Ontario’s race to extract lithium is heating up, and one company says it could open the province’s first mine in two years.

Rock Tech Lithium is aiming to bring its Georgia Lake project in northwestern Ontario into production while three other major companies compete to develop the province’s largely untapped lithium resources in the region.

“I believe it is the ideal time for it,” the company’s CEO, Mirco Wojnarowicz told BNN Bloomberg.

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He says his company is helping Canada establish lithium production and processing capacities to reduce its reliance on China for the critical mineral. And Canada already has the raw materials, while also being the seventh largest producer of lithium in the world.

“What Canada also offers, in particular Ontario, is very competitive energy prices,” says Wojnarowicz.

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