The deposit model at the Eldor Property is the carbonatite-hosted REE-Nb-Ta deposit. Carbonatites are by definition igneous rocks, intrusive and extrusive, that contain more than 50% by volume carbonate minerals such as calcite, dolomite, ankerite, and less often siderite and magnesite. Intrusive carbonatites occur commonly within alkalic complexes or as isolated intrusions (sills, dikes, breccias, or small plugs) that may not be genetically related to other alkaline intrusions. Carbonatites can also be volcanic-related and occur as flow or pyroclastic rocks like the well-known active Oldoinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania. Carbonatites are generally related to large-scale, intra-plate fractures, grabens, or rifts that correlate with periods of extension, typically Precambrian to recent in age.

Carbonatite-hosted deposits occur almost exclusively in intrusive carbonatite and may be subdivided into magmatic, replacement/veins, and residual sub-type. The Eldor Carbonatite can be classified as a magmatic sub-type, which is the same category as the St-Honore deposit in Quebec, Canada (Niobec niobium mine, Iamgold), the Mountain Pass Deposit in California, U.S.A. (REE), and the Palabora Deposit in South Africa (apatite).

The Rare earth element mineralization at Ashram is hosted primarily (essentially 100%) by monazite, rare earth fluorocarbonates (bastnäsite, parisite, and lesser synchysite) and lesser xenotime. Rare earth mineralization at Ashram is consistent ........

Taking into account the proximity of the mineralized zone with the surface topography and the presence of high grades of REEs at shallow depth, the mining method selected to mine the Ashram Deposit is open-pit mining. Conventional mining machinery, such as trucks, loaders, and hydraulic shovels will be used on 5 metre benches

At a rate of 4,000 tonnes of ore per day processed at a CoG of 1.25%, the Ashram Deposit contains enough resource to support an operation for more than 177 years (open pit and underground mining). Therefore, the main purpose of the optimization process was to highlight a section of the deposit providing a sufficient TREO grade (over 1.25% TREO) with a reasonable stripping ratio, rather than determining the optimum pit limit.

SGS and Commerce Resources agreed to limit this PEA to the 25 first years. The evaluation beyond these years is pure speculation considering the impossibility of predicting the demand for the lanthanides for such a period plus the changes in the overall economy. SGS developed a life-of-mine scenario (LoM) based on a 1,400,000 tonnes mill throughput (4,000 tonnes per day over 350 days per year). Stripping will begin during construction phase (year 0) in order to use waste material to build roads and infrastructure foundations.

Using the base case shell as reference, an open-pit including a ramp and safety berms was designed to develop a more realistic mining scenario. The new designed pit will account ........

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