IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc.
ST-CHARLES DE BOURGET TITANIFEROUS
MAGNETITE PROJECT
SAGUENAY-LAC-ST-JEAN AREA
QUEBEC, CANADA
- A 43-101 COMPLIANT TECHNICAL REPORT -
Presented to
MICREX DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
By
Réjean GIRARD, P. Geo. Jean-Paul BARRETTE, P. Geo.
Date: August 24, 2011 IOS Project: 806
The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh
ITEM 2: TABLE OF CONTENTS
ITEM 2: TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... I ITEM 3: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 ITEM 4: INTRODUCTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE ...... 3 ITEM 5: DISCLAIMER ...... 5 ITEM 6: PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION ...... 6 ITEM 7: ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY ...... 12 ITEM 8: EXPLORATION HISTORY ...... 13 ITEM 9: GEOLOGICAL SETTING ...... 21 ITEM 10 DEPOSIT TYPE ...... 27 ITEM 11 MINERALIZATION ...... 30 ITEM 12 EXPLORATION ...... 33 ITEM 13 DRILLING ...... 36 ITEM 14 SAMPLING ...... 43 ITEM 15 SAMPLE PREPARATION, ASSAYING AND SECURITY ...... 45 ITEM 16 DATA VERIFICATION ...... 47 ITEM 17 ADJACENT PROPERTIES ...... 48 ITEM 18 MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING ...... 49 ITEM 19 MINERAL RESOURCES ...... 58 ITEM 20 OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION ...... 61 ITEM 21: INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS ...... 75 ITEM 22: RECOMMENDATIONS AND BUDGET ...... 76 ITEM 23: REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 78 ITEM 24: AUTHOR’S CERTIFICATION ...... 85 ITEM 25: ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGURES, TABLES AND APPENDICES) ...... 89
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2.1 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Project location Figure 2: Property map Figure 3: Regional geology Figure 4: Titaniferous magnetite deposit (by Jooste, 1948) Figure 5: Ground magnetic survey Figure 6: Compilation
2.2 LIST OF TABLE
Table 1: Summary of drill holes Table 2: List of mineralized drilling intersect Table 3: Summary results of mineral and concentration tests and analyses
2.3 LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1: List of claims Appendix 2: Historical work and reports Appendix 3: Historical drill holes
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ITEM 3: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The current report presents the up-to-date status of the geological information available on the St-Charles-de-Bourget titaniferous magnetite project, written in compliance with National Instrument 43-101 F-1. The writing of this report was not triggered by a mandatory securities requirement, but rather by The current report presents the up‐to‐ the intention of Micrex Development Corporation date status of the geological to raise capital to finance a resource definition information available on the St‐Charles‐ program on their property. The report presents de‐Bourget titaniferous magnetite in a comprehensive way all the geological project, written in compliance with information available, and reviews all publically National Instrument 43‐101 F‐1. available historical work carried out since the discovery of this occurrence at the turn of twentieth century. Micrex first indicated to the authors its need for a preliminary economic assessment, but the authors indicated to them the need to delineate the CIM guidelines compliant resources prior to such an assessment. The project is still in the early stage of development, therefore this report intends uniquely to provide justification for drilling expenses. Conclusions and recommendations call upon several assumptions, numerous discussions as well as the authors’ experience and common sense.
Micrex acquired a participation in the property In spite of its protracted history, the St‐ (5 titles) from Mr. Rock Cormier, who still acts Charles project is still in the early stage as a consultant for them. A residual $0.25/ton of development, therefore this report or 1% NSR is attached. The five mineral intends uniquely to provide justification exploration titles mimic farming lots number 44 to 48, range I, Bourget Township, according to for drilling expenses. the 1981 Québec mining laws, for an area of 281.71 hectares. The property is located in the Grenville geological province, east of Lac St-Jean, approximately 30 km west of the city of Saguenay. The mineralization is associated with the margin of the Lac-St-Jean Anorthosite Complex, an extensive intrusive system covering about 20 000 km2. Mineralization, which was discovered around 1920, forms discontinuous bodies scattered over two kilometres within this Middle Proterozoic intrusive. Titanomagnetite is the dominant mineralisation, associated with a significant amount of ilmenite and apatite.
Since its discovery, the deposit has been worked sporadically through time, mainly as a source of magnetic iron ore, but also for its titanium or phosphate content. Abundant metallurgical testing has been carried out, as well as the drilling of 71 exploration holes, not all of them disclosed in assessment reports. The best geological map currently available is from Jooste 1958, while the only acceptable magnetic survey was carried
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh out in 1972 with the use of a Fluxgate (Fulcher, 1972). The abundance of historical exploration work is in sharp contrast with the lack of a methodical approach, which renders most of this work of little use according to current standards.
Mineralurgy bench scale testing Various CIM guidelines for non-compliant resources estimates, non-compliant to actual standard, were indicated the ore as being published in the past for the St-Charles deposit, amenable to produce a 10% ranging from a few million tons to 54 million tons. TiO titanomagnetite 2 However, none of these estimates indicates grades, concentrate plus commercially and none is considered as dependable by the authors. acceptable 42.1% P2O5 apatite However, the lack of a reliable resource estimate does and a 38% TiO2 ilmenite not mean the resource is not present. It is the authors’ concentrates. opinion that with sufficient drilling, a significant resource can be outlined. Although the deposit is small to be considered for the production of iron ore, it is the authors’ opinion that sufficient tonnage is available to sustain the production of magnetite for industrial application, as considered by Micrex.
Abundant metallurgical testing, mainly bench scale, The apatite concentrate indicated that the titanomagnetite is suitable for magnetic grades between 38.6% and concentration, and that ilmenite and phosphates can be 40.1% P O (88% BPL), with a recovered from the non magnetic tails. Titanomagnetite is 2 5 recovery between 85.0% and composed very small ilmenite exsolution disseminated within magnetite, too small to be separated economically. 91.5%. The presence of such exsolutions renders the magnetite less suitable for iron ore production. Free ilmenite, which accounts for about 50% of the titanium present in the ore, is free of exsolution and expected to be near stoechiometric and of commercial value. Apatite was also easily recovered and is expected to provide a second valuable by-product.
The authors’ recommendations are to conduct a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey and to proceed with resource definition drilling starting with the most intense anomaly in order to outline 2 million tons of measured resources. If sufficient budget is available, thorough wide-spaced drilling is recommended to delineate inferred resources over the entire deposit.
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ITEM 4: INTRODUCTION AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
4.1 Introduction
The current study aims to This study intends to provide a thorough update on the geological information available on the St-Charles-de- provide Micrex with Bourget project in order to design a drilling program to decisional insights and delineate CIM guidelines compliant mineral resources. general guidance in the Counter intuitively, the vast amount of available development of their project. geological and metallurgical data has never been properly compiled, which is a prerequisite for correctly selecting a drilling area.
This report is a preliminary step in the broader Micrex program, which aims to establish the resource and have a preliminary economic assessment done in 2011 followed by small scale production in the coming years.
4.2 Mandate
The authors were retained by Micrex Developments Corp. to evaluate the likelihood of viability of the St-Charles-de-Bourget project in the form of a preliminary economical assessment (“scoping study”), as part of an independent Technical Report compliant with National Instrument 43-101-F1. Due to the lack of compliant resources, the authors recommended Micrex first finance a drilling program to delineate it. As a first step in the process, he suggested Micrex first provide the current report and to update it once drilling is completed and a preliminary economic assessment is available.
4.3 Extent of field involvement
The first author visited the property for a day on October 21, 2010 with Mr. Roch Cormier, claim holder and Micrex consultant. Both authors revisited the property on May 21, 2011 with Mr. Gérard Cloutier, land owner. The authors visited the site of the 1999 drilling program, as well as various outcrops within the property. Evidence of the mid- century exploration work was witnessed here and there, including a large trench excavated to take bulk samples.
The authors also recovered and secured the 1999 drill core, which was stored beside Mr. Cloutier’s shed.
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4.4 Units of measurement
A listing of the measurement abbreviations used: cm: centimetre Ft or ‘: foot (30 centimetres approximately) In. or “: Inches (2.52 cm approximately) km: kilometre km2: square kilometre Ha: Hectares lbs: pounds (0.454 kg). m: metre m2, m3: square and cubic metres Ma: million years mi: mile (1.6 km approximately) Msl: mean sea level ppm: parts per million
PBL: bone phosphate of lime or 2.18 x %P2O5 $ or C$: Canadian Dollar US$: American Dollar T/d: tons per day T/y: tons per year Tons: short tons, 2000 lb Tonnes: metric tons, 2200 lb or 1000 kg
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ITEM 5: DISCLAIMER
5.1 Authorship
The current report has been written by the main author, Mr. Réjean Girard, P. Geo., who is responsible for its contents. The main author was helped by the second author, Mr. Jean- Paul Barrette, for the geological compilation provided in items 9 to 12.
The document represents an opinion based on professional judgement and reasonable care. The conclusions are consistent with the level of details included in this study and based on the information available at the time of writing.
This document includes economic statements and some elements concerning the market situation in item 20. These elements must be used carefully, the authors not being an economist or a mining engineer.
5.2 Independence
Both authors and their firm shall be considered as independent from Micrex Development as well as from Roch Cormier according to all criteria cited in NI-43-101. Neither the authors nor the firm they represent holds a financial interest in the property or neighbouring properties, nor do they hold any securities or other incentives in Micrex Development. Mandates from Micrex represent less than 20% of the income of either author and of the firm they represent.
5.3 Reliance upon other professionals
The authors did not rely upon other professionals within the current mandate.
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ITEM 6: PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION
6.1 Property description
The St-Charles-de-Bourget property is composed of The St‐Charles‐de‐Bourget a single contiguous block of claims, near to property is composed of rectangular in shape, for a total of five map 5mineral titles, coinciding with designated mineral titles, covering 281.61 hectares five farming lots or 281.61 (2.8 km2) of land. 2 hectares (2.8 km ) of land. These claims are currently considered as irrevoquable.
A table on claims data is presented in appendix 1. Claims are registered as 100% owned by Rock Cormier. The authors are not aware if a transfer form was provided to Micrex.
6.2 Mineral rights
The St-Charles-de-Bourget property is made up of four claims and one cell. Claims staked before 2001 had to be posted in the field, while cells are map designated online with the ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec (MRNFQ). In a patented township, such as the Bourget Township, claim outlines mimic the cadastral subdivision, coincide with farming lots and have to be posted at each corner. The current claims were posted as such in 1999 and never converted to map designated cells1. Titles acquired after 2001 are map designated cells, acquired online from the Québec MRNF, and correspond to regular rectangular cells based on 30 seconds of arc in longitude and latitude. However, “staking parks” were created in the vicinity of claims where titles have to be acquired by conventional staking with field posts. However, in patented township, such as Bourget, the area within a staking park retains the farming lots subdivision; therefore, claims can be acquired by map staking rather than by posting.
The four claims owned by Roch Cormier correspond to lots no44 to no47, range I, Bourget Township. Since these claims were acquired long ago and their outline mimics surveyed lots, such claims can be considered as irrevocable and unchallengeable by a
1 It is usually recommended to convert claims to cells wherever easily feasible, such as for the current property. Such conversion confers irrevocability to the titles.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh third party. The single cell owned by Rock Cormier corresponds to lot no48, range I, Bourget Township. Such a map designated title is almost irrevocable by the government, and unchallengeable by a third party. Limits of these claims and cell are defined by official cadastral land surveying, and are available at the Registre foncier du Québec ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune, or at the St-Charles-de-Bourget municipal office.
6.3 Ownership
All mining titles were acquired by Roch Cormier, and still recorded as such in the MRNFQ registry.
6.4 Micrex-Cormier agreement Currently, Micrex irrevocably In 2002, Mr. Cormier entered into an agreement to owns 28% of the project and has sell the St-Charles-de-Bourget property an agreement to acquire the progressively to Micrex Development Corporation. remaining portion from Mr. Micrex is a publicly trading company registered in Cormier. The agreement is set up Edmonton, Alberta, and traded on TSX venture. as a progressive acquisition, not No liens such as mortgage, collateral guarantees, as a traditional option grubstake or other are attached to the property. The agreement, signed on 12 June 2002, stipulate that: agreement.
• A purchasing price of $2 500 000, of which $450 290 has already been paid, against an actual interest in the project of 28% • A minimum yearly payment of $45 000, applicable against the selling price, against a 2% earning in the project. • Payment can be made either as cash or in common share issuable at market price. • A royalty equivalent to the maximum between $0.25 per ton of finished product or 1% of the sales value of the product. • A supplementary 1% of the sales value of the product if the total annual sales exceed $600 000, applicable against the purchasing price. • The obligation of Micrex to maintain the property in good standing with respect to claim tenure, landlord dues and environmental liabilities. • Earnings of the purchaser are irrevocable.
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Please note that this agreement is not an option to acquire participation, in which the optioner gains his participation only if the terms of the option are completed. Earnings are irrevocable at the moment the annual payments are made. It should also be noted that the agreement includes only the four claims, the designated cell having been acquired subsequently by Cormier and included in the project. No area of interest is indicated in the purchasing agreement, but the cell has been included in the property by mutual agreement.
6.5 Former agreement
In 1999, subsequent to the staking of the property, M. Cormier entered into an agreement with Mr. Earl Switenki in order to provide his with the option to acquire a participation in the property. According to Mr. Cormier, although some drilling was completed on the property, cash payments were not respected and the option defaulted. No liens appear to remain on the property related to this agreement, currently considered obsolete.
6.6 Former ownership
A property covering the exact same claims as the current St-Charles-de-Bourget property was acquired by Mr. Roch Cormier on September 16 1996, and allowed to lapse on September 15 1998. Abandonment of the titles likely renders any liens on them obsolete and non-transferable to the actual property.
From May 26 1987 to April 27 1995, the area was owned by Canhorn Mining Ltd., which also acquired a mining lease. Ownership prior to 1987 is no longer indicated in the MRNFQ registry and was tracked only from assessment reports. All these ownerships are obsolete.
6.7 Rights of access Claim confers Both patented claims and map designated mineral titles confer exclusive rights to exclusive rights to the owner to carry out mineral exploration carry out mineral and to acquire the mining lease in the eventuality of exploration. exploitation. However, mineral rights do not include surface However, access rights, nor do they include rights over resources other than rights had to be mineral, such as forestry, surface and groundwater, cynegetic, negotiated with halieutic, or hydroelectric. The lots superjacent to the cells and surface land owners. claims currently belong to ancestral families or to a successional trust.
