San José is a zinnwaldite mica replacement deposit hosted by pelitic shales of the Central Iberian Zone, with lithium mineralisation occurring predominantly within the slates and to a lesser degree in the quartz carbonate veins which have been historically mined for tin. The rock which hosts mineralisation at San José is comprised roughly in equal parts mica, quartz and tourmaline.

Mineralisation within quartzite is typically low-grade. The pervasive nature of mineralisation (broad, relatively homogeneous distribution) is likely derived from a deep-seated intrusive source. Mineralisation is open at depth and has not been closed off by drilling.

The San Jose Deposit was formed by an amalgamation of quartz and quartzpegmatite veins, which formed a stockwork hosted by metasediments. The mineralisation is disseminated in both the host as lithium micas and the veins hosting tin as cassiterite, lithium as amblygonite-montebrasite and minor tungsten as wolframite. The lithium is found mainly in the micas of muscovite-fengite type in the host rock and in lesser proportion in the amblygonite-montebrasite of the veins.

Infinity engaged Mining Sense to produce an underground mining plan to support a 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) processing plant located on site. To do this, an underground mine will be developed with the portal entrance located adjacent to the proposed process plant location in PIAV. This decline will extend approximately 1,300m and drive from the portal WNW declining to approximately 60m below ground before it encounters the resource.

Mining Sense selected transversal long hole stoping with paste backfill as the ideal mining method for resource extraction. This method, which allows mining in primary and secondary stopes, will enable maximum extraction of the mineralisation and maximum storage of tailings in the voids left through underground paste-fill.

The mine will ramp-up to full production over a 2-year period from start of production and then operate at 2.0Mtpa production for 22 years before it reduces based on current available resources to cease production after 26 years. The mine plan delivers 47.7Mt for a contained 145.7kt of LCE to the processing plant.

Mining will be conducted utilising twin boom jumbo excavators with mined material mucked and transported in Load Haul Dump (‘LHD’) to stockpiles. Front end loaders will rehandle mined material into articulated trucks which will deliver it to the ROM.

The lithium bearing mica ore is separated from related quartz and tourmaline minerals through a crush, grind and froth flotation beneficiation process. The mica concentrate will then be treated via a sulphate roast using water leach with crystallisation and precipitation.

The beneficiation process plant will produce approximately 885ktpa of concentrate from 2Mtpa. The mine schedule is designed to produce approximately 19,500tpa of battery grade lithium hydroxide over 22 years of production after the initial two years of ramp up

Stage 1:
Comminution and Beneficiation.
Beneficiation of mined ore is envisaged using froth flotation to upgrade to on average 1.36% Li2O over the first 10 years with retention of ~42% of mass. The residual ~58% reject will be stored in separate dumps.

Stage 2:
Sulphate Roast, Water Leach and Purification.
The process flowsheet envisages the conversion of refectory lithium host mica minerals into a soluble s ........