Arianne Phosphate Inc., a development-stage phosphate mining company advancing the Lac à Paul project in Quebec's Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, in Canada, has announced that it has entered into an option agreement for a facility to be used in the production of purified phosphoric acid (PPA).
Arianne Phosphate and Travertine Technologies have partnered to produce PPA, combining Arianne's high-purity phosphate concentrate with Travertine's proprietary acid production process.
Situated in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, the option covers a portion of the infrastructure operated by Énergie Milot, a producer of thermal energy from forest biomass. Located within the Saint-Ludger-de-Milot industrial park, the site has full access to the utilities required for the proper operation of the project.
"The demonstration plant is a first step towards greater production capacity," said Raphael Gaudreault, COO of Arianne Phosphate. "By increasing the scale of production, Arianne and Travertine can show the effectiveness of the process and produce enough end-product to secure future customers. This fits with Arianne's goal of expanding beyond being a miner of phosphate to becoming a downstream provider of purified phosphoric acid."
Arianne and Travertine have been working together to produce PPA on a laboratory scale with results expected in the coming weeks. Purified phosphoric acid has historically been used as a food additive and is also required for pharmaceuticals and semiconductor production. More recently, PPA demand has been accelerating due to its use in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries with shortages projected in the coming years as more EVs are produced and Energy Storage Systems (ESS) deployed. In particular, demand for energy is accelerating, fuelled by the rapid growth of data centres pushed by AI. The power necessary for these data centres will be increasingly dependent on ESS. Currently, these build-outs are reliant on access to LFP batteries, a market that China dominates with over 95% of all production.
The ability to produce PPA is greatly determined by the quality of the phosphate concentrate used as the input. Arianne's phosphate deposit is geologically rare (igneous) allowing it to produce a very high-purity/low-contaminant concentrate that is easily upgraded to PPA. The company's Lac à Paul project hosts the world's largest greenfield deposit and is the only permitted phosphate mine in the West. Arianne's project is a necessary piece as geopolitics continue to push companies and governments to evaluate their supply chains.
Arianne has also announced the retirement of Claude Lafleur from its Board of Directors. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to express my deep appreciation for his steadfast commitment over the past seven years," commented Marco Gagnon, Executive Chairman of the Board of Arianne Phosphate. "His contribution has been instrumental in the advancement of the project, and his judgment, rigor, and in-depth understanding of our challenges have greatly enriched our work and our decision-making. His contribution has left a lasting impact from which the company will continue to benefit."