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Right of access were acquired by Micrex from the various land owners, including the permission to proceed with limited exploitation or bulk sampling on Lot 46. An annual access fee of $1200 per year was agreed with each land owner.
A series of summer cabins are present on Lots 44 and 45 adjacent to the Saguenay River. The authors did not thoroughly verify the land ownership for these, but likely that the initial farming lot has been fragmented, and that a portion of land is duly owned by the cabin owner. No access rights were acquired by Micrex from the cabins’ owners, although the claims obviously encompass these. The lack of such right of access is not considered by the authors as a severe hindrance, since a mining operation is unlikely to be permitted beside the river.
A right of exploitation for 15 000 tons was negotiated with the Cloutier family over lot 46, dated November 7, 2006, currently obsolete. However, this agreement is indicative of the good will of both parties. The authors’ discussion with Mr. Cloutier suggests that no objection to renew this agreement should be anticipated. A $1/ton royalty was agreed to with Mr. Cloutier within this agreement. This creates a precedent, but it is not automatically applicable in the event of a full scale mining operation
6.8 Rights of usage
The lots where the property is located are classified The property is located on farm as farming lots by the Loi sur la protection du land no longer used as pasture, territoire agricole. According to this law (LRQ but still governed by the “Loi sur chapitre P-41.1) usage of such land is restricted to la protection du territoire farming and forestry activity and the subdivision of agricole”. Authorization was the lot is prohibited. However, a request was made to the MAPAQ (Québec’s Department of Agriculture, granted for small scale mining Fisheries and Foods) by Mr. Cormier to remove this operations. encumbrance, and authorisation was granted to Micrex for a small-scale mining operation on Lot no46 (Cormier, 2006). However, a full-scale mining operation would require dezoning the area, a request which may necessitate dezoning by MAPAQ, a quite complex process. Such dezoning can be expected since farming activities have been abandoned for at least 30 years on these lots, currently overgrown by an immature forest.
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6.9 Expiration, rights and credits
Claims and cells have to be renewed every two years. Renewal date is dictated by the anniversary dates of individual claims. The four claims were staked on December 23, 1998, registered on April 12, 1999, and have been renewed six times since then. The next renewal on this property is indicated as April 11, 2013. The map designated cell was acquired on June 12, 2006, and will require renewal on June 11, 2012. There is a renewal fee of $53 per claim, for a total cost of $265 every two years. Assessment work to the amount of $2500 per claim per renewal and $1200 per cell per renewal needs to be credited to the claims at the time of their individual renewal, for a total of $11 200. A total of $28 745.34 is currently available in credit, sufficient for the next two renewals.
6.10 Location
The property is located on the north shore of the The project is located about Saguenay River, about 42km west of the city of 50 km west of Saguenay, a Saguenay (Chicoutimi) or 20 km east of Alma. The major metallurgical center. property is bounded by longitudes 71o27'20" N and 71o28'40" N and latitudes 48o30'30" N and 48o31'40" N (UTM coordinates: 5375600N to 5377800N; 317000E to 318700E, NAD 27 zone 19U datum), within NTS map-sheets 22D/11.
Property location is shown in figure 1 (item 25). The map showing the claims is presented in figure 2 (item 25).
6.11 Administrative divisions
The property is located on private land, within the municipality of St-Charles-de-Bourget, the Fjord du Saguenay regional municipality ("MRC"), Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean administrative division ("02").
6.12 Neighbouring properties
The area surrounding the St-Charles-de-Bourget St‐Charles property has property has recently been map-designated for recently been surrounded by acquisition by an unknown party. The request is currently map‐designated cells, not being processed by the Registry of the MRNFQ. This considered as a hinderance. designation is not likely to be a hindrance to Micrex.
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Adjacent to the west of the aforementioned designated area is a set of mining leases exploited by Carrières Polycor inc. for dimensional stone quarrying. These leases are surrounded by claims or cells belonging to Polycor, Granit A. Lacroix et fils, Gextrais or individuals, all involved in quarrying.
6.13 Restrictions to mineral exploration
No area with restriction to mineral exploration is indicated on the MRNF maps, other than the urbanized perimeters. However, two areas within the property are likely to have such restriction. First is the right-of-way of the electrical power line in the north. Second is the fringe along the Saguenay River, which is a picturesque recreation area.
6.14 Native rights
The entire region of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean is within The St‐Charles property the ancestral territories (Nistassinan) belonging to the being located on private Montagnais (“innus”) community of Mashteuiatsh land, no authorization is (Pointe Bleue, Lac-St-Jean). The Montagnais nation required from First Nations. Land claims were partly resolved by the "Entente commune" signed with the Québec government. Since the property is located on private land, Micrex does not have to request authorization from community councils prior to proceeding with exploration work or logging.
6.15 Trap lines
There are no ancestral trap lines within the project area, although some trapping activity is practiced by some land owners.
6.16 Environmental liabilities
No environmental liabilities No environmental liabilities are known within or attached to the property. Other than the Bignell trench, no visible are known within or sign of exploration activity was noted. The area attached to the property. underwent farming activity about 50 years ago, and is currently used for logging firewood. Some old waste disposal sites can be seen here and there, which are the only environmental problems noticed by the authors. No wetlands are present.
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ITEM 7: ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY
7.1 Topography
Gently rolling hills, with a steep escarpment along the Saguenay River make up the topography of the property. No wetlands, lakes or significant streams are present, limited to the Tremblay-Maltais creek, flowing eastward.
7.2 Flora and fauna
The property is covered by commercial Laurentian forest dominated by spruce, fir, larch, pine, poplar and birch. Some red maple was noted, as well as Canadian yew, a rare occurrence for the area. Wildlife consists of occasional black bear, moose, porcupine, hare etc. No endangered species are reported.
7.3. Access and population
The area is easily accessible The property is easily accessible by Rang II of St-Charles. Numerous dirt roads provide access to the entire by Rang II of St‐Charles, a property, such as the Cloutier and Brassard roads. paved road maintained year‐ Various services are available in St-Charles (1000 round. inhabitants) such as a convenience store, a gas station, etc. The nearby cities of Saguenay and Alma host all the required services, with about 200 000 inhabitants.
7.4 Infrastructure
No infrastructure is present within the property. However, the Saguenay and Lac-St- Jean area is a metallurgical center with the largest aluminum smelting concentration in the world, plus a ferroniobium and ferrosilicium smelter. Large panoply of industrial services are available. The area is accessible by divided highway 75, national railway, is served by three airports (Bagotville, St-Honoré and Alma) and two year-round deep- water seaports (La Baie and Grande-Anse).
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ITEM 8: EXPLORATION HISTORY
8.1 Generalities
Presence of iron ore was reported in The presence of iron ore was first reported in St‐ St-Charles-de-Bourget as early as Charles in 1882. Prior to the 1950’s, mineral 1882 by Monseigneur J.C.K. Laflamme. According to the then rights ownership cannot be tracked easily. In mining legislation, mineral rights were the 1950’s, the rights were acquired by imbedded in the land concession Canadian Javelin Foundry and Machine Works (farming lot), with the exception of gold and By Grand Saguenay Mines, who made the (which belonged to the crown). In first serious reported attempts to evaluate the 1880, in the absence of a registered deposit. concession, the mining rights were subtracted from the land concession and required claim staking. Colonization of Bourget Township started in 1864, and the area of the current project was very likely conceded in this period. However, in 1921, since no mineral rights were acquired by the then land owner, the mineral rights attached to surface land were revoked and concessions became available for mineral staking. No exploration work is recorded prior to this period, which does not imply that no such work was made.
Many small mining corporations were sporadically involved in the St-Charles project over the last century. A detailed account of these is not possible, most information being fragmental2. In addition, in spite of the abundant historic testing and surveying work carried out on the St-Charles deposit, none of them were performed in a systematic manner according to modern exploration standards.
Somewhere in the 1930’s, mineral exploration rights were acquired by local individuals3. The first account in the literature was the “Gauthier’s claims” (Joliffe, 1946). These individuals granted options to diverse mining companies, the first account being the “Alma Mutual Aid Syndicate” (Bourret, 1946). A succession of companies is mentioned
2 As an example, the authors visited a large trench, known as the “Bignell pit” to Mr. Cloutier, used to collect a small bulk sample more than 50 years ago (based on tree ring dating of cedar growing in the trench). Bignell Mines tried to put a titanium mine into production in St-Urbain, Québec about 60 years ago. However, no assessment reports or government files mention the involvement of Bignell Mines in the St-Charles project! It is likely that such missing pieces are numerous in the current project. 3 Because these rights are obsolete, the authors made no verification in the Québec Department of Natural Resources and Fauna archives.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh in old reports, such as Titanium and Steel Corporation, Ores and Metals Corporation (GM0599), American Cyanamid Company, American Metals Company, etc. The relationship between these companies is not known. The first serious attempt to develop the deposit was made in the early 1950’s by Canadian Javelin Foundry and Machine Works Corp., who first acquired (optioned?) the claims over lots no44 to no46 and subsequently acquired a mining lease (ML #129) on the south half of lots 44 and 454. The rest of the deposit, the north half of lots 44 and 45 plus lots 46 and 47, were subsequently acquired5 by Grand Saguenay Mines Ltd. According to various drilling reports (Ross, 1967), the Grand Saguenay claims were recorded under the name of J.B. Aird while other government reports indicate they belong to the individuals Tremblay, André Roy, George Néron and Rosaire Néron. These titles were apparently held without interruption until the late 1970’s. Although a mining lease was granted, no mining attempt was made.
This first interest in the St-Charles First significant interest in St‐Charles ores deposit, around 1940, was likely occurred during the Second World War, trigged triggered by the shortage of iron ore by iron ore shortage, and continued well into caused by WW2 as well as the commercially successful exploitation of the cold war when American steelmaker looked similar ore mined for ilmenite at for non‐seaborne iron ore sources. Sanford Lake, New-York State (Osborne, 1944). These efforts were continued until the 1960’s, while American steel makers actively sought iron ore sources not necessitating seaborne transport6. Most other titaniferous magnetite deposits of the area were explored in the same period. Sporadic exploration work occurred in the 1970’s, stimulated by Quebec Iron and Titanium’s (QIT) successful development of Lac Allard ilmenite mine and Sorel smelter.
4 The reports do not indicate why Javelin did not cover the whole deposit with their mining lease, nor did they indicate the relationship between Javelin and Grand Saguenay. 5 Apparently through some sort of option or lease agreement from the individuals who initially owned the claims. 6 Their effort led to the development of Schefferville and subsequently the development of Wabush and the Québec-Cartier Mining operation in the North Shore area of the St-Lawrence River.
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8.2 Regional work by government
The first geological reconnaissance of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region was conducted by Monseigneur J.C.K. Laflamme (1882). He was the first to recognize the titaniferous magnetite occurrence in the vicinity of Saint-Charles de Bourget.
Denis (1933), geologist for the Colonization, Mines and Fisheries Department, mapped the Simard Township, as well as the Bourget and other townships located north of the Saguenay River.
Around 1948, Jooste (1948, 1958), from the Québec department of Mines, mapped the Bourget Township at a scale of 1'=1 mile, (1:63 360) and proposed a stratigraphy for the region. Jooste also made the most relevant geological map still available (figure 4) with a description of the mineral occurrences at a scale of 1''=400'.
The 23D map-area was mapped at The St‐Charles area was mapped in fair detail 1:250 000 scale in the course of the by Jooste (1948‐1958). An airborne “Grenville Project” by Laurin and Sharma (1975), without providing any more detail magnetometric survey flown in 1950 by the on the St-Charles deposit. The 23D-06 Geological Survey of Canada indicated an map-area was recently mapped at anomaly associated with the deposit. 1:50 000 scale by Hébert and Lacoste (1998), also without providing extra detail about the St-Charles deposit. An excellent overview of the geology and compilation of mineral occurrences of the Saguenay River region is provided by Avramtchev and Piché (1981).
The area is covered by a regional airborne magnetic survey from the Geological Survey of Canada conducted in the 1950’s7 at a nominal altitude and line spacing of 800 m (GSC). A more recent or more detailed airborne survey is not available. There is a magnetic anomaly associated with the St-Charles deposit.
A lake-bottom sediment geochemistry survey, carried out by Soquem in 1978 (Choinière, 1986), encompasses the St-Charles area. Only 9 elements were analyzed. A more recent lake bottom sediment survey was carried out in 2010 by MRNFQ, with a sampling density of a sample every 13 km2, and analyzed by ICP-MS for more than 35 elements (Labbé, 2011). No significant anomaly is associated with the St-Charles deposit.
7 In fact, this map-sheet was one of the very first produced within the national aeromagnetic coverage of the GSC.
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8.3 Early governmental description of the deposit
The first published reference to the St-Charles iron deposit was made by Laflamme (1884). However, according to the then usual practice and the lack of regulation with regards to assessment reporting for companies, all the accounts on the deposit were made by government geologists in their annual reports, compilations and township mapping. Also, most technical work, including metallurgical studies, ore descriptions and even geophysics surveys were also carried out by government officials, research institutes and universities, usually on behalf of the claim owner and released in assessment files or annual reports. Company reports started being publically released in assessment files in about the 1940’s.
The first description of the St-Charles The first description of the St‐Charles deposit is deposit is by Denis et al. (1913) and by Denis (1912), who mapped the southern part subsequently Dulieux (1915), who and described it as a succession of large pods of mapped the southern part of the magnetite ore within anorthosite. titaniferous magnetite8 which he described as large pods (700' x 160') of magnetite ore within anorthosite. Further mapping and descriptions were provided for the southern part of the deposit by Robinson (1922, 1926) on behalf of the Geological Survey of Canada, who concluded that the St-Charles deposit’s resources stand at well up to millions of tons with 48% Fe and 13% Ti9, and contain sufficient iron, titanium and phosphorus to make, at that time, economic production of titaniferous cement, steel, and phosphate fertilizer10. He noted the difficulties in separating these elements. Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMRC, 1935) carried out beneficiation In 1935, Energy Mines and Resources Canada and smelting tests on the St-Charles carried‐out beneficiation and smelting tests on Fe-Ti ore. They indicated various the St‐Charles ore and indicated various problems such as the refractory nature problems with the refractory nature or the ore. of the ore.
In 1937, the Québec Department of Mines published a compilation of the many assay results of samples taken from this deposit, and compiled a summary of the then existing knowledge about, uses of and market opportunities for the St-Charles magnetite deposit (Bourret, 1937; Bourgoin, 1943). Waddington (1942, 1944), also from the Québec
8 Corresponding to the former Canadian Javelin mining lease, see compilation map in pocket. 9 Again, obviously not an NI-43-101 compliant estimate. 10 It is an evaluation based only on surface information and not conform to the regulations of National Instrument NI43-101.
