Rock Tech cheers launch of Ont. critical minerals fund

Executive Summary

• Rock Tech Lithium welcomes the Ontario government's launch of the $500-million Critical Minerals Processing Fund (CMPF), viewing it as a strategic milestone that aligns with the company's proposed lithium conversion facility in Red Rock, Ontario.
• The company highlights the technical maturity of its Red Rock converter, which is based on its fully permitted, shovel-ready facility in Guben, Germany, recently designated a strategic project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.
• Rock Tech emphasizes its integrated supply chain strategy, leveraging its Georgia Lake lithium mining project (located ~60km from the converter) and significant prior engineering investment to support Ontario's battery materials supply chain.

Key Details

• CMPF Launch: Ontario approved and launched the $500-million Critical Minerals Processing Fund (CMPF) to accelerate critical minerals processing capacity and strengthen the province's position in the global battery materials supply chain.
• Project Alignment: Rock Tech’s proposed lithium conversion facility (converter) in Red Rock, Ontario, directly aligns with the CMPF’s mandate to support mid-stream critical minerals processing projects.
• Facility Specifications:
  • Red Rock, Ontario: Designed to deliver domestic lithium conversion capacity for battery-grade products, reduce reliance on offshore processing, and anchor downstream investment in the EV and energy storage supply chain.
  • Guben, Germany: The Red Rock design is directly based on Rock Tech’s fully permitted, shovel-ready converter in Guben, which has a capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM) per year.
• Engineering Investment: Rock Tech has invested more than 350,000 engineering hours and $65-million into the design of its lithium conversion facilities.
• Supply Chain Integration: The company operates the Georgia Lake lithium mining project, located approximately 60 kilometres from the Red Rock converter, ensuring a stable and sustainable supply for the North American market.
• Regulatory Status: The Guben converter was recently designated a European Union strategic project under the European Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
• Production Capacity: The Ontario facility is designed for up to 36,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year.

Notable Quotes

• "We applaud the government of Ontario for taking bold action to support critical minerals development... Our converter in Red Rock, built on the engineering and experience behind our EU CRMA strategic project in Germany, is exceptionally well positioned to help deliver the processing capacity the province needs to compete globally." — Mirco Wojnarowicz, CEO of Rock Tech Lithium