The three-major potash-bearing members are present in the Project Area and are, in ascending stratigraphic order, the Esterhazy Member (EM), Belle Plaine (BP), and the Patience Lake (PL) Members. These Members occur as discreet stratiform evaporite deposits in the uppermost PE and are comprised of halite, sylvite, and carnallite of variable mineral proportions and crystal size. Between each Member are sequences of bedded salts comprised predominantly of halite and clay. A thin distinct package of bedded clay, halite, and sylvinite termed the Whitebear Marker Bed is absent in the Project Area, but is normally situated between the EM and BP.

Patience Lake Member
The PL is the uppermost potash bearing Member within the PE. The upper boundary of the PL is marked by the presence of the first sylvinite bed as indicated from the drill core, assay grade and interpreted wireline. The salt back which occurs between the base of the Second Red Beds and the top of the UPL is comprised predominantly of halite and interstitial clay. The salt back within the project area ranges from 0.0 m to 3.18 m. The base of the PL is placed at the bottom of the last occurring sylvinitic bed, but is often chosen at the base of a commonly present clay seam. It was chosen slightly differently within the Project Area, as sylvinite was still present below this clay seam.

The depth to the top of the PL ranges between 1,162.11 m to 1,191.36 m in the eastern portion of the Project A ........

Solution mining is planned for the recovery of the potash resource in the Belle Plaine and Patience Lake Members, approximately 1,200 m below ground surface (BGS). Solution mining will be initiated by directional drilling and completion of two wells, drilled from a single pad, such that the wells enter the potash vertically and are spaced about 80 m apart. Solution mining of two potash beds (Belle Plaine and Patience Lake Members) is anticipated and the sequence of mining will be to mine the lowest bed first, with mining progressing upward. Major mining steps will include well drilling, cavern development, primary mining, and secondary mining.

After roof development, primary mining is initiated by injecting freshwater at an elevated temperature into one well and retrieving production brine from the other. Primary mining will progress in successive mining cuts, with occasional additions of oil to maintain the oil blanket. Each mining cut will be approximately 1 to 1.5 m thick. When a lift has been completed, the casing is perforated and the new section of the potash deposit is solution mined. Injection will alternate between the two cavern wells so that a symmetrical cavern develops. The PFS assumes that primary mining and secondary mining are 70% and 30% of the total available KCl tonnes within the cavern being solution mined, respectively, and the primary mining life of an individual cavern is 2.86 years, on average.

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