(Kitco News) - A new discovery in northern Quebec may reshape the global supply landscape for one of the rarest and most strategically valuable metals on Earth.
High-grade cesium mineralization – reaching concentrations as high as 26% cesium oxide (Cs₂O) – has been uncovered at a scale not seen since Australia’s Sinclair Mine, which closed in 2019. The discovery spans a 600 by 400 meter corridor and remains open in all directions, potentially making it the richest cesium deposit confirmed in the Western Hemisphere in decades.
“This wasn’t something we were even targeting directly,” said Ken Brinsden, CEO of Patriot Battery Metals, the company behind the find. “It’s an incredibly high-grade byproduct emerging right in the middle of our lithium development corridor. It’s a real value add.”
Cesium is an ultra-rare alkali metal used in applications ranging from atomic clocks and quantum computing to satellite guidance and deep-earth drilling. With its extreme reactivity and unique electrical properties, the metal has no substitutes in many of its critical uses. Yet global supply remains fragile. Prices vary depending on purity and chemical form, but refined cesium compounds can fetch upwards of $75,000 to $100,000 per tonne, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Currently, only one primary cesium-producing mine remains in commercial operation worldwide – the Tanco Mine in Manitoba – and it is nearing depletion. China dominates the processing and export of most strategic metals, including cesium. The U.S., which classifies cesium as a critical mineral essential to national security, is 100% import-dependent.
“It puts us in a highly strategic position – especially as cesium supply continues to tighten and geopolitical interest rises,” Brinsden said.
The discovery comes amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. This week, the Biden administration raised tariffs on Chinese imports to an effective rate of 145%, targeting a broad range of industrial goods and strategic inputs. China, for its part, has previously restricted exports of gallium, graphite, and rare earth elements, fueling concerns over the West’s reliance on Chinese-controlled supply chains.
“In the end, it's now incumbent on the West to continue to work on further diversification of those supply chains,” Brinsden said. “Canada is also a fantastic home to a lot of, if not most of the critical minerals.”
The cesium zone lies within the Shaakichiuwaanaan Property, part of Patriot’s larger Corvette district in the James Bay region of Quebec. It was discovered during lithium drilling in what geologists call an LCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) pegmatite system – a rare geological setting capable of hosting multiple critical minerals at once.
“So hot off the press, a cesium discovery,” Brinsden said. “But don’t forget the tantalum. The average grade across our existing resource – approximately 160 parts per million - that's also right up there with the better tantalum resources globally.”
The company now plans to develop a dedicated cesium resource estimate alongside its ongoing lithium feasibility work. Patriot’s CV5 lithium deposit is already among the largest high-grade lithium resources in the Americas and is being advanced with Volkswagen as a strategic partner.
“Because we've already been drilling for lithium, we already have a substantial database that we can draw on,” Brinsden said. “Targeting a resource for cesium in parallel to the growth in the lithium resource is going to be an important next step.”
Analysts say the scale and concentration of the find - combined with existing infrastructure, clean power access, and alignment with North American allies – positions the site as a potential anchor in the reshaping of Western critical mineral supply chains.
“We would suspect if we keep drilling, there is the opportunity for more important discoveries in each of those categories – lithium, cesium, tantalum,” Brinsden said. “It’s a premier piece of geology.”
For more updates on North American critical minerals and geopolitical supply shifts, stay with Kitco Mining and watch the full interview above.
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