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Department of Mines, wrote a review of the geological setting, mineral occurrences, and old trench locations, as well as a dip-needle survey.
Osborne (1944) conducted a sampling program The ore was described as and mineralogical study of the ore, which he aggregates of opaque minerals such described as aggregates of opaque minerals such as titanomagnetite, free ilmenite, as magnetite, ilmenite and spinel in which a part of the ilmenite is present as fine intergrowth lamellae spinel and apatite. Vanadium within magnetite. However, ilmenite-free magnetite content is in inverse relation with is also reported. Osborne also confirms that the apatite content. high-phosphorus Fe-Ti ore is concentrated mostly in the northern part of the property, while the low-phosphorus ore occurs mainly in the southern part.
Bourret (1946) conducted a detailed mapping and sampling program which included channel sampling and the extraction of 6 bulk samples, about 272 kg each, in the southern part of the deposit. He outlined 13 distinct mineral occurrences, labelled from I to XIII, considered as low-phosphorus types (appendix 3)
Dr. Joliffe (1946) from McGill University carried Low phosphorous ore is dominant in out further detailed mapping and sampling, both the southern portion of the deposit, channel and bulk, plus an ore mineral while phosphorous‐bearing ore is examination. His assay results were compared dominant in northern portion. with the mineral content (appendix 3). He noticed the inverse relation between apatite and vanadium contents. Further concentration tests were carried out by Energy, Mines and Resources Canada (EMRC, 1947) on a 515.5 kg sample made from a composite of 14 samples representing the high-P ore type (table 3). The results failed to produce a titanium-free magnetite despite fine grinding and flotation tests. Such results were predictable for this kind of ore. As the reader is well aware, titanium is considered as a deleterious contaminant in iron ore.
Jooste (1948, 1949 and 1958) from the Department of Mines of Québec, published a geological map of the deposit area as well as a reconnaissance map of the Bourget Township area. This map is, in the authors’ opinion, still the best available to date and the one used to reference the current report (figure 4). All the main geological units and mineralization types are described, plus assays and ore petrography of the magnetite ore. Jooste confirmed the low and high-phosphorus type ores. Furthermore, Jooste proposed the first genetic model for this deposit as magmatic segregation.
In 1966, the department of Energy, Mines and Resources Canada made further mineralogical examinations, grinding and beneficiation tests (table 1). It's was concluded
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh that the high titanium content in the magnetite concentrate render it unsuitable for steel and pig-iron production, while the high iron content in the ilmenite concentrate renders it unsuitable for slag production through intensive fusion such as the QIT process in Sorel.
8.4 Exploration and development attempts made by private corporations
There is no assessment file from any private corporation prior to 1948. However, aforementioned governmental reports do mention activities from various defunct mining companies. A clear evidence of their activities was witnessed by the authors at the Bignell trench, which is indicated in the Robinson report (1926).
8.4.1 American Metal Company
In 1948, American Metal Company Ltd. (GM 1940) conducted a mineral examination and selective flotation tests to produce high grade apatite, ilmenite and magnetite concentrates.
8.4.2 Canadian Javelin Foundries and Machine Works
Canadian Javelin Foundries and Machine Works Ltd. 11 made the most serious attempt to develop the St-Charles deposit, aiming to produce a magnetite concentrate as feed for their smelting activities in Joliette. In 1953, they drilled 31 short diamond drill holes (Pesonen, 1954a, b) on magnetic (dip needle) anomalies (Waddington, 1948). In 1963, they released a set of 4 vertical cross sections and estimated an NI-43-101 non- compliant resource of 12.6M tons with a cut-off grade of 20% magnetite12 (Rinfret, 1963). Note that Javelin owned a mining lease over the southern part of lots 44 and 45, range I, and thus only the low-phosphorous southern half of the deposit. There is no report in the assessment files of more work.
11 A Joliette (Québec) based foundry and stove maker. 12 This resource estimate is neither CIM guideline, nor Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant.
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8.4.3 Grand Saguenay Mines and Minerals Ltd.
Grand Saguenay Mines and Minerals Ltd.13 (Allen, 1959; Gledhill, 1959 and 1960) conducted detailed geological mapping and a magnetic (dip-needle?) survey encompassing lots 46 and 47, plus the northern half of lots 44 and 45, range I, thus the phosphorous bearing part of the deposit. The magnetic survey outlined a large anomaly, about 1200' by 1800' (370 m x 550 m) trending almost due north across the property. The geological mapping unearthed six separate bodies of titaniferous magnetite. Resource estimates14 were also provided. From 1961 to 1967, they drilled an uncertain number of exploration holes15.
In 1972, a fluxgate16 ground magnetometer survey covered the property, which is still the most accurate available.
In 1973, an evaluation of metallurgical possibilities and saleable products of the St- Charles deposit was conducted by the Research and Production Council of Canada, along with some beneficiation tests. Rare earth elements and yttrium were also evaluated (table 1). The apatite concentrate could be converted on site into phosphoric acid with potential to sales revenue. The magnetite concentrate was too contaminated by titanium to be considered of economic value by North American steelmakers.
8.4.4 Frederic Exploration ltée
In 1985, Serge Gélinas and Associates conducted an outcrop sampling program for Frederic Exploration ltée in the southern part of the property (Gélinas, 1985), targeting the low phosphorus ore. Only limited assay results and sample locations were published (appendix 3).
13 The Grand Saguenay Mines and Minerals Ltd. appear to be a syndicate of local interest. The claims were, at that time, owned by individuals. 14 These resource estimates are neither CIM guideline, nor Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant. 15 A total of 11 holes are reported in assessment files. However, it is obvious from the numbering that about twice as many were drilled. 16 Fluxgate is a variety of magnetometer measuring only one vectorial component of the magnetic field, usually the vertical component.
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8.4.5 Work carried out by Roch Cormier.
Mr. Cormier acquired the property in 1987. On behalf of Canhorn Mining, he evaluated the potential of the deposit for phosphates, rare earths and yttrium, which are present in anomalous quantities. In 1999, a short drilling program of 477 m on seven holes was commissioned to Marmot Research Inc.
In 2002, Micrex Development and Corp. carried out a compilation of historic work (Sneddon, 2002). A ground magnetic survey and core re-examination were carried out in 2004 by Apex Geosciences (Turner, 2004). Details and results are given in section 12 of this report. An NI-43-101 non-compliant technical report was produced by the same author in 2006 (Turner, 2006).
8.4.6 Generalities
In spite of the aforementioned protracted efforts, no systematic exploration work has been carried out on the St-Charles deposit and no industry standard compliant survey is currently available. No mining exploitation or production was carried out. In the authors’ opinion, historical work can only be used as a guideline for future exploration and for the planning of a systematic drilling campaign.
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ITEM 9: GEOLOGICAL SETTING
9.1 Regional geology
The Saint-Charles deposit is located in an area The St‐Charles deposit is located in with a protracted geologic history, spanning from the allochthonous polycyclic belt of the Archean to the Paleozoic. It is within the the Middle to Lower Proterozoic allochthonous polycyclic belt of the Grenville Grenville geological province. The geological province, Middle Proterozoic in age. deposit is hosted in the southern The Grenville Province is a complex imbrication of terrains and lithodems including old Archean part of the Lac St‐Jean Anorthosite tonalitic gneisses, Early Proterozoic gneisses, a Complex, near the Saguenay Middle Proterozoic metamorphosed supracrustal Graben. sequence as well as deep seated intrusions, all affected by granulite facies metamorphism and complex deformation. The deposit is hosted in the southern part of the Lac-Saint-Jean Anorthositic Suite, Middle Proterozoic in age. The LSJAS rocks are intruded by four distinct groups of late intrusives, variously dioritic, granitic, charnockitic, troctolitic and alkaline (Denis, 1932; Jooste, 1948; Jooste, 1958; Avramtchev and Piché, 1981; Woussen et al., 1985). Two small outliers of Ordovician limestone beds sit conformably atop the Grenvillian rocks a few ten of kilometer from St-Charles, within the limit of LSJAS mass. A niobium deposit (Niobec Mines) is associated with a late, 650 Ma old carbonatite-syenite intrusion predating the limestone.
The LSJAS consists of a large polyphased intrusive complex. Its composition ranges from ultramafic to gabbroic, to melanocratic and leucocratic anorthositic rocks. This huge mass covers about 20 000 km2 and is considered as the largest anorthositic massive of the world (Hébert, Cadieux and Van Breemen, 2003; Hébert and Lacoste, 1998). Recent field and geochronological work indicated that this anorthosite complex is an assemblage resulting from four temporally distinct magmatic episodes, which took place between 1327 and 1012 Ma (Hebert, Cadieux and Van Breemen, 2003). The anorthosite itself represents only one of these that was emplaced between 1160 and 1140 Ma. The anorthosite (sl) is made of labradorite- and andesite-type anorthosite rocks, fringed by gabbronorite along its northern and southern margins. It is the gabbronorite facies which contains the bulk of the Ti-Fe-P and Ni-Cu occurrences associated with the complex.
While the western part of the LSJAS in not deformed, the eastern part is affected by a system of thrust and strike-slip faults, resulting in a high degree of recrystallization. Two dominant systems of shear zones are reported. The NE-SW system comprises three major sub parallel shears, each about 200 to 300 km long. The second system is composed of several NNE-SSW trending shear zones of lesser importance. The NE-SW
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh trending shears split the anorthosite mass into two domains. Each domain may include several lobes with their own compositional, textural, structural and metamorphic characteristics. While they are related to the emplacement of the LSJAS, these structures were later reactivated during the Grenvillian orogeny, resulting in the thrusting of the different lobes towards NW, followed by senestral strike-slip movements (Hébert, Cadieux and Van Breemen, 2003).
Finally, the area is transected by the Saguenay Graben, a very early Paleozoic aulacogen related to the Iapetus Ocean opening. Expressions of this graben include the intrusion of alkali syenite, carbonatite and lamprophyric rocks, the development of normal brittle faults and the deposition of plateform sediments, Cambrian to Ordovician in age.
9.2 Local Geology
The Bourget Township area, where the Saint-Charles titaniferous magnetite is located, was mapped in detail by R.F. Joose (1948, 1958), who also produced a lithodemic classification of the rocks (figure 4). The oldest rocks are indicated as anorthositic facies belonging to the LSJAS. They are intruded by younger and faintly deformed diorite dykes and a subsequent ophitic troctolite NNE-SSW dyke (Côté, 1986). Finally, quartz syenite and syenite monzonite stocks, rimed and/or intruded by microcline granite and quartz-microcline-syenitic rocks17, are reported to intrude the anorthosite. Outliers of Paleozoic rock, limited by faulting, were preserved on top of these granite-syenite- monzonite plugs.
The anorthositic complex is dominated by The Lac‐St‐Jean Anorthosite anorthosite (sl). Commonly, an abundance of dark complex is dominated by minerals such as augite, hypersthene or olivine is anorthosite in the broad sense, sufficient for the anorthosite to be classified as a which contains various amounts of gabbroic anorthosite, gabbro, norite, or troctolite. dark minerals and can be classified However, in most instances, the abundance of as gabbroic anorthosite, such mafic minerals is so variable, even at the outcrop scale, that it is not easy or even possible anorthositic gabbro, gabbro, norite to properly classify the rocks. and troctolite.
17 Not to be confused with the mangerite and monzonite coeval with the anorthosite suite, which are fairly abundant in the surrounding area.
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9.2.1 Anorthosite
Anorthosites are rocks dominated by anorthitic plagioclase with local patches of ferromagnesian minerals. They range from fine-grained to very coarse-grained, with typical crystals about a centimeter in size. These crystals commonly form a porphyroclastic texture, dominated by granular aggregates with a mortar texture embedding porphyroclastic megacrysts. Rod-like inclusions of ilmenite are discernable within the feldspar crystals. Ferromagnesian minerals are dominated by augite and hypersthene, commonly coronitic and associated with hornblende, biotite, titanomagnetite and some olivine. Olivine bearing facies were described as troctolite by Jooste (1958). Olivine is the dominant mafic mineral.
9.2.2 Gabbroic and noritic anorthosite
Gabbroic and noritic anorthosites are at least as widely distributed as genuine anorthosite, into which they grade through an increase in ferromagnesian mineral abundance. Typical gabbroic anorthosite is coarse-grained and consists of neoblastic and porphyroclastic feldspar, just as in anorthosite. Medium to fine-grained facies are rare while megacrystic facies are lacking. Augite is the dominant dark mineral, with local hypersthene. Hornblende and biotite are ubiquitous but not abundant. Ilmenite and magnetite, commonly intergrown, are accessories. Mafic mineral are intergranular to sub-ophitic with respect to plagioclase. Pyroxene alignment defines a foliation.
9.2.3 Gabbro and norite
Gabbro ss. and norite occurs as bands within anorthositic facies, typically gradational with these. Their exposures are normally banded, with mafic mineral rich layers alternating with more feldspathic bands. Augite dominates the gabbro while hypersthene dominates the norite. Hornblende and biotite are subordinate while ilmenite and magnetite are ubiquitous accessories.
9.2.4 Troctolite and troctolitic anorthosite
Troctolite and troctolitic anorthosite grade into each other. They are locally abundant but generally uncommon. These rocks consist of medium grained plagioclase with lenticular grains of olivine, the elongation of which defines a foliation. Olivine is associated with augite, hypersthene, hornblende, ilmenite, and magnetite. It typically shows corona textures, characterized by zones of green serpentine, hypersthene and amphibole rims which do not survive in heavily recrystallized facies. Troctolite rocks are generally interlayered with anorthosite, a few centimetres to several metres in thickness.
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A pyroxene bearing diorite dyke extends north- A hectometers‐wide pyroxene northeast trending from the Saguenay River bearing, north‐northeast trending (figure 3). This greenish-grey coloured rock is diorite dyke intrudes the anorthosite recognizable by its rusty grey alteration surface. It not far from the deposit, and is consists mostly of feldspar and dark minerals measuring about 1 mm. Generally massive, it can be intruded by a subparallel ophitic vertically foliated parallel to its contact with the host anorthosite troctolite dyke. anorthosite. It consists of plagioclase (60%), orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, together with magnetite, ilmenite, hornblende, biotite and apatite. This unit contains an abnormal abundance of magnetite and ilmenite (10-15%). Anorthositic enclaves unequivocally indicate the age relationship.
