The area within and just outside the 3Q Project catchment is characterized by volcanic cones reaching heights of 6,000 masl or greater. Successive tectonic episodes and reactivation of hydrogeomorphological dynamics in an extremely arid environment have formed low level drainage networks. This has resulted in conformation of inter-mountain basin areas and positive relief in the area. Salar in-fill units were differentiated in 3Q Salar and are the target of the current exploration. These salar in-fill units, or hydrostratigraphic units, from deepest to shallowest are:

- Fanglomerate - overlies the hydrogeologic basement and is composed of fanglomerates, medium-coarse sandstones and breccias;

- Lower Sediments - composed of sandstones and siltstones with minor gypsum laminae;

- Massive Halite - composed of fine to coarse-grained halite;

- Porous Halite - composed of medium to coarse-grained halite, with granular intervals of loose crystals;

- Upper Sediments - composed of reddish sandstones, silty sandstones, and plastic shales, mixed with halite crystals; and

- Hyper-Porous Halite - composed of medium to coarse-grained halite with high inter-crystalline porosity.

Overall, the information at the 3Q Project indicates that the lithium and potassium grades and the levels of impurities compare favourably against other brine deposits.

The 3Q Salar has aspects of both evaporite-dominant and clastic-dominant salar types. Within the salar, there is a substantial occurrence of evaporite sequences in excess of 200 m. However, there are also three laterally extensive clastic units (Upper Sediments, Lower Sediments, and Fanglomerate) that show evidence of extended periods of clastic-dominant deposition. Furthermore, there are frequent small clastic layers, ranging from a few to several cm, within the evaporite units. These small clastic layers tend to increase in frequency and/or thickness with proximity to the formal clastic units, often forming a gradual transition zone from the evaporite units to the clastic units.

As a primary constraint for simulating the production wellfield, NLC engineers identified that it was preferable to exploit the higher-grade northern portion of the Resource first, in order to minimize early pond requirements. Further, the overall constraint for the production wellfield is that it should include sufficient, and appropriately located, production wells to achieve the production targets in an efficient manner. Drawdown should remain above the screened section of the production wells. If excessive drawdown occurs, then additional wells would be required at appropriate spacing.

The simulated production plan included two phases (I and II) in which a total of 11 simulated production wells are located throughout the Measured and Indicated Resource zones. Phase I production is designed to exploit the higher-grade lithium Resource (>1,000 mg/L), during the first 20 years of production. In Phase I, five production wells are located on the flooding zone of Laguna 3Q. Six production wells are added in Phase II, south of the Phase I wells.

Production well depth and screen placement are designed to minimize mixing between brine layers and capture of any shallow freshwater that may be introduced to the system (i.e., through direct precipitation or lateral recharge). Simulated production wells extend to 109 m depth, with screen placement between 73 to 109 m. This depth corresponds to Layer 8 in the model domain, which is primarily in Upper Sediments for Phase I wells and Porous Halite for Phase II wells. At the specified screen placement depth, there is minimal brine recovery from the three deepest hydrostratigraphic units (Lower Sediments, Massive Halite, and Fanglomerate).

The QP considers that the simulated wellfield is appropriate for Reserve Estimation. It is further considered that the wellfield could be further optimized, to maximize lithium grade in the recovered brine and to minimize drawdown.

The Project consists of brine extraction to produce 20,000 tonnes per year of Battery Grade Lithium Carbonate (Lithium Carbonate BG) for a 35-year lifetime. The Project will be performed according to the following progression, which is designed for relatively constant Lithium Carbonate BG production during predicted decreases in brine grade:

- Initial Phase: Production of 20,000 TPY of Lithium Carbonate BG for a 10-year period, with an average brine extraction of 257 L/s and an expected lithium content of 1,000 mg/L.

- First Expansion: Production of 20,000 TPY of Lithium Carbonate BG from Year 11 to Year 20, considering a brine extraction of 321 L/s and an expected lithium content of 841 mg/L.

- Second Expansion: Production of 20,000 TPY of Lithium Carbonate BG from year 21 to year 35, with a brine extraction of 386 L/s and an expected lithium of 670 mg/L.

The overall production process uses three (3) operational bases:

1. Solar Evaporation Ponds – 3Q Salar: The lithium contained in the extracted brine is concentrated in a solar evaporation ponds system, where the water evaporation occurs as a function of solar energy, environmental temperature, humidity, salinity and wind. This system is divided in two stages:

a. Pre-Concentration Ponds: These ponds are designed to precipitate both sodium chloride salts (halite) and a combination of potassium salts (mainly sylvinite) to produce a preconcentrated brine saturated in CaCl2x6H2O.

b. Calcium Removal Ponds System: The pre-concentrated brine from the previous stage enters this group of ponds and thickeners, where calcium chloride (CaCl2) is precipitated, to increase lithium concentrations for subsequent treatment.

2. Process Plant – Fiambalá: This plant is designed to massively reduce boron and the remaining calcium in the brine, in two-stages. The first stage removes boron from the brine by solvent extraction. In the second stage, sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) is added to remove calcium. At this point, the brine is ready for Lithium Carbonate BG production.

3. Process Plant – Recreo: In this plant two stages of impurity removal are performed. This is followed by production of Lithium Carbonate BG by adding a soda ash (Na2CO3) solution to the brine. The final step consists of drying, sizing adjustment and packaging of the final product for delivery to customers.