The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price soared today after the company secured a lithium production deal.
The lithium explorer's shares jumped 25% to finish at 17.5 cents at the close of trade today.
So what good news did Sayona deliver to the market today?
Lithium production to restart
Investors are buying up Sayona shares on the back of plans to restart lithium production at the North American Lithium operation.
Sayona's subsidiary Sayona Quebec and Piedmont Lithium have formally given the green light on this project with a budget of about CAD$98 million (AU $109.8 million).
Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) has a 25% interest in Sayona Quebec. Both Sayona and Piedmont have conducted capital raises for the project in the first half of this year.
Sayona said it has already taken "significant steps" to speed up the production restart. This includes recruiting key workers, engineering design work, equipment and regulatory approvals.
The first spodumene concentrate production from the project is targeted for the first quarter of 2023. The North American Lithium operation would be the first local supplier of lithium concentrates, according to Sayona.
Commenting on the news, Sayona managing director Brett Lynch said:
We are delighted to put the seal on our plan to launch North America's first local spodumeme concentrate production, amid growing demand from both Canada and the United States for local and sustainable sources of this key battery metal.
Importantly, we continue to work closely with both the Québec Government and Piedmont to take the next step of downstream processing.
All the key players in the North American auto and battery sector are moving to invest in local production in Québec…
Sayona share price snapshot
The Sayona share price has exploded 137% in the past 12 months. In the year to date, it has jumped nearly 35%.
For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost more than 7% in the past 12 months.
Sayona has a market capitalisation of about $1.4 billion based on today's share price.