An ophitic anorthositic troctolite dyke extends north to northeast through the Bourget Township area, about 3 km west of the St-Charles magnetite deposit (figure 3). Although running nearly parallel to the aforementioned pyroxene diorite dyke, this dyke cross-cuts it. Olivine is the dominant mafic mineral, but showing almost no coronitic decompression texture. This dyke is not uniform in composition, grading from anorthositic gabbro to troctolitic anorthosite, gabbroic anorthosite, troctolite and gabbro. Although sharing similarities with the anorthosite group rocks, it has a distinctive sub- ophitic texture made of well-developed plagioclase laths with interstitial titanomagnetite and augite. Olivine, hornblende, ilmenite, magnetite, spinel and apatite (tr-6%), as well corona minerals such as hypersthene and amphibole are variously present. The cross- cutting relationship and other details of these two late intrusive dykes are described by Jooste (1948, 1958) and Côté (1986).
Numerous other minor dykes occur in the area, such as pyroxene diorite, quartz syenite, granite and pegmatite, gabbro-diorite and diorite porphyry. Gabbro-diorite dykes are common within the anorthosite (Jooste, 1958). Typically less than half a meter wide, vertical and north trending, they cut anorthosite foliation at an acute angle. This is a dark grey rock, fine-grained and massive, consisting mostly of andesite plagioclase, augite (30%), hornblende (10%) and oxides (5%). Oxide minerals are reported rimmed by amphibole and hornblende, while actinolite is replacing augite. These dykes are younger than the anorthosite, but reported as possibly older than the Saint-Charles titaniferous magnetite deposit18.
A black diorite porphyry dyke, less than half a meter thick, cuts through both anorthosite and diorite, just west of the Saint-Charles deposits. This rock consists of
18 Jooste interpreted the St-Charles deposit as a differentiate of a late dyke. The authors disagree with this interpretation.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh dark phenocrysts of plagioclase set in an aphanitic groundmass of plagioclase laths and a very fine-grained aggregate of biotite, feldspar, opaque minerals and hornblende (?).
9.3 Geology of the property
The most accurate geological map of the St. Jooste (1958) described the Charles property remains the one by Jooste (1948, titaniferous‐phosphatic magnetite figure 4). He describes the geology of the property accumulations as small pods, up to as made up of interlocked irregular bodies of hundreds of metres wide, scattered various anorthosites related facies (Jooste, 1958). within or even intruding the Titaniferous, +/- phosphatic magnetite anorthosite. accumulations are abundant as small pods, up to hundreds of meters wide, scattered within the anorthosite. The anorthositic rocks are truncated by numerous thin dykes of gabbro-diorite oriented north-south parallel to the Fe-Ti-P bodies19. Gabbro-diorite enclaves are reported within the Fe-Ti-P ore, further supporting their late emplacement or tectonic imbrications. The granitic pegmatites and the granodiorite dykes postdate these rocks, terminating this intrusive sequence. The tectonostratigraphic relationships are summarized in Jooste, 1958.
Jooste’s map shows the titaniferous magnetite bodies as discontinuous pods embedded in anorthosite, in spite of its apparent continuity. The envelope of the pods, which represents the deposit, shows a north trending strike with local deviation. This trend, as well as the gneissic foliation of the host anorthosite, was confirmed by the ground magnetometric surveys (Fulcher, 1972; Turner, 2004). Foliation is gently dipping from moderate (60°) to steep (85o). Fold and fault structures are locally present, although no detailed account is available. Allen (1959b) suggested that the ore bodies were injected along a former north-trending fault structure. Rinfret (1963) interpreted a series of drill profiles in which folded and/or intercalated anorthosite and ore foliation were shallowly (0-20°) to moderately (45-70°) dipping to the west.
9.4 Geophysics and geochemistry
The presence of the St-Charles ore is easily detected by either airborne or ground-based magnetic survey, being dominated by magnetite. Early surveys were made using a dip- needle, which measures the perturbation in the pitch of the ambient flux line of the earth’s magnetic field (Waddington, 1942 and 1944). Subsequently, fluxgate magnetometer surveys were carried out (Fulcher, 1972), which are still the best ground-
19 Jooste indicated these dyke being truncated by the mineralization. This relationship has not been observed by the authors, but protracted complexity in such cross-cutting is to be expected, and the authors doubt that the ore can be related to such a late event.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh based surveys available (figure 5). The fluxgate device measures only the vertical component of the earth’s magnetic field, and is thus influenced by the pitch of the flux lines, leading to noisy survey results where the lateral gradient is large. More recently a proton precession or Overhausser magnetometer survey was carried out, but did not generate more valuable data (Turner, 2004).
The St‐Charles ore, being The fluxgate survey, which encompasses only the dominated by magnetite, can Grand Saguenay Mines property, indicates an easily be outlined by magnetic anomaly coinciding with the deposit and confirms its survey. An irregular anomaly, extent for more than 2000 m in length. This anomaly about 2000 m in length, is is quite irregular, as expected for a cluster of pod-like heterogeneous magnetite bodies. associated with the deposit.
No modern geophysical methods or modeling were used. No modern geophysical survey was carried out. No geochemical survey was carried out on the deposit.
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ITEM 10 DEPOSIT TYPE
10.1 General model
The Saint-Charles titaniferous magnetite and The St‐Charles deposit corresponds apatite mineralization corresponds to a magmatic to the magmatic Fe‐Ti‐V‐P deposit Fe-Ti-P-V deposit type related to a mafic intrusion type related to a differentiated complex (Gross, 1997). Two subtypes are mafic intrusion, of the documented. First is an ilmenite-rich type such as titanomagnetite sub‐type. St-Urbain and Lac Allard. The second is a titaniferous magnetite-rich type, such as the one scattered within the Lac St-Jean anorthosite complex. These two subtypes of deposits are both hosted in massive or layered anorthositic to gabbroic complexes. The ilmenite sub-type is mainly associated with Proterozoic anorthosites while the titaniferous magnetite sub-type is mostly found in gabbros and gabbro-anorthosites of various ages. Deposits of both subtypes include irregular discordant masses or oxides set in layered or massive mafic intrusions and as concordant oxide-rich layers in layered mafic intrusions. Both deposit subtypes provide important resources such as titanium (e.g. Lac Allard, source of about 30% of the world production of titanium dioxide), vanadium (e.g. Lac Doré or Bushveld), and iron as well as chrome and platinum group elements (eg. Bushveld). Some of these deposits contain sufficient quantities of apatite to justify a large scale mining operation (e.g. Lac à Paul).
Principal ore minerals are iron and titanium oxides: Principal ore minerals are ilmenite, ilmenite (FeTiO3), hemo-ilmenite (a solid solution heamatite, titaniferous magnetite, of FeTiO3-Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), titaniferous magnetite as well as some minor hercynite magnetite and hercyneite. Titanomagnetite is an intergrowth (FeAl2O4). Titaniferous magnetite refers to granular aggregates and exsolution intergrowths of ilmenite and titanium‐bearing of ilmenite within magnetite with some hematite magnetite exsolved from a former
(Fe2O3) and ulvöspinel (TiFe2O4). Apatite and ulvöspinel. ilmenite-magnetite rocks of magmatic origin are referred to as nelsonite in the literature, while magnetite-ilmenite-silicates are referred as cumberlandite. It has been noted in layered sequences that the nelsonitic facies usually develop higher in the stratigraphy than the titanium-poor magnetite cumberlandite, The apatite‐ilmenite‐magnetite thus representing more evolved magmas. The magmatic rock is currently referred apatite is usually very pure, fluorine bearing to as nelsonite, while the magnetite‐ (fluorapatite: Ca5(PO4)3F) and poor in rare earths silicate rock is referred to as and thorium, and thus of prime quality for cumberlandite. phosphate production. The titaniferous magnetite
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh subtype is overwhelmingly dominated by titanomagnetite with minor ilmenite. Titanium typically partitions half and half between titanomagnetite and granular ilmenite. These oxides are associated with plagioclase (labradorite), olivine, pyroxene and small amounts of apatite, titanite (sphene), rutile, spinel, biotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, and pyrrhotite.
Nelsonite and cumberlandite deposits associated with anorthosites and gabbros are widely distributed in the Grenville Province, although present in many other tectonic belts of different age and location. Grenville anorthosite complexes are typically associated with gneisses, granulites, granitoids and other deep crustal rock types. Such deposits are currently mined at Lac Tio for ilmenite (Lac Allard, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Québec, operated by RioTinto Iron and Titanium) and Tellnes (Norsk Hydro, Norway), and were mined for decades in Sanford Lake (New-York State, Adirondack). Other similar occurrences are apparently mined in China and Russia for their vanadium bearing titanomagnetite, as well as in the Bushveld in South-Africa. Numerous other occurrences are The formation of iron‐oxide deposit currently under evaluation in Québec including is interpreted as an accumulation Degrosbois (Fe-Ti), Red Pine Lake (Fe-Ti), caused by magmatic differentiation Magpie (Fe-Ti-V-Cr), Saint-Urbain (Fe-Ti), Ivry trigged by a change in the oxygen (Fe-Ti), Lac Doré complex (Fe-V), Lac à Paul (Fe- fugacity of the magma, which may P), and Matagami (Fe-V-Ti). World examples cause either crystallisation or liquid include the Bushveld igneous complex in South immiscibility of the oxides and the Africa (Cr-PGE and V-Ti-magnetite), Kachkanar phosphates. (Fe-Ti-PGE) and Husinskoye (Fe-Ti-V) in Russia; and Tahawus (Fe) and Iron Mountain (Fe) in the USA.
The formation of such deposit is interpreted in most cases as an accumulation caused by magmatic differentiation of mafic magmas. Variations in the oxidation state of the magma promote the precipitation of the titanium-iron deposits (Gross, 1997). The oxidation is thought to be caused by crustal assimilation. The formation of the ilmenite- rich subtype (ex.: Lac Allard deposit) is thought to require relatively more oxidizing conditions than the titaniferous magnetite subtype. Liquid immiscibility of nelsonitic and silicate magmas are invoked for the origin of the massive Fe-Ti oxide ores, again possibly trigged by crustal contamination. The nelsonitic magma is considered to have accumulated or exsolved as a residual liquid after extensive differentiation of plagioclase, producing the associated anorthosite. The genesis of the discordant, massive Fe-Ti oxide deposit is less understood. It co-exists with a layered sequence locally such as in the Bushveld. Two different genetic models are considered for their formation: (1) remobilization of Fe-Ti oxide-rich cumulates, and (2) formation of a Fe-Ti- oxide-rich and silica poor immiscible melt. The remobilization mechanism involves the
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh intrusion of dense solidified Fe-Ti-oxide-rich cumulates into cracks or fractures within the host anorthosite (Gross, 1995). A similar remobilization mechanism, associated with magma mixing, has been proposed for the Tellnes deposit of Norway. In this scenario, a norite magma crystallized Fe-Ti oxides which concentrated at the bottom of the magma chamber, while plagioclase filled the top of the chamber. Before complete solidification, the magma chamber was tapped and the Fe-Ti oxide cumulates were injected into a dyke. Exsolution of ilmenite within the magnetite happens during slow cooling, an oxidation related process called ''oxy-exsolution'' (Gross, 1997).
10.2 Saint-Charles deposit
The Saint-Charles deposit is attributed to the titanomagnetite subtype of deposits. The irregular discordance between the oxide-apatite mass and the host mafic intrusion further characterize this deposit. Similar Fe-Ti-P deposits are widely distributed in the Grenville Province. A review is offered by Bachari (2004).
Concentration of metallic oxide minerals developed four types of titanomagnetite ores:
1. Disseminated syngenetic metal oxides in the host rocks, accumulated or not into ore layers.
2. Irregular to conformable autointrusions which have sharp to indistinct or gradational borders with earlier phases of anorthosite and gabbro, and were emplaced during the lithification and cooling of the host intrusive rocks.
3. Late stage dykes and intrusions transecting the lithified host anorthosite and gabbro complexes;
4. In the skarn rock and alteration zones at the contact of the host intrusions and wall rocks.
Styles 1, 2 and 3 occur in the Saint-Charles deposit, although dominated by style 2. Most of the Fe-Ti (P) mineralization is apparently “intruded” in the anorthosite, gabbroic Cumberlandite is dominant in the anorthosite, and troctolitic anorthositic rocks. southern part of the deposit, usually Cumberlandite is dominant in the south portion of named the Javelin deposit. Nelsonite the deposit, usually referred as the Javelin is dominant in the north referred to deposit, while nelsonite is dominant in the north, as the Grand Saguenay Deposit. usually defined as the Grand Saguenay deposit.
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ITEM 11 MINERALIZATION
11.1 Overview
The Saint Charles titano-magnetite deposit is The St‐Charles deposit is made up of currently identified from the south of lot 44 to the pods, ten to hundreds of metres in north of lot 47 (figures 4 and 6) and thus width, scattered over an area about scattered over an area of about 400 m wide by 400 m wide and 2000 m long. The almost 2000 m long. The ore forms pods tens to exact geometry of the deposit has hundreds of metres in width, typically disjointed yet to be defined by drilling. and embedded in anorthosite and gabbroic anorthosite. The envelope of these pods is oriented NNW-SSE, at a small angle to the regional foliation overprinted on the anorthosite. Foliation and banding in the anorthosite strikes generally due north and dips vertical, although local dips at 10o to 85° to the west are noted. The contact between the ore and the anorthosite is generally sharp but locally gradual, intercalated with anorthosite bands as well as disseminated blebs of massive oxides in anorthosite. It has been proposed that the various masses of ore were intruded into a cryptic shear, fault or breccia zone.
The various authors who worked on the deposit through time provided very similar accounts of the pod like distribution of the ore masses. However, no accurate map is currently available, due to overburden coverage and lack of systematic work. There is no indication of the proportion of ore pods and interwoven anorthosite waste rock within the envelope of the deposit. There is no sufficient drilling available to control adequately the geometry at depth of the deposit and the presence of shallowly dipping anorthosite is of concern. The lack of accurate magnetic survey precludes modelisation of the deposit.
The various historical reports indicate a compositional variation along the deposit. The southern half, corresponding to the former Javelin mining lease, is reported as being titanium poor and devoid of phosphorus, and thus a cumberlandite. The northern half is titanium and phosphorus rich, thus dominated by nelsonite. This distinction is present in almost every historical report. This variation has not been noticed by the authors, and the question remains whether this variation is real or just an effect of improper sampling and drilling. This type of deposit is commonly zoned or shows progressive compositional variation across stratigraphy with vanadium-bearing magnetite dominated ore at the bottom and ilmenite-apatite rich ore at the top.
