Mr. Francis MacDonald reports
LIFT COMMENCES 2025 ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM AT THE YELLOWKNIFE LITHIUM PROJECT
Li-FT Power Ltd. has commenced the 2025 environmental baseline data collection program at the Yellowknife lithium project. The program represents a significant step in preparing for advanced permitting activities for the project, including environmental assessment, and will also inform mine planning activities, including economic studies.
Baseline data collected in 2025 will be used to understand current environmental and socio-economic conditions in the area and constitutes the first of two years of comprehensive baseline data required for environmental assessment. The 2025 program will build on data collected in 2023 and 2024 as well as the wealth of existing data from the area, which is well studied due to its proximity to Yellowknife and historic mining and exploration activities in the area.
The program will include local and regional baseline data collection activities and will focus on areas immediately adjacent to known pegmatite dikes where project infrastructure may be present in the future. Lakes and streams that are immediately up stream and down stream of potential future infrastructure will also be included in the program, along with areas that are up and down wind of potential future project activities. The program will include aquatic, atmospheric, terrestrial and human environment components and will employ approaches rooted in the scientific method and indigenous knowledge.
Li-FT is working closely with local indigenous communities and regulatory authorities to develop and execute the baseline data collection programs for the project. Community engagement sessions specific to baseline data collection programs were held in 2024, with additional sessions planned for 2025. The program will be managed by Det'on Cho Environmental, which is owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation and prioritizes indigenous employment.
April Hayward, chief sustainability officer of Li-FT, commented: "The launch of the 2025 baseline data collection program marks a critical step in advancing the Yellowknife lithium project. We appreciate the ongoing support of our indigenous partners and will continue to work closely with local communities and relevant regulatory authorities to ensure we have the data and information we require for future permitting activities, including environmental assessment."
Baseline data collection program components
Aquatics program: The program includes bathymetry, hydrology, hydrogeology and water quality surveys, as well as fish, fish habitat and aquatic life surveys. The program began on April 5, 2025, with under-ice water quality sampling, fish habitat surveys and winter hydrological surveys. The aquatics program will continue on an approximately monthly basis until the end of September or beginning of October, when freeze-up is likely to occur.
Atmospherics program: The program includes air quality, noise, vibration, light and meteorological components to establish ambient conditions in and around the project area. The atmospheric data collection program will begin in late spring/early summer and will continue year-round going forward.
Terrestrial program: The program includes vegetation, soils and terrain, permafrost, host rock geochemistry, and wildlife components. Soils and vegetation field programs will occur in the summer (July to September) and will be used to verify models built from geological maps and remote sensing data. The host-rock geochemistry program will build upon initial work completed in 2023 and 2024 and will include static and kinetic testing of host rock. The wildlife program will include acoustic data collection, the analysis of available satellite collar data and the continuation of camera trapping, which commenced in the fall of 2023.
Human environment program: The program will include heritage resources, land and resource use, social and community conditions, and economic components. The 2025 program builds on archeological studies and socio-economic data collected in 2023 and will expand to include indigenous resource use and indigenous knowledge studies (which will be integrated with the environmental data collection program) beginning in April, 2024.
About Li-FT Power Ltd.
Li-FT is a mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium pegmatite projects located in Canada. The company's flagship project is the Yellowknife lithium project located in Northwest Territories, Canada. Li-FT also holds three early-stage exploration properties in Quebec, Canada, with excellent potential for the discovery of buried lithium pegmatites, as well as the Cali project in Northwest Territories within the Little Nahanni pegmatite group.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2025 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.