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 occur within the Elk Creek Carbonatite.

The current known extents of the high grade niobium, titanium, and scandium are approximately 750 m along strike, 400 m wide, and 800 m in dip extent below the unconformity.

Niobium and Titanium Mineralization
The deposit contains significant concentrations of niobium. Based on the metallurgical test work 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 ........

The mining method selected for this ore body was based on economic parameters and geotechnical information, ensuring it was suitable for the mineralization geometry. Due to its depth and requirement for selectivity in mill feed grades, the underground longhole stoping method (LHS) was selected. Given the bulky geometry of the deposit, a block caving or sub-level caving method could have possibly been economically viable. However, the limited selectivity of such methods would not allow for optimizing the higher value of this deposit given their production constraints. To maximize the recovery of the high grade zones, a longhole stoping method utilizing paste backfill was used.

The stopes dimensions are 15 m wide, and stope length varies based on Nb2O5 mineralization grade to a maximum of 25 m per panel with a level spacing of 40 m. The variation on stope length allowed for optimization of the Nb2O5grade with a minimal increase to operating costs. The level spacing of 40 m was beneficial to operating and sustaining capital costs. Each block is mined with a bottomup sequence. A partial sill pillar level is designed to be left between these two mining fronts/blocks. The extraction of ore from the partial sill pillar level is expected to be 62.5% using production upholes through 25 m of the 40 m thick sill pillar and is accounted for within the reserves. This methodology will allow partial mining of ore on the sill pillar level, while at the same time allowing the deve ........

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