Summary:
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 Area and increases to 1,213.14 m in the west. The PL averages 8.22 m in vertical thickness.
Mineralogically the PL is recognized for its clay-rich character, with several laterally extensive interbedded clay seams and zones of high interstitial insolubles. Assay results within the Project Area indicate an average insoluble content 8.90%. Sylvite crystals are generally cloudy white and subhedral in form, ranging in diameter from <5.0 mm to 10.0 mm and locally reaching up to 29.0 mm. Oxidized reddish-orange insolubles commonly rim the sylvite crystals. Halite crystals also range from <5.0 mm to 10.0 mm, reaching a maximum diameter of 22.0 mm. Halite crystals are typically subhedral and vary in color from white, to pale orange, to moderate brown. Carnallite is generally found in trace amounts with the average equivalent content of 0.48% (0.16% MgCl2), based on all seven drill holes.
Belle Plaine Member
The BP stratigraphically underlies the PL and is present in all seven wells drilled in the Project Area. The upper boundary of the Member is picked at the top of a thin clay-rich bed present between the overlying barren halite interbed and the underlying BP sylvinite beds. The lowermost sylvinite bed marks the base of the BP, which typically has a persistent clay bed, separating the BP from the underlying barren halite interbed. Like the PL, the BP can be subdivided into Upper and Lower Potash Sub-Members divided by a bed of low-grade clay-rich sylvinite.
The depth to the top of the BP ranges from 1177.64 m in the east to 1,228.28 m in the west, exhibiting a uniform thickness across the property averaging 7.22 m.
Sylvite crystals are generally cloudy white and subhedral in form, ranging from <5.0 millimetres (mm) to 15.0 mm and locally up to 30.0 mm in diameter. Halite crystals also range from <5.0 mm to 15.0 mm in diameter locally exceeding 30.0 mm. Carnallite is generally trace to locally minor with an average calculated equivalent assay grade of 0.54% (0.19% MgCl2) based on all seven wells.
Esterhazy Member
The lowermost stratigraphic potash-bearing EM is present in all seven wells drilled in the Project Area. It is separated from the BP by a relatively thick sequence of barren interbed salt averaging 23.93 m.
The upper boundary of the EM is placed at the top of the first sylvinite bed and the lower boundary at the base of the lowermost sylvinite bed. In both cases the boundaries are relatively sharp with an abrupt change in crystal size and sylvite mineralization.
The depth to the top of the EM ranges from 1,209.00 m in the east to 1,262.00 m in the west, averaging 8.24 m in vertical thickness. Sylvite crystals are cloudy white, subhedral in crystal form, and coarser grained than the overlying members. Sylvite crystals range in diameter from 5.0 mm to 20.0 mm on average, to 41.0 mm locally. Halite crystals also range in diameter from 5.0 mm to 20.0 mm on average, locally exceeding 40.0 mm in size. In general, throughout the seven wells drilled in the Project Area, sylvinite beds within the EM are of substantially lower grade than those of the PL and BP. The EM in the Project Area is considered carnallitic with carnallite occurring as reddish-orange, amorphous, interstitial masses and stringers surrounding the sylvite/halite groundmass. Carnallite averages a calculated equivalent grade content of 8.05% (2.75% MgCl2) within the project area.