The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is ending the week on a high after the company announced the successful restart of the North American Lithium (NAL) project.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium producer has a 75% stake in the Canadian project, with the other 25% held by Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL).
Sayona Mining shares are currently trading for 21 cents apiece, 2.44% higher than their previous close.
Let's take a closer look at today's news from the ASX 200 lithium favourite.
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Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium announce NAL restart
The Sayona Mining share price is in the green this morning on news the $80 million restart of the NAL project has been completed on time and on budget.
Sayona Québec, a subsidiary of Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium, bought the project in 2021.
It's now expected to be the only major source of new spodumene production in North America for two years.
The ASX 200 company plans to ship 120,000 metric tons of spodumene from the project this year, supplying the likes of Tesla and LG Chem. Looking forward, the company is targeting 226,000 metric tons of annual production.
Production at the hydroelectricity-powered project will be supported by Sayona Québec's Abitibi Hub projects.
Management commentary
Sayona Mining managing director Brett Lynch commented on today's news, saying:
Our project team has maintained a forward-looking focus to improve lithium capture, achieve more consistent runtimes, and streamline operating costs from the past-producing operation.
Improvements were made as planned in our timeline and budget, and we are eager to see the impact the upgrades bring to both product quality and operational efficiency as we prepare for our first commercial shipments of spodumene concentrate expected in July of this year.
Piedmont president and CEO Keith Phillips added:
NAL is positioned to be a key contributor to the electric vehicle and battery supply chains as demand for lithium continues to rapidly expand along the electrification economies in both Canada and the US.
Sayona Mining share price snapshot
The Sayona Mining share price has outperformed the ASX 200 in 2023.
The stock has gained 10% so far this year. However, it has tumbled 12.5% since this time last year.
For comparison, the ASX 200 has gained 3% year to date and has fallen 4% over the last 12 months.
