The deposit type for the lithium mineralisation occurring on the Authier property is a granitic pegmatites type, more specifically the rare element pegmatites sub-type due to the presenceof spodumene. Rare-element pegmatites typically occur in metamorphic terranes and are commonly peripheral to larger granitic plutons, which in many cases represent the parental granite from which the pegmatite was derived. The late Archean pegmatites of the Superior Province are typically localised along deep fault systems which in many areas coincide with major metamorphic and tectonic boundaries. Most pegmatites range in size from a few metres to hundreds of metres long and from centimetric scale to several hundred metres wide and even more for a few known cases. Rare-element pegmatites can have complex internal structures where the internal units in complex pegmatites consist of a sequence of zones, mainly concentric, which conform roughly to the shape of the pegmatite, and differ, in mineral assemblages and textures. From the margin inward, these zones consist of a border zone, a wall zone, intermediate zones, and a core zone. The border zone is generally thin and typically aplitic (fine grained) in texture. The wall zone, composed mainly of quartz-feldspar muscovite, is wider and coarser grained than the border zone and marks the beginning of coarse crystallisation characteristic of pegmatites. Intermediate zones, where present, are more complex mineralogically and contain a variety of economically important minerals such as sheet mica, beryl and spodumene. In the intermediate zones of some pegmatites, individual crystals size can reaches metres to tens of metres. The core zone consists mainly of quartz, either as solid masses or as euhedral crystals. Rare-element pegmatites typically associated with granitic intrusions are distributed in zonal patterns around such intrusions. In general, the pegmatites most enriched in rare metals and volatile components are located farthest from intrusions. Rareelement pegmatites are generally considered to be form by primary crystallisation from volatile-rich siliceous melt related to highly differentiate granitic magmas.

Another type of deposit model observed in the Property area is nickel-copper sulfides associated with Archean-age ultramafic volcanic lithologies. This type of deposit involves metre-scale thick lenses or sheets of nickel copper-bearing sulfides mineralisation typically composed of pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pentlandite. These lenses of sulfides are generally stratabound within flows of ultramafic volcanic unit referred as komatiite (Guilbert 1986). In the area of the Property, the ultramafic rocks hosting the sulfides are typically serpentinised and occur within a sequence of interbanded felsic volcanic rocks and greywacke sediments (Clark 1965, Graterol 1971).

The mineralisation observed at the Authier project in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites is principally lithium with trace amount of beryllium, molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, cesium and rubidium.

The spodumene-bearing pegmatite is principally defined by one single continuous intrusion or dyke which contains local rafts or xenoliths of the amphibolitic host rock which can be a few metres thick and up to 200 metres in length. Based on the information gathered from the drilling, the pegmatite intrusion is more than 700 metres in length and can be up to 60 metres thick. The intrusion is generally oriented east-west, dip to the north at an angle ranging between 35 and 50 degrees and is reaching depth of up the 165 metres below surface.

Mining will be undertaken using drill and blast, and conventional bulk mining methods utilising hydraulic excavators and dump trucks delivering ore to a ROM stockpile. Ore will be trucked directly from the blasted faces to the ROM stockpile and fed to a primary jaw crusher using a front-end loader.

The scale of the project indicates that the operation is best suited to a fleet comprising 46 tonne rigid body dump trucks being loaded by a 125 tonne excavator. A mixed ancillary fleet will be used to support load and haul operations. Shifts will operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.

BBA designed a concentrator to process 675,500 tpa of ore using conventional flotation technology suitable for the Authier pegmatite orebody. The plant will be located near the open-pit.

Run-of-mine ore (ROM) will be transported from the mine to the crushing plant. The ore will be fed to a three-stage crushing circuit reducing the particle size to P80 of 9 mm. The crushed ore will be stored under a protected dome and conveyed to a ball mill in closed-circuit with hydrocyclones. Crushed ore will be ground to a particle size (P80) of 180 µm. The ground ore will be passed through a magnetic separation circuit to remove iron-bearing silicate minerals and then de-slimed prior to mica flotation. Following mica flotation, the slurry will flow to an attrition scrubber and hydrocyclones for second-stage de-sliming prior to spodumene flotation.

Magnetic and mica concentrates, slimes, and spodumene flotation tailings will be thickened and filtered prior to dry stacking. Truck and loading units will be used to dispatch tailings to the waste rock facility.

The spodumene concentrate will be filtered to roughly 6% moisture and stockpiled in a covered storage area prior to bulk shipment to a port and/or a Canadian off-taker. The plant will produce a LOM average of 87,400 tonnes of 6% Li2O concentrate suitable for sale to lithium carbonate conversion plants that supply feed-stock to lithium battery manufacturers.