McIlvenna Bay is a VMS deposit consisting of structurally modified stratiform volcanogenic polymetallic massive sulphide mineralization and associated stringer-style mineralization. The massive to semi-massive sulphides contain copper and/or zinc, with lower concentrations of silver, gold, and lead. The stringer-style mineralization generally contains elevated copper and gold. The deposit has undergone moderate to strong deformation and upper greenschist to possibly lower amphibolite facies metamorphism. The sulphide lenses are now attenuated down the plunge to the northwest.

The McIlvenna Bay Deposit includes five separate zones and two styles of mineralization that are mineralogically and texturally distinct and typical of VMS deposits.

• Massive to semi-massive sulphide mineralization in the Main Lens and Lens 3.
• Stockwork-style sulphide mineralization in CSZ directly beneath the Main Lens.
• Two other small lenses of stockwork-style mineralization:
- The Stringer Zone, which is located between the Main Lens and Lens 3.
- The Copper Stockwork Footwall Zone (FW), which occurs as a separate lens underneath the CSZ for approximately 150 m of strike length and could represent a fault offset and repetition of the Main Lens and CSZ.

The Main Lens at McIlvenna Bay is a large-massive to semi-massive sulphide horizon containing a metal zonation consisting of Cu- and Au-rich material near the upper plunge line of the deposit which. Down-dip it transitions into a more Zn and Ag dominant massive sulphide. In the 2013 resource estimate (Rennie 2013), the Main Lens was subdivided into the copper-rich Upper West Zone (UWZ) and the more zinc-rich Zone 2, based on these differences in mineralogy. However, statistical analysis of the assay grades within the lens suggests that there is a gradual transition between the two zones and that a hard boundary is not appropriate. The Main Lens Massive Sulphide is a continuous mineralized horizon which varies from 0.1 m to 18.0 m in thickness and averages 3.5 m overal.

The CSZ is a zone of stockwork style copper-rich mineralization that directly underlies and is in contact with the Massive Sulphide. The zone is wedge-shaped, running parallel to the plunge line Main Lens Massive Sulphide. Based on the limit of current drilling, the zone extends up-dip beyond the upper edge of the Massive Sulphide for approximately 100–200 m and terminates downdip where it pinches out against the Massive Sulphide approximately 100–200 m before the Main Lens ends. This unit is interpreted to represent the feeder zone to the massive sulphide system that was transposed into its current geometry during deformation. The CZS varies from 0.3 m to 26.0 m in thickness with an average thickness of 12.0 m.

The Main Lens Massive Sulphide and the underlying CSZ are generally in contact throughout the deposit, giving the bulk of the deposit an average thickness of 15.5 m overall. The mineralization in the deposit plunges at approximately -35° northwest from near-surface, for a down-plunge length of approximately 2,000 m.

Lens 3 is a massive sulphide that sits approximately 10 m to 30 m in the hanging wall above the Main Lens and could represent a stacked massive sulphide lens within the deposit. This lens has been traced intermittently along a strike length of 1,600 m and plunges parallel to the underlying Main Lens and CSZ. Lens 3 ranges in thickness from 0.1 m to 8.0 m and averages 2.0 m.

The Stringer Zone (SZ) comprises a narrow, intermittent lens of stringer-style sulphide mineralization that occurs sporadically between the massive sulphides of the Main Lens and Lens 3. The zone has a strike length of 850 m and averages 4.5 m in true thickness through the deposit.

The Copper Stockwork Footwall Zone (FW) is a separate lens that underlies the SZ and has been intersected in nine drill holes over approximately 150 m of strike length in the shallow, central part of the deposit. The lens varies in thickness from 0.3 to 38 m, with an average thickness of 30 m. The FW dominantly consists of stockwork style copper-rich mineralization similar to the CSZ, although, in several holes, narrow massive sulphide was also intersected at the top of the interval. It is possible that the FW represents a fault offset and repetition of the Main Lens and CSZ, but further drilling is required to prove the relationship of this lens to the rest of the deposit.