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The association of this deposit with IOGC type as proposed by Turner and Kupsch (2006) is erroneous.
11.2 Mineralogy
The ore is composed of titanomagnetite, some Titanomagnetite, which can be free ilmenite, apatite and spinels. The titanomagnetite is by far the dominant mineral, massive or mixed with other although its proportion can be quite variable. This granular minerals, is loaded with magnetite is medium grained, typically granular, micron to sub‐millimetre size with straight to serrated grain boundaries. As exsolutions of blebby to lamellar indicated by the various petrographic studies, the ilmenite, which bring the TiO2 magnetite20 is loaded with micron to sub- content to about 10‐12%. millimetre size exsolutions of blebby or lamellar ilmenite. The presence of these exsolutions brings the titanium content of the titanomagnetite to about 10-12% TiO2, thus indicating cooling-related destabilization of ulvöspinel (TiFe2O4). Manganese (jacobsite, MnFe2O4), aluminium (pleonaste (Mg-
Fe)Al2O4 or hercynetite FeAl2O4), magnesium (magnesioferrite, MgFe2O4) and chromium
(chromite, FeCr2O4) contents are not known. Vanadium is reported, with an approximated grade of 0.2% V2O5. Although not tested, this vanadium is very likely present as solid solution in titanomagnetite (coulsonite end-member, FeV2O4), and with half this grade in ilmenite (eskolaite end-member, V2O3).
The visual appearance and physical properties of titanomagnetite are near identical to pure magnetite. For instance, titanomagnetite has the same apparent magnetic susceptibility and ferromagnetic property as magnetite.
Ilmenite is present as granular grains as well as micron size exsolutions in titanomagnetite. The granular ilmenite is apparently not present everywhere, likely only where the titanium content of the magma was sufficient to saturate ulvöspinel.
Apatite is present in variable Hematite is apparently not present, but amounts. Its distribution has yet to maghemite is reported as alteration on magnetite be assessed. Apatite is granular, (Jooste, 1948). Dark green spinel is reported as millimetre in size, and thus expected granular grains, likely hercynetite (FeAl2O4), up to to be easy to beneficiate. 10%.
20 Based on the authors’ experience, it is likely a titanium-rich magnetite with
about 1-2% TiO2 in solid solution.
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Dark green spinel is reported as granular grains, likely hercynite (FeAl2O4).
Apatite is present in variable amounts in the magnetite-bearing rocks. Although the process leading to apatite crystallization in such magmas is not perfectly understood, its presence is a very common feature in magmatic magnetite deposit. The apatite is granular, typically millimetre size, scattered amongst the oxide minerals. Apatite has not been thoroughly analyzed, but is expected to be fluorapatite and to contain very low levels of deleterious contaminants such as uranium and cadmium. Rare earth content was analysed, but not found in sufficient quantities to be of significance.
As mentioned above, apatite is reported to have a non-uniform distribution within the deposit. This heterogeneity is readily visible at the outcrop scale, as witnessed by the authors. Without assays, the presence of apatite can easily be mistaken for feldspar by untrained geologists, and its distribution understated.
A compilation of the main assay results obtained from historical report is provided in appendix 3.
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ITEM 12 EXPLORATION
12.1 Historic exploration work
All the exploration work carried out up to now on the St-Charles deposit is characterized by its Historical exploration work on St‐ unsystematic and fragmental nature. Although Charles deposit is of limited discovered in the late 1880’s, the first account of a usefulness, due to its non‐ private evaluation dates from 1940 by Titanium systematic nature and poor and Steel Corporation. Prior to this date, all work location. was carried out by either provincial or federal government organisations.
The historical exploration work is of limited usefulness, being non-systematic, poorly located, redundant and non-compliant with actual standards. A synthesis of the available reports is provided in appendix 2. In summary, the following work was performed:
• Geological mapping (Denis et al., 1913, 1933; Robinson 1922; Waddington, 1942, 1944; Bourret, 1942; Joliffe 1946; Jooste, 1948, 1949, 1958; Allens, 1959; Gélinas, 1985). • Ground magnetic survey (Waddington, 1942, 1944; Sulmac, 1949; Allens, 1959; Gledhill, 1959; Fulcher, 1972, Turner 2004). • Bulk sampling and trenching (Bourret, 1942). • Drilling (Personen, 1953; Allens, 1959; Pollack, 1963; Rinfret, 1963; Sander, 1963; Ross, 1967, GM-20071 1967; QDNR, 1967a, b, c, d; Watt, 1970; Tindales, 1977). • Ore description (Osborne1944; Jooste, 1948; Bourret, 1963; EMR Canada, 1966). • Metallurgical tests (Denis et al. 1913; Dulieux, 1915; EMR Canada, 1947; Bourret, 1948, GM1940, 1949; EMR Canada, 1966; Robert, 1973). • Resource estimates (Denis et al. 1913; Dulieux, 1915; Robinson, 1922; Allens, 1959; Rinfret, 1963). • Market evaluation (GM-0599, 1940; Bourgoin 1943; Bourret, 1937; EMR Canada, 1935, 1966).
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12.2 Work carried out under the current ownership
The current claim holder, Mr. Roch Cormier, acquired the claim in 1987, and granted them for option successively to Fréderic Exploration, Canhorn Mining, and finally Micrex Development Corporation. Under his guidance only a limited amount of exploration work was carried out, the industry being then in a period of doldrums.
Only a short field visit was conducted for Frederic Exploration (Gélinas, 1985).
Canhorn Mining focused their exploration work on Canhorn Mining focussed on evaluating the deposit for its rare earth content. evaluating the rare‐earth potential The ore was sampled in 1987 (Cormier, 1987) and associated with the phosphate. Best analyzed for iron, titanium, phosphorus and yttrium. Yttrium was demonstrated as hosted in apatite, but reported grade is about 0.3% TREO. grades were negligible (4-98 ppm). In 1988, a small bulk sample was successfully processed for apatite concentration. Yttrium content of the apatite concentrate reached about 560 ppm with a low recovery, while rare-earth content reached about 0.3% TREO21. Rare earth abundance was confirmed by Siriunas in 1988.
Micrex carried out only limited exploration work on the property since its acquisition in 1999. A brief drilling program was conducted (Sneddon, 1999) and a NI-43-101 non- compliant resource estimate calculated (Sneddon, 2002).
Micrex Corporation carried out only In 2004, Apex Geosciences Ltd. carried out a 22 a limited amount of work with a ground magnetometer survey over the entire St- Charles property and collected a few surface minimal budget, and thus not to samples (Turner, 2004). Apex also measured the actual industry standards. magnetic susceptibility of the 1999 core, and relogged and sampled the core. These samples were analysed for trace elements, major oxides and rare earth elements. Grinding and magnetite separation tests plus density measurements were made on the titanomagnetite ore.
The magnetic profile surface map indicated the location of two main areas of magnetite mineralization, which correspond to the previous mapping by Jooste (1948, 1958). The
21 TREO: Total rare-earth oxides, expressed as sesquioxides RE2O3 22 The authors are critical of the quality of the Apex ground magnetic survey. The survey was not carried out using usual industry practices, no indication is provided about the type of equipment used and if a base station was established, on how the various corrections were made, how stations were positioned, etc. Only profiles were provided, without useful maps.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh delimited magnetic anomaly suggests ore bodies measuring approximately 1.5 km long (N-S) by 200-400 m wide (E-W), an estimate similar to the historical one. Magnetic susceptibility readings on the 1999 drill core indicate a sharp contact between the titanomagnetite layers and barren anorthosite slivers.
In 2006, Apex Geosciences Ltd. completed a technical report23 including recommendations for future work in which they reported the results of recent exploration work between 1999 and 2003 (Turner and Kupsch, 2006).
12.3 Validity of the available surveys
The various historical works were carried out according to the then industry standards, and can at best be considered as very fragmental. All the results are however consistent between reports. Although the details cannot be traced accurately, the general picture provided for the deposit is concordant and realistically comparable to other similar deposits.
The work carried out since the acquisition by Micrex is not according to industry standards, and is of limited usefulness. It too confirms results from historic work. However, this work must be viewed in the perspective of Micrex’s intention to initiate small-scale magnetite production for industrial markets.
12.4 Independence of contractors
The independence of contractors in the course of historical work is difficult to address. The work carried out on behalf of Micrex by Mr. Cormier is not independent. Apex Geoscience and Marmott Research geoscientists likely respected the various criteria to be considered independent. Laboratory work and assays is to be considered independent.
23 Although stated as NI-43-101 compliant, the Turner and Klupch technical report is only minimally so.
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ITEM 13 DRILLING
13.1 Canadian Javelin Foundry and Machine Works
Canadian Javelin drilled a minimum of 31 Canadian Javelin drilled 31 holes, diamond drill holes in 1953 (Personen, 1954a, b) most of which are not described or for a reported total of 2184 m (7166’) within their assayed in available reports. mining concession (DH1-12 on lot 46, DH13-17 Location of these holes is poorly on lot 45, DH18-20 and DH28 and DHA,B,C on reported. lot 44). No assays are available, and locations of the holes are inaccurate. According to the then industry practice, holes were located using distance and azimuth from claim posts, the accurate location of which is not available. Assays as well as logs were not reported for every hole, but some of them were disclosed in compilation reports for Javelin (Rinfret, 1963) and for Grand Saguenay Mines (Tinsdale, 1977). These holes targeted the magnetite anomalies from Waddington's dip needle survey (Waddington, 1948). Drill holes intercepted massive titaniferous magnetite mineralization from a few feet to much broader intervals exceeding the length of the hole, with grades of 30% to 100% magnetite (table 2). Core from these holes is not available anymore, and no attempts were made by the authors to locate the drilling sites. Approximate locations are indicated on figure 6.
In 1963, Canadian Javelin (Rinfret, 1963), using the 1953 diamond drill results, produced a set of 4 vertical cross sections and estimated the NI-43-101 non-compliant resources to be 12.6M tons with a cut-off grade of 20% magnetite24. Note that Javelin then owned only the southern part of lot 44 and 45, range I, and thus only the southern half of the deposit.
24 This resource estimate is not compliant with either CIM guidelines or Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
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Easting Northing Length Azimu Di Company HOLE‐ID (83) (83) Elevation (m) (m) t p Javelin DH53‐D 19.81 0-90 Javelin DH53‐C 42.67 0-90 Javelin DDH53‐13 318251.8 5376378.54 282.55 70.71 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐14 318182.51 5376350.92 274.62 82.3 45 -60 Javelin DDH53‐15 318143.54 5376420.38 273.83 39.01 45 -60 Javelin DDH53‐16 318215.01 5376284.07 278.83 42.06 45 -45 Javelin DDH53‐17 318215.01 5376284.07 278.83 97.54 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐18 318257.72 5376339.13 280.32 88.7 90 -60
Javelin DDH53‐19 318294.39 5376333.1 289.38 82.91 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐20 318282.38 5376297.28 286.85 87.48 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐21 318196.78 5376226.65 283.28 65.84 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐22 318137.08 5376235.19 282.67 81.69 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐23 318078.46 5376244.33 271.03 114.3 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐24 318098.29 5376301.54 275.81 57.91 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐25 318038.98 5376311.2 268.68 65.53 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐26 318081.48 5376365.63 267.37 60.96 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐27 318076.18 5376188.5 270.88 38.71 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐28 318234.76 5375920.99 209.98 96.01 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐01 318283.21 5377674.77 305.1 27.43 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐02 318240.54 5377690.16 293.34 19.2 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐03 318306.58 5377667.15 304.13 30.48 270 -45 Javelin DDH53‐04 318286.06 5377612.73 294.07 14.33 0 -90 Javelin DDH53‐05 318266.32 5377606.81 290.63 24.08 55 -45 Javelin DDH53‐06 318211.02 5377700.53 293.52 101.5 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐07 318168.04 5377714.71 293.16 119.48 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐08 318120.56 5377729.44 285.93 96.01 90 -45 Javelin DDH53‐09 318101.34 5377690.51 283.68 127.41 20 -45 Javelin DDH53‐10 318102.62 5377735.96 284.04 114.3 0 -90 DDH53- Javelin 11 318119.79 5377651.9 284.07 111.25 40-45 DDH53- Javelin 12 318104.64 5377625.32 281.6 60.96 45-45 DDH53- Javelin 29 318583.35 5375730.15 207.9 55.78 0-90 Javelin DDH53-B 317956.89 5379643.53 143 19.81 0-90 Javelin DDH53-C 317926.47 5379652.44 147 42.67 0-90 Grand GS61‐13 317816.37 5377279.72 140 335.28 90 -45
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Easting Northing Length Azimu Di Company HOLE‐ID (83) (83) Elevation (m) (m) t p Saguenay Grand Saguenay GS63‐14 317789.54 5377122.79 149 121.92 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS67‐1 318448.02 5377801.68 146 42.67 105 -55 Grand Saguenay GS67‐2 317846.64 5377205.22 151 122.83 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS67‐3 317824.79 5376945.9 157 140.21 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS70‐2 317790.63 5377024.61 155 106.68 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS70‐3 317932.64 5376758.88 151 87.17 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS70‐4 318129.42 5377011.88 165 66.75 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS70‐1 317925.59 5377344.9 136 103.94 90 -45 Grand Saguenay GS77‐1 317919.61 5376955.42 151 30.78 0 -90 Grand Saguenay GS77‐2 317892.04 5376971.43 150 30.78 0 -90 Canhorn MR99‐1 318058.77 5376695.96 138 60 0 -90 Canhorn MR99‐2 318038.93 5376681.29 135 45 315 -45 Canhorn MR99‐3 318007.38 5376723.65 135 33 0 -90 Canhorn MR99‐4 318007.38 5376723.65 135 105 315 -45 Canhorn MR99‐5 318007.38 5376723.65 135 105 225 -45 Canhorn MR99‐6 318007.38 5376723.65 82,7 117-45 Canhorn MR99‐7 318007.38 5376723.65 49,5 30-45 Table 1: Summary of drill holes
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13.2 Grand Saguenay Mines
Grand Saguenay Mines drilled a minimum of Grand Saguenay Mines drilled 34 25 34 diamond drill holes between 1961 and holes, of which only 14 were 1977, of which 14 were disclosed for a total of disclosed in reports. The location of 1498 m (Pollack, 1963; Sander, 1963; Ross, these holes is poorly reported. 1967a, b; QDNR, 1967 a, b, c, d; Watt, 1970; Tindales, 1977). Two holes were drilled in 1961 and 1963 in order to test the magnetic anomalies (DDH 1326 for 1090’ and DDH-14 for 400’) (Pollack, 1963; Sander, 1963). They intercepted significant apatite-rich mineralization (appendix 4). Drilling continued sporadically in 1967 (DDH67-1 to 67-3), 1970 (DDH70- 1 to 70-4) and 1977 (DDH77-01, -02). Assays were not disclosed for most of these holes. The ones disclosed were assayed for Fe, TiO2, SiO2, plus V2O5 for holes made in 1970 (Watt, 1970). Hole locations are not known accurately, and the authors have not been able to locate the old setups in the field (regrown forest). This core is not available anymore. Approximate locations are indicated in figure 6. These holes were all located in the northern section of the deposit, on lots 45, 46 and 47.
