(Yicai Global) Feb. 21 -- Sinomine Resource Group’s shares jumped after the Chinese miner said it plans to invest CAD176 million (USD130.6 million) building a mineral processing plant and supporting facilities at a lithium mine it owns in Canada.

Sinomine [SHE: 002738] closed up 2 percent at CNY77.78 (USD11.31) a share today, after gaining by as much as 3.5 percent in the morning trading session.

The plant will be able to process 1 million tons of lithium ore and mainly produce lithium and cesium concentrates, Sinomine said late yesterday. The project, to be built through 2024, will be located in the Tanco underground mine in Bernic Lake, Manitoba province, it added.

The area's mining and tailings storage facilities are also likely to be upgraded and renovated, along with living accommodation and office space, according to the Beijing-based firm.

The project will help to cement the lithium resource advantages of Sinomine's Tanco mine project, improve its supply chain in the area, promote local employment and economic growth, and provide the firm with a guaranteed raw material supply to carry out its local lithium and cesium salt business, the firm noted. 

Sinomine owns the entire interest in the Tanco mining area after acquiring Tantalum Mining in 2019. But the global geopolitical situation has changed dramatically since then, with the Canadian government ordering Sinomine to withdraw from its equity investment in Power Metals last November, after failing a national security review.

The government also ordered two other listed Chinese companies to offload their stakes in Canadian lithium resource developers.

Editor: Martin Kadiev