The Separation Rapids Lithium Deposit (SRLD) is underlain predominantly by a mafic metavolcanic sequence, consisting of flows, tuffs, subordinate epiclastic metasediments and rare iron formation horizons and rhyolites.

The drill tested portion is about 750 m in strike length, of which about 300 m is considerably thicker and thus contains the bulk of the presently defined mineral resource. The further continuation of the pegmatite 450 m to the west is thinner and has a few shallow drill holes. This thin portion, drilled in the past, has been informally referred to as Bob’s Pegmatite.

There is yet further extension of the thinner pegmatite in sparse outcrops to the west for approximately 400 m, referred to normally as the “Western Pegmatite”.

The thickest part of the SRLD, historically referred to as the Big Whopper Pegmatite, forms a large lens-shaped body approximately 400 m long and approximately 70 m at its widest part.

The SRLD narrows to less than 20 m at both its eastern and western ends, and extends along strike in both directions for at least 300 m in the form of relatively narrow tails up to 10 to 15 m wide. Smaller, subparallel, 1 m to 10 m wide, petalite-bearing pegmatite bodies predominantly occur to the northeast, north and northwest of the main SRLD body, with minor occurrences on the southern flank.

The narrower west-southwest-striking zone of petalite pegmatites extends from the main SRLD for a distance of ........

A conceptual pit design was conducted from the bottom up using the design parameters and the optimum pit shell 15 as a template. The bench to bench face angle of 80 degrees, with a 10 m bench and a 6 m wide safety berm was applied every 20 m. A haul road width of 15 m was used from the pit base (75 level) to the surface, on the assumption that two-way traffic would be operating in the whole of the mine.

The proposed method of mining is by conventional open pit methods using drilling and blasting, loading with excavators and shovels and hauling with rigid dump trucks. The mineral will be excavated by hydraulic excavator to allow selectivity in ore and waste areas. A dedicated front-end loader, Caterpillar 992 or equivalent, will also assist in excavating high outputs of waste.

The deposit is near surface and suitable for conventional truck and shovel open pit mining. The topsoil and any sensitive material will be removed and stockpiled in a specific site. This material will be used in the rehabilitation of mine site at the end of operations. Waste from the pit will initially be composed of overburden and will be dumped near the topsoil stockpile. As the pit is developed harder waste rock will be excavated and will be stored on a separate waste dump.

There will be a requirement for a low and high- grade ore stockpiles to be positioned adjacent to the primary crusher.

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