13.3 Drilling by Canhorn Mining Corp
Canhorn Mining drilled 7 holes under the Canhorn Mining drilled seven holes supervision of Mr. Roch Cormier, (DDH99-01 to near chemin Cloutier, located on top DDH99-07) totalling 477 m in 1999. These holes of a magnetite‐bearing outcrop. are located in the central part of lot 46 (Sneddon, 1999). These locations were visited by the authors. Five holes were drilled on the same collar location at different azimuths (Chinese hat pattern), either parallel or perpendicular to nelsonite bedding. Other holes are about 100 m to the east. The site is easily accessible being located along the chemin Cloutier. Magnetite bearing outcrops are visible near the drilling site. These holes intersected magnetite or apatite rich rocks over their entire length. The purpose of these holes was to test the site prior to extracting a bulk sample.
Core from the 1999 holes was assayed for trace elements, major oxides and rare earth elements. However, descriptions and analytical results are incomplete and sample
25 Pollack provided the log for hole DDH-13 in 1961, suggesting that 12 other holes were made that year. Similarly, the QDNR mentions holes DDH to7, 9, 11 and 12, meaning that 8 other holes were likely drilled. 26 There is apparently no mention of holes DDH-1 to DDH-12!
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh intervals are not properly disclosed in Sneddon’s (1999) report. Sheddon disclosed more of the information in a private report (Sneddon, 2002), in which he used the results of these holes for a resource estimate.
In 2004, Turner re-examined the core on behalf of Micrex Development Corporation. The core was resampled (no core was left in boxes for these intervals!) and re-assayed for total Fe2O3 , TiO2, P, rare earths, and a panoply of trace elements. Mr. Turner also measured the apparent magnetic susceptibility every half metre on holes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Summary logs were provided. The following core boxes are reported missing, and consequently lack a description:
• Hole 99-03, box no4 • Hole 99-04, box no17 • Hole 99-06, box no13
In the course of his second visit, the authors recovered the remaining core. The core boxes were piled beside Mr. Cloutier’s shed in a poor state of preservation. The remaining core has been put into new boxes and secured in IOS’ facility.
13.4 Validity of the drill results
Drilling made by Javelin and Grand Saguenay were made to the industry standards of the time. However, the information concerning these holes is too fragmental to be relied on for any future work.
Drilling done by Marmot Research (Sneddon, 1999) was carried out to industry standards. Caution must be applied in using data extracted from these cores. Most mineralized intersections are no longer available; no diligent validation can be carried out.
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Hole_id From (m) To (m) Length (m) Fe2O3% TiO2% P2O5%
MR99-3 0.00 30.50 29.20 74.38 12.96 9.00 MR99-4 59.00 65.50 6.50 74.42 13.00 9.84 MR-99-4 2.50 104.00 43.0027 37.37 8.83 7.10 MR99-6 3.00 80.50 33.00 31.04 6.25 6.23 GS61-13 28.96 191.75 12.21 43.27 10.03 7.15 GS63-14 19.35 31.09 11.74 42.67 7.89 8.21 GS63-14 55.63 97.84 42.21 42.06 9.73 8.60 GS63-14 101.35 115.52 14.17 41.78 7.90 8.21 GS67-2 14.94 41.1526.21 49.07 13.56 10.02 GS67-3 45.11 47.64 2.53 58.37 17.20 0.32 GS70-2 11.28 57.6146.33 46.05 12.19 10.52 GS70-2 99.82 102.20 2.38 46.78 4.90 8.95 GS70-3 30.39 32.92 2.53 58.37 17.20 0.32 GS70-4 3.96 10.366.40 41.03 6.31 9.62 GS70-1 0.00 53.6453.64 39.99 10.32 8.62 DDH53-01 1.52 19.20 17.68 39.81 8.87 4.39 DDH53-02 0.00 10.97 10.97 42.80 10.78 4.88 DDH53-04 0.00 13.72 13.72 47.83 12.17 6.29 DDH53-06 20.42 27.43 7.01 48.73 12.61 6.13 DDH53-06 30.48 41.76 11.28 43.89 10.03 9.96 DDH53-06 57.91 74.07 15.54 45.53 11.54 6.77 DDH53-06 76.81 86.26 9.45 41.48 8.85 6.13 DDH53-07 6.40 16.15 9.14 46.81 4.94 9.46 DDH53-07 17.68 21.03 3.35 58.28 7.04 10.16 DDH53-07 36.58 44.81 8.23 49.00 4.82 8.76 DDH53-07 49.38 110.34 60.96 41.27 6.59 5.68 DDH53-08 10.97 22.86 11.89 25.95 3.56 7.90 DDH53-08 34.44 71.93 37.49 43.45 6.29 8.44 DDH53-09 35.66 39.01 3.35 47.34 12.18 8.85 DDH53-09 53.34 80.47 27.13 49.06 12.95 9.40 DDH53-10 57.91 69.19 11.28 45.38 12.70 8.47 DDH53-10 70.10 75.59 5.49 47.95 12.00 10.32 DDH53-10 78.64 81.69 10.97 44.41 24.25 7.73 DDH53-10 92.66 94.49 1.83 38.63 11.00 7.29
27 Some of the intervals from MR99 holes are discontinuous and grouped as cumulative meterage for simplicity.
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Hole_id From (m) To (m) Length (m) Fe2O3% TiO2% P2O5%
DDH53-11 4.57 18.59 14.02 50.37 12.56 11.62 DDH53-11 28.96 10.54 11.58 40.80 7.78 7.35 DDH53-11 60.35 83.82 22.56 42.17 10.35 8.75 DDH53-12 3.05 21.34 18.29 37.76 6.94 7.38 Table 2: List of mineralized drilling intersect
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ITEM 14 SAMPLING
14.1 Historic sampling
Sampling reported in historic reports, prior to the acquisition of the deposit by Cormier in 1987, was carried out according to the contemporary ways of doing exploration. Samples were not abundant, not systematic and poorly located or not located at all. Considering the layered structure of the ore, such grab or selected sampling, from Osborne (1944) to Gélinas (1985), cannot be considered as representative. Samples were not sufficiently abundant to calculate statistics. Based on the approach of the time, the various authors collected only a few samples per zone or even per visit.
Various sampling programs are The first sampling of significance was by Waddington in 1942. He reported 23 channel reported in historical work, most of (chips) samples on the various zones he mapped them insufficient according to actual and published the first dependable analytical standards. They include channel results. sampling, grab sampling, number of mini‐bulk samples as well as a large In 1946, Joliffe collected 14 small bulk samples, bulk taken at the “Bignell pit”. for a total of 508 kg, from the various deposits (see location of the deposits on figure 6). In 1947, a 500 kg composite sample was submitted to Energy, Mines and Resources Canada for metallurgical testing.
No indication is available on how the samples were taken from the Javelin or Grand Saguenay drill cores.
A large bulk sample was apparently taken from the “Bignell pit” (about 60 feet x 15 feet x 7 feet deep), likely for metallurgical purposes. This pit is reported in Robinson (1926) and may have been used for the blast furnace test carried out by Bourgoin (1943).
14.2 Sampling carried out on behalf of Canhorn Mining
Two mentions of grab sampling carried out on behalf of Canhorn Mining are reported (Cormier, 1987; Striunas, 1988). Cormier (1988) also reported the taking of a small bulk sample (113.4 kg), apparently taken from the surface using a sledge.
The core drilled in 1999 (Sneddon, 1999) was half split with a hand splitter. Sample lengths, intervals and numbers are indicated in the logs, but are only summarized in Sneddon (2002). Apparently only hole DDH-99-03 was sampled over a significant
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh length. Only one sample was collected from each of the other holes28, for a total of 24 samples.
In 2004, the core was relogged by Turner, who collected 88 samples from intervals not previously sampled (Sneddon, 2002). Locations of these samples are simply indicated on profiles. These samples were half split with a hand core splitter.
In 2010, Mr. Cormier collected the remaining half cores representing a series of samples. Unfortunately, no witness samples of this core remain and collected intervals were not reported. Since numerous boxes of the core are currently missing or are in a poor state of preservation, this information cannot be extrapolated reliably.
14.3 Sampling by the authors
No sampling has been carried out by the authors. Considering the heterogeneity of the ore, grab samples are considered of limited value, and the authors were not mandated to collected samples in a systematic manner over the deposit. Magnetite, ilmenite and apatite are readily discernable in outcrop and core. This observation is sufficient for the authors to consider the reported extent and abundance of the ore realistic, with respect to the current advancement of the exploration work.
28 Likely just to make the drilling expenses acceptable for assessment credits, as required by law.
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ITEM 15 SAMPLE PREPARATION, ASSAYING AND SECURITY
15.1 Historic sampling
Disclosing of sample preparation and assaying Historical sampling was performed methods is a practice which started in the industry in institutional laboratories likely somewhere in the 1970’s. Therefore, analytical using then state‐of‐the‐art titration methods for historical assays are not reported. It is methods. Subsequent work used a likely that most assays were carried out using wet variety of commercial laboratories, chemistry titration. This method is usually not very robust; each laboratory had its own recipe. No but did not thoroughly disclose quality protocol or reference material analyses methodology or quality controls. were disclosed. However, most of these analyses were conducted in institutional laboratories, and are thus considered of the highest standards available at the time29.
15.2 Canhorn Mining samples
The 33 samples collected for Canhorn Mining Corp (Striunas, 1988) were assayed by Bondar-Clegg from Ottawa30, using neutron activation for rare earths, scandium, thorium and uranium, and X-Ray fluorescence on press-pellets for potassium, titanium, vanadium, strontium and zirconium. No QCQA or chain of custody was implemented.
15.3 Micrex Development Corp.
Assays from the core drilled in 1999 were reported by Sneddon (2002). For these 24 samples only magnetite, TiO2 and P2O5 were disclosed. Certificates are not available and methods not described. There is no evidence that reference material was inserted in the sample sequence.
29 It should be stated, that results from different labs can be reported in different units:
1% Fe = 1.28% FeO = 1.43% Fe2O3 = 1.38% Fe3O4 (magnetite)
1% P = 2.29% P2O5 = 5.43% Apatite = 5% BPL
1% V = 1.47% V2O3 = 1.62% V2O5
1% Ti = 1.66% TiO2 = 3.04% Ilmenite
30 Currently part of ALS-Chemex. The Ottawa laboratory was closed in early 2000.
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Apex Geoscience Ltd. carried out a winter program in 2003 (Turner, 2004), which included taking 10 large (5 gallons pails) grab samples for metallurgical testing plus 88 core samples from the 1999 drilling.
Cormier resampled the core in 2010, which were submitted to Loring Laboratories Ltd. from Calgary. Only certificates without sample descriptions31 were available to the authors. Rocks were analyzed using ICP-OES after multi-acid digestion for 31 elements including P, Ti and Fe. The complete lanthanide spectrum was analyzed for with the ICP-OES after borate fusion, acid digestion plus resin column exchange.33
A set of samples from the 1999 core was submitted to a “large international fertilizer producer” and results were disclosed in a press-release (March 9, 2011). Only P2O5,
TiO2 and Fe2O3 were reported. A few results from concentration tests on apatite and ilmenite are mentioned.
It is important to mention that throughout the No quality control program has ever history of exploration on St-Charles, no quality been implemented on the St‐Charles control program was ever implemented. However, deposit. However, the heterogeneity the authors agree that considering the natural heterogeneity of the rock and the sporadic sample and poor representativeness of the distribution, flaws in analytical results would not sample is likely to exceed the have affected the project significantly. Vanadium analytical discrepancies. and rare earth analyses are considered as more sensitive, and should be used with care.
No chain of custody was ever implemented. Most samples taken on behalf of Micrex were collected by or in the presence of Mr. Cormier.
31 Samples are numbered as 990xxx, suggesting they may mimic the former Apex sampling. 33 An error in the initial certificate emitted by Loring concerning Erbium (Er2O3) led to a wrongful disclosure in Micrex’s press-release on April 20, 2010, which was promptly corrected in a press-release on October 6, 2010.
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ITEM 16 DATA VERIFICATION
All the results available from the various reports have been compiled by the authors. The data indicated in these reports cannot be verified. No database has been provided by Micrex. The authors quickly verified the core description of the 1999 drilling, which was in accordance with the remaining core. However, the various assay results are within the expected range if considering the mineral proportions in the rocks and the variability of these rocks.
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ITEM 17 ADJACENT PROPERTIES
The St-Charles property is currently surrounded by map designated cells owned by an undisclosed third party, unrelated to Micrex. The authors consider these claims as having no value and acquired with the mere goal of creating hindrance.
To the west of the St-Charles property, extending to the recent staking is a group of claims and cells owned by various individuals and corporations all involved in dimensional stone quarrying. These cells encompass a currently operational quarry owned by Carrière Polycor inc. These properties may represent a hindrance to Micrex in the event of mining activity.
There are various properties currently explored for titanomagnetite, ilmenite or apatite in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean area and North Shore area. The authors are familiar with many of them:
Arianne Resource at Lac à Paul for apatite BSF Resources at Lac Élan for ilmenite American Allied Steel at Lac à la Truite for titanomagnetite Blackrock Metals near Lac Doré for titanomagnetite Appella Resources near Lac Doré for vanadium (titanomagnetite) Argex Capital near Lac à la Blache for titanomagnetite Nevado Resources near Lac à la Blache for titanomagnetite` Jourdan Resources at Dissimieux Lake for ilmenite-apatite Rocktech Lithium in the St-Urbain area for ilmenite
None of these projects is a direct competitor to A number of projects in Québec Micrex and should rather be seen as a potential currently aim to develop buyer of Micrex co-products such as ilmenite and titanomagnetite‐ilmenite‐phosphate apatite. Development of any of these projects is deposits similar to St‐Charles. likely to create synergy with Micrex with regards Micrex may gain using them as to the stock market. leverage on the stock‐market, St‐ Charles being the one nearest to existing infrastructures.
