Due to grinding and flotation processes, none of the original textures that would have characterized the in situ rocks will have been preserved in the tailings material.

The mineralization found in tailings at the CMP has been deposited by manmade processes following grinding and flotation processes of black pyritic shale and is therefore not characteristic of a traditional manganese deposits. The material can be physically characterized as a compacted soil, with varying degrees of particle sizes from clay to coarse sand.

There is sorting of the flotation waste by grain size and weight, resulting from the sedimentation from the edge to the center of the tailings deposit.

Subsequently, three zones of grain sizes in the tailing pond can result with:
- An outer zone of fine-grained sand and silty sand
- A central zone of alternating sandy laminae with the outer and inner zone types
- An inner zone comprised of silt to slightly clayey silt (finest material of all zones).

This zoning is typical for slurry tailings and results from sedimentation of deposited slurries from fluctuation of water levels during decantation operations (removal of water) within the central zone and a gentle slope (1.5%), leaving little to no water in the outer zone.

The Chvaletice bedrock deposits of iron and manganese mineralization constitutes one horizon in the metasedimentary stratigraphy with variable proportions of carbonate and ........

The CMP Mineral Reserves, consist of three tailings cells. The tailings cells will be mined by conventional open pit mining methods that will have minimal disturbance to the project site’s surroundings, promoting both a safe and environmentally favourable project. Tetra Tech has designed a mining operation to produce 3,000 t/day of tailings feed from the Chvaletice deposit over a life of 25 years. Tailings will be extracted by truck and shovel equipment from each cell using benches in parallel mining cuts. The layout of both the site and tailings cells allow for a mining operation which is flexible in terms of ramp placement on the cells throughout the life of mine.

Bench Design
Based on the results of the geotechnical analysis, each of the tailings cells will be mined by an excavator loading haul trucks on 3-m high benches with a 12-m bench width and a bench face angle of 45 degrees. A haul ramp to the crest of each cell will be developed for access for the excavator to mine the benches from the top to the bottom. The bench height of 3 m was chosen as a conservative bench height that could be achieved in all areas of the cells with depressurization of the tailings. The 12-m bench width with the 45-degree face angle will allow slumping of the saturated tailings on the working face without causing a multi-bench failure.

Tailings Extraction Sequencing
The primary drivers of the production schedule are mining the tailings to meet the plant produ ........

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