured in China. Initiatives such as this one, as well as other programs put in place are instrumental as the West looks to secure its own supply chains. Arianne, through its ownership of the Lac à Paul project, has been looking to create a complete battery ecosystem for Western needs. More information is posted on www.Critm.ca.