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ITEM 18 MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING
Developing a deposit such as St-Charles requires metallurgical testing to be carried out early in the exploration process. There are multiple concerns, the first being to test the feasibility of separating the valuable minerals (magnetite, ilmenite and apatite). The second is to produce a mineral concentrate suitable for the various consumers. Third is to develop a metallurgical process enabling production of metal (steel or pig iron) or final commodity such as titanium dioxide or phosphoric acid. Therefore, metallurgical issues were tested very early and debated in almost every geological report.
By the time the St-Charles deposit was evaluated, Although apparently outdated, the the industry was plagued by a lack of success in various historical metallurgical tests the economic smelting of the titanomagnetite such as the one experienced by the St-Urbain iron are insightful. It has been long works in the late 1890’s. Most of the steel recognized that the St‐Charles ore produced in the world until the 1970’s was presents various metallurgical produced by blast furnace using DSO (direct challenges. shipping ore), made of limonite, goethite and other similar iron rich ore, typically grading more than 55% iron. Massive magnetite ore, such as found in St-Charles, was not amenable to smelting due to its refractory nature and the titanium and phosphorous contaminants. Consequently, magnetite ore such as at St-Charles required extensive metallurgical testing to establish its value.
In spite of being out-dated, these metallurgical studies are considered as greatly valuable to the current project. If mineral separation was achieved in historic work, there are no reasons why such separation and beneficiation could not be achieved or even improved using modern technology.
It should be noted that the various metallurgical tests carried out on the St-Charles ore were typically performed to recover a single mineral.
16.1 Ore description
Detailed microscopic ore descriptions were first published by 1946 from the Department of Mines and Resources of Canada. They reported the usual magnetite, ilmenite, apatite and spinel assemblage. Intergrowth of magnetite and ilmenite was described by Bougouin (1943).
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An account of the mineral textures was provided by Osborne (1944). He noted that the ore was composed of varying proportions of Bourgoin (1943) subsequently magnetite, ilmenite, green spinel (likely hercynite) smelted the St‐Charles ore in a blast and apatite. Lamellar exsolution of ilmenite as well furnace, yielding a phosphorus‐rich as spinel in magnetite are reported to be widely pig‐iron, suitable for Bessemer variable from magnetite grain to magnetite grain conversion into mild steel. within the same polished section. Osborne was the first to indicate that the recovery of the exsolved ilmenite within the magnetite is likely to be The difficulty to separate ilmenite unfeasible, but that about half of the ilmenite was from titanomagnetite was free and recoverable. However, he also noted that recoignized as early as 1912 by the magnetite-ilmenite admixtures are not present in Dulieux. every sample, and that ore from certain portions of the deposit might allow mineral separation.
Another characterization was provided by Raicevic (1966), including photomicrographs of the ilmenite exsolutions in magnetite.
16.2 Magnetite concentration test
The first magnetite concentration tests were reported by Denis et al. (1913) and Dulieux (1915).
In 1935, Bourgoin from the Québec Department Bourgoin (1935) attempted smelting of Mines issued a report on the smelting of the St- the unbeneficiated St‐Charles Charles deposit. A 2 ton bulk sample was magnetite through direct reduction processed on behalf of AirborneSurveyor34. No in a retort. About 93% of the iron magnetite separation or beneficiation appeared to was metallized. He also succeded in have been carried out, and the ore was slagging the titania and phosphorus introduced as direct feed to an electric retort for out of the molten iron. direct reduction. He reported that 93% of the iron was reduced into metallic form (metallized) at 1900oC, using a charge of 25% charcoal and 75% ore. He concluded that “The results of the tests indicate that with a properly designed furnace, no serious difficulty should be experienced in obtaining a high recovery of iron in metallic form from this ore.”
In 1943, Bourgouin went on to indicate that the magnetic separation of ilmenite and magnetite is economically impossible due to the fineness of the required grinding. He
34 The report is barely legible and the company name is uncertain.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh suggested that if titanium and phosphorus can be made to enter the slag in the course of smelting, a suitable steel or pig iron can be produced. He said that in the course of smelting, iron oxides are reduced before titanium oxide, enabling separation with adequate smelting and slagging. Such smelting by indirect reduction (with the use of carbon monoxide) produced acceptable titanium free pig-iron. The apatite present renders the ore self-fluxing, reducing the need for adding fluxing agents. The presence of phosphorus renders the molten iron more fluid, easing the metal-slag separation. However, the presence of the phosphorous in the melt renders the iron brittle. Almost all of the titanium was held in the slag, as was vanadium. Tests were also carried out using a blast furnace, which produced a phosphorus-rich pig-iron suitable for Bessemer conversion into mild steel. The titanium was totally removed by this process. The slag produced by such smelting contains about 17-21% TiO2, far below the required 48%
TiO2 required for titanium white production through the sulphate route. Vanadium recovery was investigated as well. Although it would be beneficial to keep the vanadium in the melt, vanadium was totally partitioned into the slag when using the blast furnace for smelting. However, direct reduction of the ore in an electric induction furnace enables vanadium to stay in the pig-iron. Further reduction of the molten slag enables the production of a vanadium-rich metal. The report includes a discussion on the corrosive effect of titanium on the refractory bricks in the furnace, requiring the addition of lime to counteract it. Some casting, tempering and working tests were also carried out on the pig-iron produced.
In 1947, a series of tests were carried out at the Beneficiation tests using magnetic Department of Mines and Resources of Canada separation at Energy Mines and (EMR, 1947). About half a ton of ore was Resources Canada failed to produce received from Québec Metallurgical Industries a magnetite concentrate with less Ltd. A crude liberation test was made after than 13% TiO2 in 1947. However, crushing and sieving at a ¼ inch and separating tails were successfully upgraded the magnetite with a Wetherill dry magnetic through flotation to 40% P2O5. machine. This test indicated that grinding at 48 mesh is needed to free the apatite, but at least 100 mesh is needed to separate ilmenite and magnetite. Ilmenite-rich magnetite was recovered through dry magnetic separation, while the ilmenite and apatite from the non-magnetic rejects were separated using gravimetric shaking table separation. It was stated that it was impossible to produce a titanium-free magnetite concentrate, the lowest concentration being about 12% TiO2. Even the Davis tube test after grinding at 325 mesh failed to produce a magnetite concentrate with less than 12% TiO2 or 25% ilmenite. Various configurations of magnetic separation, gravimetric separation and flotation were tested. The production of a clean apatite concentrate required further froth flotation separation of the table lights, using
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh caustic soda and various commercial reagents35. Maximum achieved apatite recovery was about 70% at 40% P2O5 or 87% BPL.
In 1949, further beneficiation tests were carried Apatite floatation tests were carried out by American Cyanamid Company (Hartjens out by American Cyanamid, which and Farwell, 1949) on behalf of American Metal Company Limited in order to produce a yielded a 40% P2O5 or 87% BPL with commercial apatite concentrate. This group came 94% recovery. The receipe is to a similar conclusion as the Department of described in detail and the reactant Mines and Resources of Canada about the is still available commercially. difficulty of separating magnetite and ilmenite. They indicated apatite liberation at 65 mesh, which was concentrated up to 40% P2O5 with 94% recovery. Quite thorough characterization tests were conducted, including detailed mineralogical and chemical analyses involving “spectroscopic analysis”, “ultraviolet emission spectroscopy” and single grain petrography. They reported that the ilmenite exsolution in the magnetite was beyond the limits of optical microscopy, likely finer than 0.3 microns. They also indicated that minute inclusions of magnetite and ilmenite were present in the apatite, which would require fine grinding and which may cause iron contamination of the phosphate. About half of the ilmenite is reported as granular and free, devoid of magnetite exsolution. Rutile is rare, typically attached to magnetite. Magnetic concentration enabled the production of a 99% titanomagnetite concentrate, but failed to reduce the titanium content of the concentrate. Apatite flotation tests were carried out using oleic acid and various reagents.36 Detailed recipes are indicated. Similarly, ilmenite flotation tests were carried out, after apatite flotation and magnetite separation, with a recovery of 40.3% and a concentrate grading 36.25% TiO2.
In 1966, further testing was carried out by the Energy, Mines and Resources Department of Canada (Raicevic, 1966) on behalf of Titanium Product Corporation. The tests attempted to separate magnetite and ilmenite, but faced the same difficulties as previously reported. Tests using the Jeffrey-Steffensen low intensity drum separator and the Jones high intensity magnetic separators were attempted at various grind meshes. Grade-mesh diagrams indicate clearly that the titanium content of the magnetic fraction is almost independent of the fineness, and thus impossible to separate in normal milling conditions. Similarly, the titanium content of the ilmenite concentrate stabilized at 37-
38% TiO2, thus an iron-rich non-stoichiometric ilmenite, barely amenable for the sulphate
35 Not legible in the report. 36 It is indicated as various American Cyanamid Reagents, which are commercialized products of undisclosed composition.
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh route. Finally, they recommended the St- Ilmenite concentration tests, carried out Charles ore for the production of heavy by both American Cyanamid (1949) and aggregates, a marginal opportunity compared Energy Mines and Resources Canada to the iron and titanium market. (1966) failed to produce commercially
suitable ilmenite concentrates, which In 1973, the Research and Productivity graded a maximum of 38% TiO with Council of Canada (Robert, 1973), on behalf 2 about 40% recovery. of International Mines Services, evaluated the production of various commodities from the St-Charles ore, including ilmenite, apatite and even rare-earths. They discouraged titanomagnetite production, considering this ore unsuitable for steel production using the usual processes.
16.3 Testing carried out for canhorn mining lted
In December 1987, two samples (indicated as Grand Saguenay and Javelin ores) for a total of 1000 lbs were collected by Mr. Cormier (1988) and submitted to the CRM37 to carry out apatite beneficiation tests in order to recover rare-earths from the iron-titanium oxide ores (Cotnoir and Delisle, 1988). The tests successfully produced apatite concentres with grinding at 100 mesh, with concentrates at 42.1% and 40.7% P2O5 (91.9% and 88.9% BPL). Yttrium, the most abundant of the rare-earths38, passed from 140 ppm in the head sample to 520 ppm in concentrates. Overall rare-earth content passed from 567-603 ppm to 2577 and 2775 ppm (elemental weight), made up of 20% yttrium and 65% lanthanum-cerium-neodynium. Monazite, baestanite or other rare-earth minerals were not observed. It was suggested that all rare-earths are present as solid solution in apatite.
37 Centre de recherche minérale du Québec, currently COREM (Consortium de Recherche Mineral), a Québec based metallurgical research center with extensive expertise in iron ore.
38 Rare-earths, according to industry practice, include lanthanides plus yttrium and scandium, which share identical outer shell electronic configurations. However, CRM also included caesium, hafnium, tantalum, thorium and uranium as “rare-earths”, which should not be considered as “rare-earths”. Proper TREO were not recalculated by the authors.
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16.4 Testing carried out for Micrex Development
In the course of his visit, Turner (2004) collected a Davis tube testing carried out on few samples for bench-scale metallurgical testing. behalf of Micrex produced a Partial results were made available by Austin magnetite concentrate grading 13% (2004). Davis tube testing and Sala wet drum magnetic separation were carried out on two TiO2 and 0.13% V2O5, confirming samples, one massive magnetite ore and one historical results. Ball mill Bond apatite-bearing magnetite ore, Results similar to work index was calculated at all other tests were obtained, with typical 12-13% 21.4 kW/mT.
TiO2 in the magnetite. Low iron recovery was noted for one test, attributed to oxidation into hematite39. Apatite recovery was indicated as excellent. Multi-element analysis of the magnetic concentrates does not indicate high levels of deleterious contaminants such as manganese, chromium, as well as very low vanadium abundance (0.13% V2O5) and a very efficient removal of phosphorous. Similarly, analysis of the tails does not indicate significant abundance of elements which may represent an environmental hazard.
In 2010, Mr. Cormier resampled the remains of the core drilled in 1999, in order to submit the samples to Agrium40 for bench-scale apatite separation tests. Once more, apatite recovery was indicated as 90%. The ground core was subsequently submitted by Mr. Cormier for rare-earth analysis, which sums to about 0.1% TREO41 , with the purpose of validating the suitability of the magnetite bearing ore for the production of dense media to be used in coal processing plants. A Bond index of grindability by ball mill was measured at McGill University (Langlois, 2011) on a composite sample, indicating a work index of Wi=21.4 kwh/t.m. Finally, the samples were submitted for Davis tube testing to COREM. With the exception of the Bond index determination, these tests are poorly documented and only the certificates of analysis are available.
39 The authors are sceptical about this conclusion; magnetite does not weather in non-tropical climates. Iron was likely partitioned into ilmenite and silicates rather than heamatite. It shall also be noted that iron plus titanium in the concentrate add to 95%, leaving about 5% silicate as contaminant. 40 A large fertilizer producer. 41 TREO: Total rare-earths oxide, indicated as percent of sesquioxyde RE2O3.
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16.5 Conclusions about metallurgy
Various beneficiation tests were carried out through time by various laboratories on the St-Charles ore. These tests yielded similar results (table 3), variation being caused by the diverse abundance of constituent minerals (apatite, ilmenite, titanomagnetite and silicates) in the head samples. However, economic evaluation of these processes cannot be achieved without proper resource assessment.
