Rock Tech Lithium and Siemens Canada have signed a non-binding MoU to develop digitalised lithium conversion capacity for Rock Tech’s planned converter in Ontario, using Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio, including COMOS, gPROMS and PCS 7 for integrated engineering and process control. The partnership targets model-based design, advanced process simulation and automation across multiple project phases, aiming to optimise energy use, reagent consumption and plant uptime. For engineers, this signals early integration of OEM-grade digital twins and control architecture into a greenfield lithium chemicals facility in Canada’s critical minerals supply chain.

Florence Copper in Arizona has produced its first copper cathodes from Taseko Mines’ new commercial in-situ copper recovery (ICSR) operation coupled with a solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) plant, following electrowinning start-up in late February. The project uses in-situ leaching of a deep porphyry deposit and on-site SX/EW to generate LME-grade cathode without a concentrator, tailings storage facility or smelter. For geotechnical and hydrogeological teams, the move to full commercial ICSR-SX/EW operation sharpens focus on leach-wellfield design, solution containment and long-term groundwater management.

First Phosphate has secured conditional approval for a non-repayable contribution of up to C$16.7 million from Natural Resources Canada’s Global Partnerships Initiative to advance engineering and processing circuit studies for LFP-grade phosphate concentrate at its integrated Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean project in Quebec. The work will focus on validating flowsheets and equipment to convert ore from the Bégin-Lamarche deposit, which hosts 41.5 million indicated tonnes at 6.49% P2O5 plus 214 million inferred tonnes at 6.01% P2O5, into high-purity phosphoric acid (PPA) and iron phosphate. First Phosphate also plans a 10,000 t/y iron phosphate plant 20 km from the deep-sea port of Saguenay, targeting a vertically integrated LFP cathode materials supply chain.