Massive to locally semi-massive sulphides are typical of the Main Lens and Lens 3 horizons in the deposit. The massive sulphide mineralization tends to be composed of 70% to 80% medium-sized and subrounded pyrite grains resembling “buckshot” in a fine-grained sphalerite-rich matrix. Sphalerite occurs as fine-grained and sometimes feathery minerals located in the interstices of the pyrite grains, ranging from 5% to 25% of the total unit. The sphalerite is generally dark brown to medium brown in color. Faint banding of the massive sulphides is occasionally apparent. Up to 10% fine-grained gray quartz, and occasionally fine calcite, are also observed in the interstices. Subangular to subrounded inclusions or fragments of massive black chlorite ranging from 2 mm to 50 mm in diameter comprise 10% of the unit. Patchy but commonly rounded chert fragments ranging from 1 cm to 3 cm in diameter can constitute up to 20% of the unit locally. Such chert, when present, is often surrounded by zones 1–3 cm in thickness that are enriched in pale brown sphalerite.

The semi-massive sulphides range from 20% to 60% sulphides which are found as veinlets, veins, and pods within strongly chlorite-altered rock. The sulphide portion tends to be either sphalerite or chalcopyrite dominant, with less than 20% fine-grained pyrite.

Sphalerite-dominant portions are generally comprised of reddish or pale brown to blonde sphalerite, indicative of zinc-rich and iron-poor sphalerite. Individual veins or pods have been documented to contain up to 56% zinc. Less common are the chalcopyrite-dominant intervals which are composed of 80% chalcopyrite over narrow widths. Veining and replacement textures are common in the semi-massive sulphides.

The CSZ mineralization is confined to the area below the Main Lens Massive Sulphide, but locally a similar stringer style of mineralization has also been observed between the Main Lens and Lens 3. In these instances, stringer-style mineralization can occur directly above the Main Lens Massive Sulphide, directly below Lens 3, or in the intervening stratigraphy between the two lenses, where it has been broken out as the “Stringer Zone” in the 2021 resource estimate (Lewis, San Martin and Jones 2021). The nature of the stockwork zone mineralization varies according to the host rock alteration, but, dominantly, this style of mineralization is associated with moderate to strong chlorite alteration. Chlorite-alteration hosted copper stockwork mineralization comprises chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite, with occasional pyrite, and is found in veinlets and pods cutting the chlorite. Sericite-quartz altered copper stockwork zones tend to be less prevalent and comprise exclusively chalcopyrite. The chalcopyrite lines fine, hairline fractures within the strongly silicified host, occurring in 5–10 cm long semi-massive pods containing angular to rounded host rock fragments. These pods and fractures appear to be late brittle features and may suggest that the chalcopyrite was remobilized into fractured rock, possibly during deformational events.

The sulphide mineralogy and the size of the alteration footprint suggest the presence of a proximal vent environment along the entire top plunge line of McIlvenna Bay, which is represented by the copper-rich portion of the Massive Sulphide.

Underground (UG) access to the McIlvenna Bay Deposit will initially be via a ramp from surface. A 2.43 m × 7.32 m rectangular shaft will also be constructed, commencing in Year 5, to reduce the truck haulage distances and the time required for the workforce to access the lower levels. At the time of this report, Foran is constructing the portal and developing a ramp to the 0090 Level, along with a bulk sample and an exploration/diamond drill drift on the 0090 Level. This is called the Advance Development and Exploration Program (ADEX). The mine development and life of mine plan presented in the FS will commence at the completion of the ADEX program.

Thirty-five levels, spaced at 30 m intervals sill to sill, are planned for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit. Lateral development will be concentrated in the first four years to establish the initial production areas, UG infrastructure, and the permanent ventilation system.

The McIlvenna Bay Deposit will be extracted using conventional longhole mining methods including sublevel transverse and longitudinal stoping and Avoca stoping. The ore body geometry and rock characteristics indicate these mining methods are appropriate for safe and efficient production. Ore will be drilled using a top hammer drill, blasted, and then mucked using battery electric (BEV) load-haul-dump (LHD) vehicles.

Ore will be hauled to surface using BEV haul trucks early in the mine life and will be hauled to the rock breaker stations feeding the shaft in the latter stages of mine production. Waste will be either hauled to surface or hauled to an active production level where it will be used as backfill.

Mine dewatering will be completed using a multi-level clean water system. Main sumps will be located on the 0060, 0420, 0780, and 0960 Levels. The 0060 Level sump will be designed to collect surface water via the ramp and most of the water transmitted through the sandstone layer. This sump will feed water into the process water system and pump the surplus water to surface. The 0420, 0780, and 0960 Level sumps will collect any remaining surface water, plus the process water from mining activities. The run-of-mine water will decant through membranes; with the clean water being pumped to the next main sump (i.e., 0960 Level to 0780 Level, and 0780 Level to 0420 Level). The 0420 Level sump will feed water into the process water system and pump the surplus water to surface. The residual solids in the sumps will be collected and placed into a nearby stope for disposal.

