2023-11-24 03:12:00
GEOLOGY. Geology doctor Rémi Charbonneau discovered large blocks of lithium near James Bay, a mineral that is highly sought following today.
It was during the month of June 2023 that he visited this territory that he had already explored in the 1990s. “The big discovery of lithium that we worked on this summer actually dates from 1996. At that time I was working in the eastern part of James Bay. I was sampling grains of gold in the glacial sediments, then along the way I came across blocks of spodumene, which is ultimately the mineral lithium. It was huge,” says the geologist.
“In 1996, there was no interest in lithium. I mentioned it to my clients at the time and they found it a nice curiosity, but nothing more. At the time it was worthless. I had also talked regarding it with other geologists. Then last year, one of them started looking for lithium. He remembered that and contacted me.”
This is how Rémi Charbonneau delved into these notes dating from 1996 in order to find the exact location of the potential lithium deposit.
“I remembered there was a very sharp lake and I had seen the boulder near there. You mightn’t really go wrong with this very characteristic lake. What also helped us were satellite images, since a block that big makes a white square,” he says. Indeed, the block was easily spotted and the man was able to validate that it was indeed lithium.
Rémi Charbonneau explains that he does not yet know the progress of its extraction considering that a specialized company is currently at the drilling stage, i.e. measuring the exact volume of the spodumene.
Interest in lithium
“These days, there are a lot of lithium discoveries being made since there is a lot of interest, particularly with the transition to electric cars. That’s going to take a lot of lithium. Then it’s not just the cars. These are also battery-powered tools, cell phones, everything that is battery-powered basically.” We are indeed seeing a growing interest in this mineral which ensures the proper functioning of various devices used daily.
The doctor of geology also notes that the scientific community is currently working to find lithium deposits. “Since last year, I would say, people have been combing through old reports and there are maybe 10,000 like that! So they dig in there and look for the word spodumene.”
Rémi Charbonneau mentions that the territory of Quebec appears to be particularly conducive to the discovery of lithium blocks. He himself is also continuing his research to find other sources of this mineral in demand.
Several lithium processing plants are located in China. That said, a few factory installation projects are emerging in the province. “There is a project in McMasterville near Beloeil for a battery factory because there are James Bay lines that pass through there.”
Aleximontois underlines the large quantity of electricity required by this type of installation. This is why, according to him, a factory of this order might be set up near James Bay, particularly due to the large presence of hydroelectric dams.
The work of a geologist
“In geology, there are several aspects. There is terrain where you often have to travel far. After that, there is the sample processing aspect with analyzer, tools and all kinds of things. That, I do that here in my house in Saint-Alexis. Then the other part is the reports. We do a lot of computer work, we process data.”
He points out that in addition to lithium, several other minerals are in demand. “Gold is still being sought a lot. 80% of the time, it’s gold we’re looking for. There are other metals that we look for such as nickel with which we make stainless steel. It has become fashionable now. A substance that we have also looked for is titanium. The value of titanium is very high since it is a metal for the biomedical field because the body will not reject it. For example, when they make a metal joint, titanium is used.”
Rémi Charbonneau specializes in the study of glaciers having completed his doctorate on the subject. Today, he still works with various minerals according to the needs of his clients. He actually has his own company, Big Nugget Labs Inc., with which he carries out mining exploration throughout the province.
Rémi Charbonneau during his discovery of lithium in 1996. (Courtesy photo) Rémi Charbonneau in the summer of 2023 with the lithium block discovered in 1996. (Courtesy photo)
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