LAC ORIGNAL

Lac à l’Orignal Property

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 annual average of 425,000 tonnes of beneficiated phosphate concentrate at over 40% P2O5 content, 280,000 tonnes of magnetite and 97,000 tonnes of ilmenite over a 14.2 year mine life.
The Project generates a pre-tax internal rate or return (IRR) of 21.7% and a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $795 Million at a 5% discount rate at June 30/23 approximate 18 month trailing average phosphate price and long term consensus magnetite and ilmenite prices.
The Project generates an after-tax internal rate or return (IRR) of 17.2% and an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $511 million at a 5% discount rate at June 30/23 approximate 18-month trailing average phosphate price and long term consensus magnetite and ilmenite prices.
The Project would generate an after-tax cash flow of $567 Million in years 1-5, resulting in a 4.9-year payback period from start of production.
The Company has an MOU in place with Prayon Technologies of Belgium for up to 400,000 tonnes of annual phosphate concentrate offtake as well as a long-term purified phosphoric acid toll processing agreement.
The Project benefits from nearby road access and electrical power line, year round accessible deep sea Port of Saguenay at 107 km by four season road.
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 Lac à l’Orignal

43-101 Technical Report Highlights

Indicated pit-constrained Mineral Resource of 15.8 Mt at grades of 5.18% P2O5, 4.23% TiO2 and 23.90% Fe2O3.
Inferred pit-constrained Mineral Resource of 33.2 Mt at grades of 5.06% P2O5, 4.16% TiO2 and 22.55% Fe2O3.
Metallurgical Testwork indicates an anticipated apatite grade of at least 38% P2O5 at over 90% recovery.
The Lac à l’Orignal Deposit presents the potential for recovering two additional primary mineral products: a titanium oxide concentrate and an iron oxide concentrate.
The Lac à l’Orignal Deposit contains very low levels of potentially hazardous components, such as arsenic, heavy metals and radioactivity.

The scientific and technical disclosure for First Phosphate included in this report have 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 Qualified Person independent of the issuer, responsible for estimating the Mineral Resources of the Lac à L’Orignal Property, within the meaning of NI 43-101, is Mr. Antoine Yassa, P.Geo., of the firm P&E Mining Consultants Inc. Mr. Yassa has read this press release and confirms that the scientific and technical information in this press release for accuracy and compliance with NI 43-101.

SGS Quebec Preliminary Metallurgical Testwork

Metallurgical Testwork Report Highlights

The results from the batch and locked cycle tests were used to prepare an overall mass balance for the proposed flowsheet. The overall mass balance showed that the flowsheet could recover 91.4% of the apatite to a concentrate containing 40.2% P2O5.
Preliminary upgrading testwork on the ilmenite and magnetite streams achieved an ilmenite concentrate grading 39.3% TiO2 and a magnetite concentrate grading 69.0% Fe (99.2% Fe2O3). Further testwork is recommended to optimize the ilmenite circuit.

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this report has been reviewed and approved by D. Grant Feasby, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. Mr. Feasby is a metallurgist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).

Queen’s University Mineralogical Study

Metallurgical Study Highlights

The host-rock of First Phosphate’s Lac à l'Orignal deposit is a gabbronorite composed of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, biotite, fluorapatite, ilmenite, and magnetite. Fluorapatite is the primary mineralization and ilmenite and magnetite are potentially important secondary commodities for the production of titanium oxide and iron.
The P2O5 concentration of apatite using in situ analytical methods is 41.7 ±0.26 wt.%, which is just slightly higher than values (40.5-41.2 wt.%) obtained by whole-rock analyses of the apatite concentrate produced by SGS Canada Inc.
The Lac à l'Orignal deposit is a promising viable source of P for the LFP battery market. P2O5 and CaO concentrations and CaO/P2O5 ratios are better than required for phosphoric acid production. Halogen concentrations are variable with F below concerning levels, whereas Cl contents are slightly higher than ideal values. Cl concentrations could be managed by mixing mineralization with different Cl contents. Advanced methods for the reduction of Cl should also be explored.
Other elements, such as Si, Fe, Al, Mg, As, Cd, U, and Th of the apatite concentrate are below deleterious threshold concentrations. During phosphoric acid production from beneficiated apatite concentrate, these low trace element concentrations may produce phosphogypsum that could be recycled into plaster and wallboard.
The Lac à l’Orignal Deposit contains very low levels of potentially hazardous components, such as arsenic, heavy metals and radioactivity.
The low abundance of sulfide gangue minerals suggests that the environmental risks of acid mine drainage from tailings would be minimal. Such low concentrations of deleterious trace elements and sulfide minerals make the Lac à l'Orignal deposit an attractive and highly probable ESG-compliant source of North American P for the LFP battery industry.
Paragenetic relationships indicate that apatite precipitated throughout the crystallization history of the magma. However, the highest quality phosphatic mineralization is interpreted to have formed as apatite-magnetite-ilmenite cumulate layers that precipitated early to mid-way through the fractional crystallization process.
Further research should focus on the detailed characterization of other First Phosphate properties. The complexity of the LSJA Complex necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the mineralogy and geochemistry of these areas as a counterpoint to the Lac à l'Orignal region. Such a comparison will provide important new information required to fully assess the distribution of high-grade mineralized zones.

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this research study has been reviewed and approved by D. Grant Feasby, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. Mr. Feasby is a metallurgist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”).

Research Reports

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 the above scientific research article, published in Mineralium Deposita, 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”).
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00126-023-01216-5

The above research note 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”).

LAC ORIGNAL

Lac à l’Orignal Property