What is the vision driving Brunswick Exploration?

Brunswick Exploration seeks to remediate a major gap in the lithium sector. As we move towards decarbonization, there is simply not enough known lithium to supply the demand created by regulations and laws that governments around the world are pushing to combat climate change. Even if you were to turn on all existing lithium deposits we know of today, it would not be enough to meet this rapidly forthcoming demand. This lack of supply is witnessed in the dramatic rise of spodumene and lithium hydroxide pricing over the last twelve months. Brunswick recognizes the urgent need for grassroot exploration to find new lithium discoveries. This is inherently a high risk, high reward endeavor and few companies are willing to put in the work. Québec is among the best place for this type of work given its strong institutional and governmental support of mining.

How does this vision inform Brunswick’s exploration strategy?

We have amassed a robust portfolio of pegmatites across Canada. Many areas within our portfolio have never been explored for lithium. Case in point, we are the first to explore for lithium on Québec’s Cote Nord. We are opening new areas for lithium exploration across Canada.

As we continue to increase the size our portfolio, we view our operations in three stages. The first step is desktop compilation where we generate targets. Next, we turn to boots on the ground prospecting with multiple field crews active in various provinces to identify which pegmatites have the potential to contain lithium. By the end of 2022, we hope to begin drilling select targets in our portfolio.

What is your company’s strategy to finance its activities?

Brunswick is very well financed and backed; we have very tight ownership. Investors are incredibly supportive of our ideas because we’ve previously had substantial exploration success. Additionally, our current exploration activities are cost efficient field work. This allows us to be extremely active with a relatively small budget.

Can you highlight some innovative exploration technologies you are using?

We consulted scientific literature to better ascertain which techniques could assist us to filter and select pegmatites. Using specific geochemistry tools markers, we can rapidly identify the pegmatite’s potential directly in the field if it could contain lithium. Surprisingly, we also have had great success with satellite imagery.

How do you see lithium prices evolving over the next several years?

I believe it is helpful to use terminology from the oil and gas industry such as upstream and downstream to better understand the opportunity in lithium. Downstream is when you convert a lithium product into batteries. When you take a step back and look at the C$220 billion dollars being invested worldwide into battery manufacturing capacity, the few hundred million that has been put into exploration and development seems inconsequential. There is a major disconnect. That gap will only get wider, which will further exacerbate lithium supply issues. I anticipate a sustained increase in lithium pricing for years to come, and I do not see a simple solution to resolving the problem given how long it takes to build a mine. Even in a favorable environment like Québec, if I were to make a new lithium discovery tomorrow, it would still take 7-10 years before a truck laden with lithium concentrate left the mine gates. There will be years of undersupply before we catch up with demand, so the price for lithium will remain high for a while.

If we were to speak again in a year, what do you hope the company will have accomplished by then?

Grassroot exploration is inherently a high-risk endeavor. There will always be substantially more failures than successes, and the only way to mitigate that is by ensuring that you have sound ideas to build upon and a plethora of targets. By next year, I hope to have at least one new discovery. We are already active in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, and we are looking to expand into more Canadian provinces. We will continue to grow the company with an emphasis on grassroot exploration.