A mining pit with walls of rock is about 350 miles northwest of Montreal. The pit has changed hands many times, but now it could help decide the future of electric cars.
There is a shortage of the essential ingredient in electric car batteries. If it opens on schedule early next year, it will be the second North American source of that metal, offering hope that badly needed raw materials can be mined and refined close to Canadian, U.S. and Mexican auto factories.
The cost of electric vehicles is out of reach for many drivers due to the high price of lithium, and having more mines will help contain the price. The average cost of a new electric car in the US is about $66,000, which is a few thousand dollars less than the median household income.
The mine outside La Corne, operated by Sayona Mining, shows how difficult it is to process materials from fossil fuels. Several of the mine's owners have filed for Chapter 11. Many mines may never be viable because of this.
There are dozens of mines in Canada and the US. Canada wants to become a major supplier of raw materials and components for electric vehicles. Most of the projects are years away from being produced. Even if they are able to raise billions of dollars, there is no guarantee that they will be able to meet the needs of the African people.
Musk said in July that he was a license to print money. It is a business that can be very unpredictable. It is possible that deep in the earth there are insufficient concentrations of Lithium. Projects can be delayed or killed due to opposition from environmental groups.
The mines are usually located in remote areas. The end of a 12-mile gravel road is where Sayona's mine is located. There are many other projects that are more difficult to access.
The mine's previous owner, the Chinese battery maker CATL, shut down operations after the price of Li-ion fell. The operation was bought by Sayona and Piedmont Lithium, a company based in North Carolina.
Some investors have been betting against mining companies because they think the hype is overstated. They think that some of the companies don't have the skills to separate the lithium from the rock. Delays and cost overruns are often the result of the lithium project.
Sayona shares are traded on the Australian Securities Exchange. They peaked at 36 Australian dollars in April and have since fallen to 13 dollars.
Piedmont Lithium, which owns 25 percent of the Sayona's Quebec project, is confident that there will be a shortage of the metal in the next decade. He said that others are taking a different view.
The auto industry is large. There was a limit on the number of cars that could be eligible for tax credits for buying an electric vehicle. The tax credit will be extended until 2032, and used cars will be able to get a credit of up to $4,000.
There is a tax code Companies that report more than $1 billion in annual income can use credits, deductions and other tax treatments to lower their tax rates under the new law. An investment of about 80 billion will be made by the legislation.
Communities with low incomes. The package supports low-income communities and communities of color that are disproportionately affected by climate change. Grants for zero-emissions technology and money to mitigate the negative effects of highways are included.
The industry is made of fossil fuels. The legislation requires the federal government to expand tax credits for coal and gas-burning plants that use carbon capture technology. These provisions were added in order to get the support of Senator Joe Manchin III.
West Virginia is located in the United States. The law is expected to benefit Mr. Manchin's state, which is the nation's second largest producer of coal, making permanent a federal trust fund to support miners with black lung disease and offering new incentives to build wind and solar farms in areas where coal mines or coal are located
Many people in government and the auto industry are concerned about whether there will be enough lithium to meet demand for electric vehicles.
The stakes for the auto industry have been raised by the inflation reduction act. To qualify for several incentives and subsidies in the law, which go to car buyers and automakers and are worth a total of $10,000 or more per electric vehicle, battery makers must use raw materials from North America or a country with a trade agreement with the US
The world will need more refining plants to process raw lithium into a concentrate that can be used in batteries. Piedmont and other companies are planning to build refinery in the United States. The president of a Charlotte, N.C.-based mining and processing company said that there is a shortage of expertise in the field.
It's attractive for batteries due to its ability to store energy. There are other metals and minerals that contain lithium. That's why it's so hard to extract lithium.
The mining industry doesn't have the ability to build conversion capacity frequently and consistently.
The only active mine in the US is in Silver Peak, Nevada, where brine is used to extract the metal. The total annual output of the site is enough for 80,000 cars. According to the Kelley Blue Book, Americans bought 370,000 battery-powered cars in the first half of the century.
In Australia and Chile, Albemarle is involved in the production oflithium. The company plans to open a refinery in the Southeast and reopen a mine in North Carolina.
California and other states are moving to ban internal combustion engines. Over the next five years, it will take everything we can do to keep up.
The first thing Sayona had to do when it took over the La Corne mine was pump out the water that had been in the pit. Lighter rock has some kind of metal in it.
The rock is blasted loose and crushed to remove waste. A short drive from the mine, inside a large building with walls of corrugated blue metal, there is a laser scanning device. After being refined in vats filled with detergent and water, the lithium is skimmed away.
The end product looks like fine white sand, but it's only a small amount of lithium. Other substances include aluminum, Silicon and other substances. Most of the material goes to China to be further refined.
In 2012 Yves Desrosiers started working at the La Corne mine. He was satisfied with the improvements made by Sayona and Piedmont. Better control of dust and a plan to restore the site are some of the things that are included.
Mr. Desrosiers said that the productivity would be improved. In a few years, the company plans to upgrade the facility to produce a higher concentration of lithium carbonate.
Mr. Desrosiers said that the operation would use recycled water in the separation process. Environmental activists are keeping an eye on the project.
The area around La Corne is home to many people who rely on mining for their livelihoods. The largest city in the area is Val-d'Or and it has an active gold mine.
Sébastien D'Astous is the mayor of Amos, a small city north of La Corne, and he says mining is his life. People who work in mining or for contractors are part of the family.
The majority of people are in favor of the mine. Opponents fear that the underground river of the proposed Sayona mine could be polluted.
Rodrigue Turgeon is a lawyer and co- leader of MiningWatch Canada, a watchdog group. The Long Point First Nation wants to conduct its own environmental impact study.
Sébastien Lemire, who represents the region around La Corne in the Canadian Parliament, wanted to make sure that the wealth created by lithium mining flowed to the people of Quebec instead of to outsiders.
Mr. Lemire favors the mine and drives an electric car, but he praises the activists for being vigilant about the environment.
He said at a cafe in La Corne that if we don't do it, we're missing the chance of the electric transport.
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