The Project is hosted within the Elk Creek Carbonatite. By definition a carbonatite is an igneous rock body with greater than 50% modal carbonate minerals, mainly in the form of calcite, dolomite, ankerite, or sodium- and potassium-bearing carbonates. Carbonatites commonly occur as intrusive bodies, such as isolated sills, dikes, or plugs, although rarely occur as extrusive rocks. Many carbonatites are associated with alkali silicate rocks (for example, syenite, nepheline syenite, ijolite, urtite, pyroxenite, etc.). Carbonatites are usually surrounded by an aureole of metasomatically altered rocks called fenites. Carbonatite-associated deposits can be classified as magmatic or metasomatic types (Richardson and Birkett, 1996).

The property hosts niobium, titanium, and scandium mineralization as well as REE and barium mineralization that occurs within the Elk Creek Carbonatite. The current known extents of the Carbonatite unit are approximately 950 m along strike, 300 m wide, and 750 m in dip extent, below the unconformity.

The deposit contains significant concentrations of niobium. Based on the metallurgical testwork completed to date at a number of laboratories using QEMSCAN® analysis, the niobium mineralization is known to be fine grained, and that 77% of the niobium occurs in the mineral pyrochlore, while the balance occurs in an iron-titanium-niobium oxide mineral of varying composition.

Within the Elk Creek Carbonatite a host of other elements exist with varying degrees of concentration. The Company has completed both whole rock analysis and multi-element analysis on all samples for the 2014 program, plus resampling of selected historical core/pulps between 2011 and 2014.

As the metallurgical testwork advanced during 2014 and 2015 the ability to obtain a titanium dioxide (TiO2) and scandium (Sc) product, became apparent. TiO2 is typically found to be related to the niobium grades with a range of between 3:1 to 4:1 found within the core of the deposit. The scandium mineralization does not directly correlate to niobium mineralization, but does show a grade increase with increasing niobium at low grades, but then a scatter of grades (on average considered higher grades 60 to 80 ppm, within the mdolCarb units.

Within the Elk Creek Carbonatite complex there are several occurrences of REE mineralization, including the Project. REE mineralization within the Carbonatite occurs within the following minerals:
• Bästnasite ([Ce,La,Y]CO3F);
• Parisite (Ca[Ce,La]2[CO3]3F2);
• Synchysite (Ca(Ce,La)[F|CO3]2); and
• Monazite ([Ce,La]PO4).

Mineralization is located approximately 200 to 1,000 m below the surface. Based on geomechanical information and mineralization geometry an underground longhole stoping method (LHS) is suitable for the deposit.

The stopes will be 15 m wide and stope length will vary based on mineralization grade. A spacing of 25 m between levels has been used. The deposit is mined in blocks where mining within a block occurs from bottom to top with the use of paste backfill. Sill pillars are left in situ between blocks. The backfill will have sufficient strength to allow for mining adjacent to filled stopes, thus eliminating the need for dip pillars.

The mine will be shaft access to minimize development through water bearing horizons. Mineralization will be transported from stopes to the shaft/hoist system by underground trucks. A single ventilation raise will serve as a dedicated exhaust raise and will be raisebored conventionally. Intake air will be down the shaft with fresh air entering a dedicated ventilation drift above the loading pocket. As levels are developed lower in the deposit short slot raises will be developed connecting levels for ventilation purposes.

The ferroniobium processing facility is designed with three distinct operation units: a mineral processing plant including a grinding circuit, designed to reduce the particle size prior to leaching; a hydrometallurgical plant (hydromet), designed to extract niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5), scandium oxide (Sc2O3), and titanium oxide (TiO2); and a pyrometallurgical plant (pyromet), designed to produce ferroniobium, an iron-niobium alloy.

The RoM ore will be crushed underground in a primary crusher, and the crushed product with a top size of 203 mm and characteristic size (P80) of 115 mm, will be delivered to the crushed ore bin located at the surface. The ore from the bin will be reclaimed by three vibrating feeders with a total capacity of 136 t/h and passed on to the secondary crusher circuit via the secondary crusher screen feed conveyor.

At the secondary crushing stage, the ore will be sized on a dry, double deck screen with a top deck aperture size of 50 mm and bottom deck aperture size of 25 mm. The screen oversize from both decks will report to the secondary crushing stage. The screen undersize will be conveyed to the HPGR circuit.