Transverse stopes will be backfilled with paste fill using filtered tailings from the processing facility. Avoca stopes will be backfilled with waste rock generated from underground development. Conventional trackless mining equipment will be used to execute lateral development required to access the ore body. Ore will be produced at a nominal rate of 4,200 tonnes per day (tpd) with a mine life of approximately 20 years, including an initial ramp-up period of two years.

The underground mobile fleet will be diesel equipment, except for the LHDs and haulage trucks. The fleet of mobile mining equipment will include LHDs, haulage trucks, drill jumbos, bolters, mechanical bolters, top hammer drills, a shotcrete unit and ancillary equipment. Some key mobile equipment units will be purchased through a lease-to-own program. Since the mine has access to surface, maintenance of the UG fleet will occur in the surface shop until the 0420 Level maintenance shop is constructed. It will service equipment for the life of the operation except for the haulage trucks, which will continue to be maintained in the surface shop.

The mine ventilation system is designed as a predominately negative or “pull” system and is designed using Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (Canmet) requirements for the described mobile fleet. It takes the use of BEVs into account, for a total airflow requirement of 250 m3 /s. The design includes an exhaust system and a fresh air system complete with a heating plant located between the fresh air raise and a centrally located exhaust raise. The fresh air will be partially heated using a propane-fired heating system and by absorbing heat from the exhaust air using a heat exchanger. The ramp and internal fresh air raise will distribute the air throughout the mine. Each level will have two exhaust raises on the extremities. The return air will be collected on the 0060 Level and exhausted to surface. The upper portion of the ramp—from 0060 Level to surface—will be ventilated with air from the surface fresh air raise to provide heated air to the portal.

The ore and waste handling system will begin with LHD units hauling material from the active heading or stope to the nearest remuck.

Ore will be loaded into the haulage trucks at the remuck and hauled to surface or to the 0570 Level rock breakers, once the shaft is operational. The 0570 Level rock breakers will be equipped with a remotely operated rock breaker. The grizzly openings will be 500 mm by 500 mm. The sized ore will be loaded onto a conveyor on the 0600 Level and transferred to the shaft for skip loading.

Waste will be loaded into the haulage trucks at the remuck and hauled to surface or to available Avoca stopes or a secondary transverse stope in the backfill cycle.

Primary Crushing.
In the initial years of mine life, ROM ore will be hauled to surface using 42-tonne capacity haul trucks and delivered from the portal either to the ROM stockpile or to the dump bin of the surface crushing facility. In later years, as the ramp development passes the 0600 level, the truck haulage system will be used in combination with a mine hoist lifting system. At this point, the hoist system will be able to feed the existing surface crushing circuit via a new overland conveyor.

Initial Operation.
Trucks will deliver run of mine ore to the primary crusher dump bin with a nominal top size of 500 mm and an average rate of 247 dmtph. If the dump bin is approaching capacity, the truck will be diverted by lights to tip on the nearby ROM stockpile.

The stockpile and primary crusher dump bin arrangement are located in close proximity to the portal and will be designed to minimize truck travel and turnaround, thereby maximizing equipment utilization.

The primary crushing system consists of a dump bin (60 t capacity), vibrating grizzly feeder (VGF), rock breaker, 150 kW jaw crusher, various chutes and a sacrificial conveyor to facilitate the movement of material. The VGF oversize will report to the jaw crusher and undersize will bypass directly to the sacrificial conveyor.

VGF undersize and crushed ore (100% -150 mm) is moved to a transfer point by the sacrificial conveyor at a rate of 247 tph. This conveyor is equipped with a PGNAA analyzer to determine copper and zinc concentrations. The analyzer will be situated directly above the sacrificial conveyor belt and will penetrate the entire raw material cross-section, providing minute-by-minute, uniform measurement of the material stream. The composition of the rock determines the position of an actuated bifurcated chute (diverter gate) at the transfer point that diverts the crushed coarse ore material to the appropriate transfer conveyor and coarse ore stockpile; namely Zinc or Copper Coarse Ore Stockpile with a capacity of 1,500 live tonnes each. Both the Copper Coarse Ore Feed Conveyor and the Zinc Coarse Ore Feed Conveyor have weightometers for monitoring and recording the ore mass flow rate.

