The Fort William First Nation is going to collaborate with a Canadian company on the development of a lithium refinery.
Avalon Advanced Minerals and the First Nation have signed a letter of intent on the proposal.
However, Chief Peter Collins cautions it is only the first step in a long process.
“We want to make sure that we are in the equation whether this thing ends up in Fort William or in the Thunder Bay district,” says Collins stressing, “Right now the letter of intent is just to work with Fort William, it’s a non-binding letter of intent.”
He points out they still want to consult with community members to address any environmental concerns and the band council “Has to be on board with it.”
The seeds of this idea were planted late last spring when Chief Collins started having a dialogue with the company.
Then he says over the Christmas holidays he read they were looking for sites in Northwestern Ontario.
That’s when he reached out to them and the dialogue resumed “And from there we got to where we are today.”
When operational Chief Collins says the refinery could provide in excess of 100 jobs and even more if a lithium battery plant is part of any future plans.
