Country rocks in the Cinovec area comprise Proterozoic metamorphic complex muscovite-biotite orthogneiss and paragneiss, Lower Palaeozoic phyllite and epiamphibolite and partly migmatised muscovite-biotite paragneiss. These sequences are overlain and cut by the Teplice Rhyolite, composed of extrusive and partially intrusive rhyolite, dacite and ignimbrite and associated tuff with arkosic and Mid-Carboniferous coal interbeds. A thick north-south trending dyke of syenogranite porphyry up to 2km wide intrudes along or near the contact between the eastern gneisses and the Teplice Rhyolite; smaller dykes and masses are found elsewhere within the Teplice Rhyolite and basement rocks.

Tin deposits in the Krusne Hory province are either greisen type (with associated stockwork, sheeted vein and breccia pipe mineralisation) or skarn type. Cinovec is a greisen deposit.

The generic description of such deposits indicates that they consist of simple to complex fissure filling or replacement quartz veins, including discrete single veins, swarms or systems of veins, or vein stockworks, that contain mainly wolframite series minerals (huebnerite-ferberite) and (or) cassiterite as ore minerals (as is the case with Cinovec).

Other common minerals are scheelite, molybdenite, bismuthinite, base metal sulphide minerals, tetrahedrite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, stannite, native bismuth, bismuthinite, fluorite, muscovite, biotite, feldspar, beryl, tourmaline, topaz, and chlorite. Complex uranium, thorium, rare earth element oxide minerals and phosphate minerals may be present in minor amounts.

Greisen deposits consist of disseminated cassiterite and cassiterite-bearing veinlets, stockworks, lenses, pipes, and breccia in gangue composed of quartz, mica, fluorite, and topaz.

Veins and greisen deposits are found within or near highly evolved, rare-metal enriched plutonic rocks, especially near contacts with surrounding country rock; settings in or adjacent to cupolas of granitic batholiths are particularly favourable.

Tin and tungsten deposits exhibit a close spatial association with granitic plutonic rocks, especially late-stage, highly evolved, specialised biotite and (or) muscovite (S-type or A-type) granites and leucogranites. Small to moderate sized cupolas of larger subsurface plutons are especially favourable hosts; deposits may be endo- or exocontact.

Exocontact deposits usually are in pelitic and arenaceous sedimentary or metamorphic rocks and within the contact metamorphic aureole of a pluton. Most endocontact deposits, including tin greisens, and many tin and tungsten veins, are in or near cupolas and ridges developed on the roof or along margins of granitoids.

The Cinovec tin-tungsten-lithium deposit is intimately associated with the cupola of the CinovecZinnwald granite, and comprises:

- irregular metasomatic greisen and greisenised granite zones from several tens to hundreds of metres thick that follow, and are located near or at, the upper contact of the cupola. Greisen comprises quartz and zinnwaldite with or without topaz, with irregular admixtures of sericite, fluorite and adularia-K feldspar;

- thin, flat greisen zones enclosing quartz veins up to 2m thick. Both the greisen and veins parallel the intrusive contact of the cupola, dipping shallowly to the north, south and east. Ore minerals are cassiterite (tin oxide), wolframite (tungsten oxide),scheelite (calcium tungstates) and zinnwaldite (lithium mica). In the greisen, disseminated cassiterite predominates over wolframite, while in veins wolframite is roughly equal to, or more abundant than, cassiterite;

- steep quartz veins with wolframite.

The Cinovec mineralised system represents a world-class example of a Sn/W/Li + rare earth metal district which spans the Czech-German border and is part of the larger Erzgebirge metallogenic region.

Previous mining at Cinovec, although extensive, concentrated on the high-grade vein mineralisation which in the Main part of the deposit has been predominantly exhausted. However, the mineralisation identified at Cinovec South remains relatively untouched and comprises veins as well as the more ubiquitous greisen mineralisation.

As the greisen mineralisation was never the principal target of exploration, it is probable that significant tonnages over and above those stated in this report may exist across the site, although considerable exploration will be required to properly delineate these potential additional resources.

Over and above the Sn-W-Li mineralisation, samples collected from waste dumps and the tailings at Cinovec indicate promising levels of rare earth elements.

The geometry of the payable ore is largely flat or shallow dipping and massive enough to mechanism using long-hole open stope mining.

An evaluation was completed to establish the achievable extraction ratios with and without backfill, based on the geotechnical design criteria including pillar sizes and stope spans. The preferred option was to mine with pillars support only, negating the requirement for a backfill plant.

The payable ore will be split into blocks approximately 90 m long in the strike direction and 25 m high.

The bottom of each block will be accessed in the central position by an access crosscut and the block will be developed from the centre to the strike limit by drifting. The stope will then be mined on retreat from the block limit, retreating to the access cross-cut position. The stopes will be a maximum of 13 m wide with rib pillars between stopes of 4 to 7 m wide depending on stope height.

Access to the stopes will be by footwall drives developed in the footwall at 25 m vertical intervals. All stope access crosscuts will be developed out of the footwall drives.

The mine will be accessed by a twin decline system. A conveyor will be installed from the underground primary crusher on 590m Elevation to surface in the conveyor decline. The second decline will be used as a service decline for mineworkers, material and as an intake airway.

Comminution Plant
The purpose of the Comminution Plant (Figure 4) is to reduce the size of the ROM ore to a particle size distribution (PSD) that optimises lithium recovery, whilst allowing efficient pumping to the Beneficiation Plant.

Primary crushed ore is delivered to the Coarse Ore Stockpile. The ore is milled to 250 µm in a single stage SAG mill.

The Comminution Plant is run water neutral to remove the need for make-up water or disposal at the mine-site location. Thisis achieved by returning waterfrom the Beneficiation Plant via a pipeline. Thus, the comminution plant has the advantage of operating at zero water discharge.

European Metal’s approach for operation of the project as a whole is to provide a constant feed rate of 360,000 tonnes per year of mica concentrate to the LPP. The Comminution and Beneficiation plants will therefore vary operating hours to accommodate fluctuations in the mine feed grade, to produce the required level of mica production.

Based on detailed analysis of the test-work results, specific recovery algorithms were developed and entered directly into each block in the block model used for mine scheduling. The average metallurgical recoveries used in the project financial model are summarised below:
• Lithium recovery to concentrate 90%
• Lithium recovery in carbonate plant 91%
• Overall lithium recovery – 82%
• Tin recovery 65%

Beneficiation Plant
The Beneficiation Plant has two functions:
- First, to magnetically separate the paramagnetic zinnwaldite to produce a lithium rich magnetic stream (mica-concentrate) to feed the dow ........