The HPGR screen undersize will be the final comminution product and is expected to have a characteristic particle size (P80) of 1.1 mm. The ore will be stored in a fine ore bin, then reclaimed by a vibrating feeder with a design capacity of 132 t/h, and then passed on to the acid leach circuit via the acid leach feed conveyor for further processing.

Hydrometallurgical Plant
The role of the hydrometallurgical (Hydromet) plant is to separate the three pay elements Nb, Ti, Sc, from the crushed Ore, while utilizing processes to minimize the operating cost of the plant. This requires a large amount of acid, both Hydrochloric (HCl) and Sulfuric (H2SO4). The Hydromet plant includes acid recovery processes to lower the operating expense of the process by requiring a small amount of fresh acid and sulfur to be brought onsite. The HCl and H2SO4 recoveries are 99% and 85% respectively. The other operating cost reduction comes from utilizing impurities in the ore separated out in the process as reagents in the process, which minimizes the need for fresh reagents brought onsite. The added benefit to utilizing impurities as reagents reduces the amount of Tailings from the process that needs to go to the Tails Storage Facility (TSF), reducing the overall size of the storage area.

The hydrometallurgical process is divided into fifteen units:
1. Hydrochloric Acid Leach (605)
2. Sulfuric Acid Bake (610)
3. Water Leach (615)
4. Iron Reduction (620)
5. Niobium Precipitation and Phosphorus Removal (625)
6. Scandium Precipitation (628)
7. Sulfate Calcining and Mixed Oxides Handling (630)
8. Titanium Precipitation (635)
9. Scandium Solvent Extraction (640)
10. Scandium Refining (645)
11. Product Handling and Packaging (650)
12. Sulfuric Acid Plant (655)
13. Hydrochloric Acid Regeneration (660)
14. Tailings Neutralization (665)
15. Tailings Filtration (670)

Pyrometallurgical Plant
The proposed process is based on aluminothermic reduction of niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) present in the precipitate. The dry Nb2O5 precipitate pellets are fed by conveyor to the Furnace Feed Preparation Area (FPA), and stored in a closed bin, giving a total of 7.5 days storage time. Aluminum grains, the primary reductant, with hematite Fe2O3 pellets to supply iron units are also stored in feed bins with a 13 day storage capacity.

The low consumption fluxes limestone (CaCO3) and sodium oxide (Na2O) are each stored separately in super sacks that can easily be opened. Six flow control bins for aluminum, hematite, limestone, sodium oxide, and FeNb metal off-spec recycle material along with the Nb2O5 feed stock from the Hydromet provide measured feed to the FeNb Furnace. The three larger quantity usage bins are loaded by conveyor while the lower quantity usage bins are loaded by crane using super sacks.

The furnace feed preparation is performed as a continuous process with specified mass measurement of the Nb2O5 precipitate pellets with the required aluminum, hematite, and fluxes to satisfy a “recipe” for the production of on-spec FeNb alloy (65% Nb). Each ingredient is fed onto the furnace feed conveyor at a pre-determined rate to provide a continuous charge to the furnace.

This allows tight control on continuous feed of the mixed charge into the furnace, to maintain furnace levels of slag and metal alloy. Furnace feeding will be stopped briefly for tapping of both molten slag and FeNb alloy, according to levels of slag and metal in the furnace.

The Al2O3-TiO2OO-CaO type slag produced in the furnace is tapped into steel molds multiple times (18 times/shift) each shift where it is allowed to cool before being moved to a storage bunker area. The steel molds are sectioned so that the slag is easily removed from the mold and is in small easily crushed pieces. The molds are reused. The slag is moved from the load out bunker with a front-end loader (FEL) to the vibrating feeder that feeds the Slag Jaw Crusher. The crushed slag is then treated by gravity separation to recuperate the FeNb particles stuck in the slag. The remaining slag is transferred to the tailings impoundment.

The FeNb alloy metal is tapped via a short launder into the FeNb pelletizing pan where the molten droplets will solidify in a cold water basin to form particles ranging in size from approximately 6 mm to 15 mm. The cooled FeNb pellets will then be removed from the basin by a pocket conveyor and transferred to a rotary dryer where the moisture will be driven off prior to screening and packaging. Undersize FeNb pellets are collected and sent to the off-spec feed bin to be reintroduced into the EAF.