The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is pushing higher on Monday.
In morning trade, the lithium developer's shares are up 3.5% to 22.25 cents.
This means the Sayona Mining share price is now up almost 70% over the last 12 months.
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Why is the Sayona Mining share price pushing higher?
Investors have been bidding the Sayona Mining share price higher this morning after the company provided an update on the North American Lithium (NAL) project in Québec, Canada. This operation is co-owned with fellow lithium developer Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL), with Sayona Mining holding a majority 75% interest.
According to the release, the company has been awarded the final permit for NAL's restart ahead of the planned recommencement of production in the first quarter of 2023.
Management believes this has effectively de‐risked its NAL operation and follows an extensive process by Sayona Québec.
And when Sayona Mining says extensive, it means extensive! The latest regulatory approval is one of more than 130 permits that were required to resume mining operations. These were required to ensure the successful restart of NAL's lithium mine and concentrator in compliance with all necessary environmental regulations and obligations.
NAL to help satisfy lithium demand
Sayona Québec's CEO, Guy Laliberté, was pleased with the news. He commented:
Since acquiring the NAL complex in August 2021 in conjunction with Piedmont Lithium (SYA 75%; Piedmont 25%), our team has been working hard to quickly restart operations to establish ourselves as a leader in lithium production, while maintaining a small environmental footprint and exemplary community engagement. Global demand for lithium is increasing weekly and it is essential that NAL go into production to help satisfy this demand.
This sentiment was echoed by Sayona Mining's managing director, Brett Lynch. He said:
Securing all the necessary permits for NAL's restart is another important step in the de‐risking process, and I would like to congratulate our team in Québec for this new milestone. With the planned expansions of our resource base both at NAL and at our northern lithium hub, Sayona is well placed to become the leading lithium producer in North America, facilitating the EV and battery revolution in North America.
