Power Metals targets start of a Cochrane-area cesium mine in late 2026
Vancouver explorer strikes offtake and cash deal with global metals expert Albemarle
Power Metals Corp. feels it has a North American stranglehold on a unique and key critical mineral in the Cochrane area.
Before Christmas, the Vancouver junior miner reached a major offtake for cesium oxide concentrate with Albemarle Corp, a leading global metals chemical company, to advance its flagship Case Lake property, 80 kilometres east of Cochrane, near the Quebec border.
Categorizing the agreement as a “strategic new chapter” for the company, the deal brings an upfront pre-payment of $5 million in investment to the table that will be delivered in segments once certain permitting and project milestones are reached to commence mine.
With a production start for an open-pit mine slated for later this year, Power Metals said Case is on track to be one of the first new cesium mines to come online in decades.
The company is rapidly moving ahead with permitting, baseline environmental studies, mine design and working toward an impact benefit agreement with Apitipi Anicinabek Nation. The community already has its own contractors on the project site assisting with exploration drilling, environmental monitoring and field support.
Case Lake began as a lithium exploration play. But with lithium prices stagnating, the company decided to pivot and key in on this niche, specialty metal.
Between 2017 and 2024, the company has drilled almost 24,000 metres of core that led to management realizing it was sitting on, what they consider to be, a first-rate project.
There are multiple dykes on the 9,500-hectare property showing high-grade cesium, along with lithium and tantalum.
Power Metals posted a maiden resource estimate in 2025 on only one area of the property.
The company is now focusing on exploring other untapped areas, with the firm belief that Case Lake can grow into a world-class deposit.
Cesium is found in a number of mediums, but the best one they’ve found is in hard rocks, namely inside the mineral pollucite. Pure pollucite contains 30 per cent cesium oxide. Power Metals logged almost-pure drill intercepts from pollucite-bearing pegmatites of up to 26 per cent.
Power Metals has been seeking strategic partnerships to advance the project for some time in the form of joint ventures, earn-in arrangements or other options to establish a fully integrated mining and downstream processing system for North America.
Albemarle had acquired the offtake rights held by Winsome Resources. The offtake rights were previously held by Sinomine Resources of Hong Kong.
Winsome will stay on as a 15.8 per cent shareholder of Power Metals.
Cesium is a scarce commodity these days and the discovery of cesium at the Case Lake puts the company is rare air in building a North American supply chain, now backed by one of the sector’s most influential players.
Billing Case Lake as the world’s fourth largest cesium resource, the company is making the pitch that the project is emerging at a time when the global cesium supply is diminishing.
There are three historic cesium mines in the world that are either depleted or on care and maintenance. And there’s a real shortage as there are no new sources of supply, especially in North America.
The primary use of cesium is as a fluid used in high pressure drilling for oil and gas exploration. Cesium has defence industry applications with satellite tracking, night vision goggles, medical treatments, solar applications and the in lithium battery industry.
Because it’s a niche mineral, there’s been very little research and development work done with cesium.
The Chinese are considered the global experts on cesium, but haven’t been keen about sharing their wealth of knowledge with the rest of world.
For Power Metals, understanding the ground at Case Lake and the market for cesium has been a journey of self-discovery.
At one time, there were Chinese interests in Case Lake until Ottawa ordered them to cut ties with the project. It was part of a federal clampdown in 2022 on countries, considered unfriendly, from investing in Canadian natural resources.
In a statement, CEO Haydn Daxter was pleased to have Albemarle aboard as a project participant.
“Albemarle’s expertise in producing high-value cesium chemicals secures the downstream component of our strategy while bolstering the emergence of an integrated cesium market.”
Johnathan More, Power Metals’ chair and director, called the agreement with Albemarle as providing good value for shareholders.
“The pre-payment structure provides access to funding without dilution, allowing us to advance Case Lake while preserving the value of the company. With the project’s extremely low-capital requirements, under $8 million required, this support positions us well to move toward production and unlock the full potential of our cesium opportunity.”