Later Operation.
In Year 7 of the mine plan, a mine hoist lifting system will be commissioned to transport ore from the 0600 level to surface. Ore will be hauled from the lower levels of the mine to the hoist system using 42 t trucks. The truck haulage to surface will be retained to be used when required. The hoist system will discharge onto an overland conveyor and into the surface crushing system as described above.

Coarse Stockpiles.
There will be two coarse ore stockpiles, both of which will be covered from the elements. One stockpile will contain mainly zinc-rich mineralization (MS), while the second coarse ore stockpile will contain mainly copper-rich mineralization (CSZ). The two coarse ore stockpiles will be drawn down in a controlled manner using vibrating feeders to feed the SAG Mill Feed Conveyor. Estimates of coarse ore stockpile grade, together with relative stockpile tonnages, will be used to roughly meter the zinc and copper rich ore into the grinding circuit feed stream. This configuration allows for significant instantaneous grade fluctuations into the process plant to be attenuated prior to milling and flotation. The SAG Mill Feed Conveyor has a weightometer for monitoring and recording feed rate.

Grinding Circuit.
The grinding area is made up of a two-stage grinding circuit. The first stage includes a SAG Mill and two conveyors for pebble recycling or disposal. The blend of crushed ore sized at a P80 of 100 mm will be conveyed from the coarse ore stockpile (Area 150) to the mill building and into the SAG mill feed trunnion via the SAG mill feed conveyor and retractable loading chute. The SAG mill will be a 7.32 m diameter × 3.65 m EGL unit equipped with a 3,500 kW variable speed drive, a charge of 125 - 100 mm balls equivalent to ~10 to 12% of the chamber volume and a total load of ~25%. The SAG mill will be equipped with the necessary lubrication systems and inching drive to assist maintenance. It will be equipped with steel liners, and an internal discharge grate to permit the passage of slurry and finer particles from the milling chamber. Within the SAG mill, rock will be diluted with process water and ground to a coarse slurry (transfer size P80 of 0.56 mm).

Slurry will exit the SAG mill via a trommel screen with 8 × 24 mm slots. Trommel oversize will be recycled to the SAG mill feed chute, with option to be discharged to an outdoor pebble bunker. Trommel undersize will report to the mill discharge tank together with the ball mill discharge slurry from where it will be further diluted with process water and pumped to the ball mill cyclone pack for classification.

The second stage in the grinding area consists of a 4.7 m diameter × 7.4 m EGL overflow discharge ball mill equipped with a 2,700 kW variable speed drive and a charge of 65 - 50 mm balls equivalent to 30 – 32% of the chamber volume. The ball mill will be rubber lined and equipped with the necessary lubrication systems and inching drive to assist maintenance. Feed to the mill will consist of the cyclone pack underflow, with the mill discharge laundered to the mill discharge tank by gravity.

From the mill discharge tank, slurry will be diluted and pumped to the 6 × HC420 (four operating, two stand-by) hydrocyclone pack for classification. The feed to the hydrocyclone will have a densitometer, flowmeter and pressure transmitter to allow for monitoring and control of the feed
density, flow and pressure. Hydrocyclone overflow slurry will gravitate to the copper flotation circuit, whereas the coarser cyclone underflow slurry will gravitate to the ball mill retractable feed chute as ball mill feed. The design circulating load in the cyclone underflow is expected to be between 320% and 350% of primary mill feed tonnage.

Grinding balls will be added to the SAG and Ball mills via a kibble bucket, hoisted by overhead crane. Outdoor storage bunkers located adjacent to the process building will hold 125-100 mm balls for the SAG mill, and 65-50 mm balls for the ball mill.

The proposed processing facility has been designed as a nominal 4,200 dmtpd concentrator plant. In the early years of production (Years 1-4), ore will be hauled to surface in 42-tonne trucks and dumped into a surface crushing facility. As the mine development continues to depth and the number of trucks becomes difficult to manage, a mine hoist will be constructed to feed -500 mm ore onto a new overland conveying system to feed the surface crushing facility.

Copper Flotation.
The copper flotation circuit will consist of separate rougher and cleaner flotation equipment, with a concentrate regrinding mill installed to process the rougher concentrate prior to cleaner flotation. Concentrate from the copper cleaners will be pumped to the concentrate dewatering section prior to shipment as filter cake to toll smelters. Tailings slurry from the copper roughers will be pumped to the zinc conditioners for additional metal recovery.

Slurry will gravitate from the ball m ........