français Bégin-Lamarche
The Bégin-Lamarche Phosphate Deposit
Inside the Bégin-Lamarche Phosphate Deposit and Resource Growth
Preliminary Economic Assessment
Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights
(all dollar amounts in Canadian dollars on a 100% project ownership basis unless otherwise indicated)
- The Project would produce an annual average of 900,000 tonnes of beneficiated phosphate concentrate at 40% P2O5 content and 380,000 tonnes of magnetite at 92% Fe2O3 content over a 23-year mine life.
- The Project generates a pre-tax internal rate or return (IRR) of 37.1% and a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $2.100 Billion at an 8% discount rate at an approximate 3-year trailing average phosphate price plus a premium for purity and potential secure source of supply, and a 2-year trailing average magnetite price plus a premium for purity.
- The Project generates an after-tax internal rate or return (IRR) of 33.0% and an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1.590 Billion at an 8% discount rate.
- The Project would generate an after-tax cash flow of $700 Million in years 1 to 3, resulting in a 2.9-year payback period from start of production. Pre-tax cash flow in years 1 to 3 is $783 Million for a 2.6-year payback period.
- The Project benefits from adjacent paved provincial road access and nearby electrical power line, and year-round accessible deep-sea Port of Saguenay at approximately 85 km driving distance. Initial capex for the Project is limited to $675 million.
- The PEA used Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources in its calculations.
- The Project has no outstanding royalties or financing streams registered against it.
The scientific and technical disclosure for First Phosphate included in this report have been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. and Mr. Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET. Messrs. Lavoie and Puritch are Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects. Mr. Puritch is independent of First Phosphate.
43-101 Technical Report and Initial Mineral Resource Estimate at Bégin-Lamarche
- The updated MRE includes a 378% increase in Indicated Mineral Resources over the Company’s Initial MRE dated September 9, 2024.
- Measured pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 6.2 Mt @ 7.70% P2O5 (phosphate).
- Indicated pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 198.5 Mt @ 6.00% P2O5.
- Inferred pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 89.5 Mt @ 6.16% P2O5.
- The Deposit remains open at depth.
- Metallurgical test work indicates an anticipated apatite concentrate grade of 40.4% P2O5 at an 88% process recovery rate, with very low levels of potentially deleterious elements, and has been qualified for production of battery-grade phosphoric acid for lithium iron phosphate (“LFP”) battery with a conversion ratio of 91.1%.
- The Deposit is located next to existing road and hydroelectric infrastructure and at only 70 km driving distance from the deep-sea Port of Saguenay.
- The Deposit benefits from definitive, long-term, partially prepaid offtake from an existing, creditworthy partner.
- Apatite (phosphorus, phosphate) is listed on the critical minerals lists of Québec, Canada, the United States and the European Union.
Press Releases
- 70 km from the deep-sea Port of Saguenay
- Main feature is a 7 km long airborne magnetic linear anomaly that runs N200
- 2023: 4,661 m drill program completed (21 drill holes)
- 2024: 26,000 m drill program over the 3 km magnetic trend
- 100 m x 50 m spacing to optimize resource estimate
LFP Battery Valley: Quebec, Canada
The Bégin-Lamarche Mineral Resource Estimate is based on 120 drill holes totalling 29,762 m. The database contained 7,968 assays for percentage of P2O5, Fe2O3 and TiO2.The Mineral Resource Estimate is presented in Table 1.
The 3 main Zones at Begin-Lamarche
The Mountain Zone and Northern Zone
A total of 23 drill holes were completed in the Mountain Zone totaling 5,023 m. The Mountain Zone shows grades of more than 10% P2O5 over widths ranging from 7 m to 99 m. The phosphate mineralized zones in the Mountain Zone reach a thickness of 177 m (Table 1).
The Mountain Zone contains several veins of massive apatite of up to 2 meters thick. The Mountain Zone has been drilled over a total length of 250 m to date. This zone begins to merge (from the Southwest) with the Northern Zone (Figure 1) where a phosphate mineralized envelope (500 m thick) has been delineated by 19 drill holes totaling 4,831 m (Table 2).
This zone further consists of up to 4 individual layers ranging from 60 m to 100 m in thickness from the surface continuing to a depth of 300 m. The total length of the Mountain Zone and the Northern Zone is approximately 600 m. The Mountain and Northern Zones remain open at depth. up
Table 1 – Results for the Mountain Zone
Table 2 – 2023-2024 Results for the Northern Zone
The Southern Zone
The Southern Zone was drilled at 100 m spaced sections over a length of 1,700 m by 57 drill holes totaling 15,219 m. Results from the Southern Zone show continuous widths of over 100 m of phosphate mineralization (Table 3). The Southern Zone remains open at depth.
Table 3 – 2023-2024 Results for the Southern Zone
Figure 1 – Drill Map for the 2023 / 2024 Drill Programs at Bégin-Lamarche
The 99 hole drill program totaling 25,929 m completed on its Bégin-Lamarche project has uncovered a significant high-quality igneous phosphate deposit. The drilling has shown continuous phosphate mineralization over a length of 2,400 m spread across 3 mineralized zones.
Massive Apatite Concentration Visible Over 2.0 m in Drill Hole BL-24-82
Research Reports
The scientific and technical disclosure included in the above scientific research article, published in Ore Geology Reviews, has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).
The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by Steeve Lavoie, P.Geo. Mr. Lavoie is Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).