Table 3: Summary of mineral and concentration tests and analysis Referen Type Head assay (%) Concentrate assay (%) Type test Product -ce sample/ /recovery concentrate location (%) Fe TiO2 P2O5 V2O5 Fe TiO2 P2O5 EMRC, Composite 34.84 12.76 9.65 0.14 1% 0.5 40 Flotation/ 70% Apatite 1947 14 samples 61.7 12.7 0.013 Magnetite 35.4 42.2 trace Magnetite tailing 80% ilmenite, 7.5% Titanium with very magnetite and trace apatite low recovery Americ. Composite 7 38.71 15.99 9.09 0.10 0.5 40 90% apatite Met. Co samples Ag: 0.39 oz/t, Au: 0.005 oz/t 60 13-14 0.03-10 magnetite 1949 33.7 40.2 0.14 Ilmenite, tailing free ilmenite EMRC, 15 pds ore 47.9 20.68 0.52 62.5 9.22 0.01 Low and high magnetite 1966 material density 23.3 40.3 1.5 low density Ilmenite 29.5 38.2 0.22 high density Ilmenite Heavy aggregate material has Specific gravity = 4.7 and is 67.5% of the ore by weight Robert, 4 lbs 34.8 12.8 9.6 0.3 0.06 41.4 Flotation/ 76.7% Apatite (17.3% 1973 samples recovery weight) 61 11.15 0.6 70.1% Fe recovery Iron (40% weight) Cotnoir 1000 lbs 8.49 42.1 43.3% Apatite &Delisle sample/ 10.29 wt% 1988 Javelin ore St-Charles 8.41 40.7 33.8% Apatite ore 7.21 wt%) Javelin ore 140 ppm Y 520 ppm Y Flotation/ Yttrium level 39.5% and 10.29 wt% St-Charles 140 ppm Y 560 ppm Y Flotation/ Yttrium level ore 27.7% and 7.3wt% Javelyn ore Total Rare Earth elements= 567 2578 ppm R.E. Flotation/ Europium, yttrium, ppm samarium St-Charles Total Rare Earth elements= 603 2775 ppm R.E. Flotation/ Europium, yttrium, ore ppm samarium Turner, Site VII 48.11 Wt% Fe2O3 82.83 Wt% Fe2O3 Davis Tube/ Magnetite for the coal 2004 High-P 30.8 wt% industry Site I 65.32 Wt% Fe2O3 84.55 Wt% Fe2O3 Davis Tube/ 61.5 Magnetite for the coal High-P wt% industry Micrex Sites G-H Fe2O3(45.34%), P2O5 (9.09%), Feed (25.92% P2O5), ? Apatite concentrate
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Referen Type Head assay (%) Concentrate assay (%) Type test Product -ce sample/ /recovery concentrate location (%) Dvlp Co, from TiO2(14.77%), Apatite(22%) Con (36.88% P2O5) 90% and 22.2 wt% 2010-1 1999's ddh Tails (17.29% P2O5) Average 10
16.5.1 Apatite
Apatite can be easily concentrated to 40% P2O5 or 90% BPL, with 90% weight recovery, after grinding at 100 mesh. Such an apatite concentrate is the best grade available as feed for phosphoric acid or white phosphorous plants. Such results are comparable to those obtained on similar deposits, such as d’Arianne Resources or SOQUEM-Yara. Deleterious contaminant abundances were not measured in the concentrates.
16.5.2 Rare-earths
Rare-earths are partitioned dominantly in apatite as solid solution, with a total abundance of about 0.2%. Such abundance is too low to contemplate their economic recovery as a primary product. No further testing should be initiated in this direction. Receiving credits for the recovery of rare-earths as a secondary product at the phosphoric acid plants is then unlikely.
16.5.3 Titanomagnetite
Titanomagnetite can be easily recovered through magnetic separation after grinding at 200 mesh, with less than 5% silica. However, it has been impossible to reduce the
titanium content below 12% TiO2. Such titanomagnetite is not suitable for steel production in a conventional blast furnace, and requires more complex direct reduction and Bessemer conversion with oxygen blowing system.
16.5.4 Vanadium
Vanadium is hosted as solid solution in titanomagnetite and requires a complex hydrometallurgical processing of the titania slag after direct reduction, or alkali roasting of the titanomagnetite concentrate. The reported grade, which varies from 0.1% 0.4%
V2O5 within the magnetite, is far too low to consider economic recovery as a primary or secondary product. At the time the St-Charles ore was tested, the presence of vanadium in the molten iron was considered as beneficial. However, in the modern steel making
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16.5.5 Ilmenite
Free ilmenite, which accounts for about 50% of all titanium present in the ore, can easily be recovered by interplays of magnetic and gravity separation after 200 mesh grinding.
This ilmenite grades about 35% TiO2, and is therefore non-stoechiometric and rather low grade to be useful for titanium dioxide production through the chlorine route. Upgrading into synthetic rutile has never been attempted. The authors consider that further testing should improve the quality of this concentrate.
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ITEM 19 MINERAL RESOURCES
There are currently no mineral resource estimates on the St-Charles deposits which are CIM guidelines compliant, suitable to be published within a NI-43-101 compliant report.
Various authors stated resources in historical reports, which are here provided as quotations only:
“[...] it will be seen that the St-Charles mine, may, with all contingencies mentioned, contain over 5 000 000 tons.” Denis (1913)
“[...] extensive deposits of titaniferous magnetite; 50% iron and 10% Ti, most likely directly usable in a high furnace […]. We find that the St-Charles property may contain a tonnage in excess of 5 000 000 tons.” Dulieux (1913)
“The superficial contents of these areas […] is 358 000 sq.ft. Using this figure as a base and multiplying by .5 as factor of safety […] a little calculation will show that the quantity of magnetic material contained in the deposit above the river level may quite possibly run well up into millions of tons.” Robinson (1926)
« qu’il y a plusieurs affleurements de magnétite titanifère sur cette propriété, sur une étendue d’environ 700 pieds par 200 pieds. Le plus grand de ces affleurements mesure 320 pieds par 200 pieds dans ses plus grandes dimensions. Nous n’avons aucune idée du volume de ces dépôts. Des analyses d’échantillons types faites par Dulieux et par Leverin ont donné de 10 à 13 % de titane et de 50 à 52 % de fer. » Bourret (1937), citing Robinson (1922)
"When all these factors are considered, there appears to be a good prospect for developping a large tonnage of mineral in the St-Charles deposits […]. No estimates of grade or possible tonnage in the deposit is possible at this stage of their exploration” Waddington (1944)
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"the only calculation that can be made with regard to size is that each square inch on the accompanying map (1:4800?) shows as underlain by magnetite ilmenite should contain about 20 000 tons per vertical foot” Joliffe (1946)
“The largest estimate to date is 30 000 000 tons made by Canadian Javelin in 1954 […]The Javelin estimate is a maximum one in that it assumes a mining depth of 300 feet and that it ignores the diamond drill evidence which indicates a maximum ore width of 150 feet in a zone which could contain 6 000 000 tons […]
average grade of this ore is: Fe = 32.02, TiO2 = 10,97, Apatite = 18.97, SiO2 = 12.68 […]. Total available tonnage: 4 190 000 tons of ore […] to a depth of 100 feet.” Allens (1959)
« […] Tonnage.G.Magnétite à 5,0, 6,5 pi.cu/tonne […] 12 600 000 tonnes. Ce chiffre comprend de la magnétite de 20 % + […] matériel à extraire pour obtenir ce tonnage 129 560 000 pi cu total […] » Rinfret43 (1963)
“This drilling has outlined a main ore zone, lying mainly within claim 167005-1, with calculated reserves of 16,500 tons per vertical foot or 3.3 million tons to a depth of 200 feet, considered to be the maximum open pit depth, at a 1 to 1 ore:waste ratio.
Average grade of this zone is: Fe = 29.47%, TiO2 = 10.12%, P2O5 = 9.25%” Fulcher (1972)
“the main one (mineralized zone) containing an estimated 6 million tons essaying
29.47 per cent Fe, 10.12 per cent TiO2, 9.25 per cent P2O5, 0.1 per cent V2O5 and 0.1 per cent combined rare earth oxides and yttrium.” Robert (1973)
“The property was drilled in 1950’s by Canadian Javalin where they had calculated
the possibility of Fe-Ti, P2O5 deposit of around 60 million tons.” Cormier (1987)
43 Rinfret (1963) document consist only of a set of manuscript calculation sheets and drilling sections without text.
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None of the aforementioned citations should be taken as resource estimates; none of them are based upon detailed calculations or rigorous methods. However, all the geologists who worked on the deposit stated these values based on common sense and personal observations. The large dimension of the deposit is hereto concluded. However, calculating CIM guidelines compliant mineral resources will require a thorough drilling program, since none of the currently available data can be incorporated in such a Although none of the historical resource model. estimates are compliant with current standards, they cannot all be erroneous A more recent attempt to calculate a resource or fraudulent! All the geologists who estimate was provided by Sneddon (2002) in a visited the deposit in the last hundred private report handed to Canhorn Mining years reached similar conclusions about Corp. In this report, Sneddon used the 5000γ the abundance and nature of the ore, isopleths of Fulcher’s magnetic map (1972) to estimate a tonnage. although the exact amount and grade still needs to be defined. Inferred resource: 31 938 903 tons Measured resource: 5 854 123 tons Total resources: 37 793 026 tons.
However, no grade is provided, density was based on only a few measurements, and the use of geophysical anomalies to estimate resources is a strictly discouraged method. Therefore, although published after the implementation of NI-43-101 standards, this resource is definitely not NI-43-101 compliant and should be disregarded as such.
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ITEM 20 OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION
Iron ore, titanium, phosphate and other valuable Iron ore, titanium and phosphate minerals in the St-Charles deposit are considered are commodities traded on a as “industrial commodities”, meaning that, in spite worldwide basis. The survival of of being widely traded, they are market and producers depends on their ability consumer dependant. Two approaches to the development of the project will be discussed, first to produce and deliver on a specific a large scale mining operation for commodity market at a better price than the production and second a small scale mining competition. operation for specialty product selling.
20.1 Commodity production
The difficulty of extracting iron, titanium or phosphate out of the St-Charles ore has been identified in 1913 by Denis and Dulieux. Since then as much effort has been dedicated to metallurgy as to geological exploration. In addition, there is the market issue and the possibility of selling the product. By definition, a commodity is sellable in large volume and regardless of its origin or producer. Producers who can deliver on a specific market at the best price will be selling their product before their competitors! In the current global market, commodities are traded globally, and producers have to compete in a worldwide market for consumers and against competitors who are also based worldwide. Hedges against the competition are based on the cost of production plus the cost of delivery to the consumer. The St-Charles deposit is susceptible to producing three different commodities: titanomagnetite for the steel industry, ilmenite for the titanium dioxide industry and apatite for the phosphate industry.
20.1.2 Titanomagnetite
Current (2009) world steel production stands at 1.2 billion tons per year44, necessitating about 2 billion tons of ore. About 40% of this steel is currently produced in China, which currently imports about 620 million tons of concentrate per year. Contrarily to most commodities, iron ore is traded based on an annually agreed benchmark price. The benchmark price for fine hematite concentrate currently stands at about US$100 per short ton, FOB in Sept-îles or Puenta de Madeira (Brazil) harbours, while spot price
44 Eg.: about 40 times the complete St-Charles deposit per year!
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(30% of the seaborne ore) stands at US$130 per ton. Iron ore prices are currently highly volatile due to economic instabilities and the demand exceeding the offer.
Iron ore for use in the steel industry is currently in Seaborne iron ore production is historically high demand, driven mainly by the currently controlled by three needs of emerging economies. Seaborne iron ore companies, thus the urge for production is dominated by Rio Tinto, Vale and Chinese and Indian steelmakers to BHP-Billiton, accounting for most of the trading. develop their own source of Asian economies, such as China, Japan and seaborne ore. The total St‐Charles South Korea, currently account for about 70% of iron ore content represents about the world steel production, while they have access one tenth of the annual Chinese to only limited domestic iron ore. Even China, currently the number one iron ore producer in the imports. world, is largely in deficit. Chinese imports alone accounted for 550 million tons of ore in 200945: thus the need for Asian steelmakers to acquire and develop their own iron ore production facilities, and to achieve vertical integration. The paradox is that iron deposits are very easily located, and many of the undeveloped For the sake of comparison, large iron deposits are located in Québec and Labrador. just doubling the capacity of Demand in seaborne iron ore for the next few years is the Arcelor‐Mittal’s pellet expected to rise further by 300 million tons, or 10 times plant in Port Cartier, what is currently exported from Québec. This demand is currently under construction, currently driving the largest boom in mineral exploration represents an investment and mine development ever experienced in Canada. twice as large as the entire Dozens of iron ore projects are being evaluated currently, Osisko East Malartic gold each ranging in billions of tons and billions of dollars in mine. potential investment:
Arcelor-Mittal in the Fermont area Cliff Resources in Bloom Lake phase 2 IOC(Rio Tinto) increased of production in Labrador City Baffinland Resources on Baffin Island Canadian Century iron ore in the Attikamagen and Duncan projects Oceanic Iron ore in Hope Advance project Labrador Iron Mines in the Schefferville area New Millenium in Quémag and Labmag project Adrianna Resources in Otelnuk project Niocan in Great Whales project
45 Eg: about 10 times the complete St-Charles deposit per year!
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Altogether, the aforementioned projects represent about 40 billion dollars total investment.
The race for getting iron mines into production stimulated various smaller projects, many of the deposits are similar to St-Charles (some of which are listed under item 17, page 44). Although St-Charles, as it is currently known, is relatively small in comparison, its advantageous locations with respect to expediting suggests it might be worthy of evaluation from this perspective.
Magnetite is preferred over heamatite Contrarily to North-American steel mills, Chinese by Chinese steel makers, who pay steelmakers prefer to use magnetite instead of hematite for pellet production and smelting. The about a $20 per ton premium. exothermic reaction during pelletization yields a Titanomagnetite can be used instead more energy efficient process. About a US$20 of magnetite, with the price premium per ton is currently paid for magnetite discounted approximately 20%. compared to hematite concentrate. Titanomagnetite however is more suitable for the direct reduction The St-Charles deposit is to produce process in steel “minimills”. titanomagnetite, with about 10-13% TiO2. Such titanium is regarded as a contaminant to iron ore dedicated to blast furnaces. This dilution increases the cost of smelting (+10% on coal/coke), the cost of converting and refining into steel, as well as the cost of ore transportation (+10%). A penalty is likely to be applied to such iron ore. Such penalty is likely not lethal to the project, as suggested by the current advanced development of other similar projects. For comparison, BlackRock Metals’46 14K project located near Chibougamau will likely produce a very similar concentrate from a deposit with a lower magnetite head grade than the St- Charles deposit, and not much larger than the St-Charles deposit. Furthermore, the 14K project is impacted by longer rail hauling to the Grande-Anse seaport (near Chicoutimi) and by its remoteness to infrastructure. BlackRock Metals is currently carrying out the bankable feasibility study on the project, has apparently signed an off-take agreement with a Chinese steel maker and is very optimistic about its final outcome.
Most titanomagnetite used in the world for steel production apparently goes into a direct reduction process. The ore is heated in a reducing atmosphere (H2 + CO), typically in a arc-furnace. Steel production is usually coupled with titanium and vanadium slag production. Most of the titanomagnetite exported to China is, however, blended with titanium-free iron ore as cheap feed for blast furnaces.
46 Black Rock Metal is a private company. Any information concerning the advancement of their project is difficult to validate.
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As an iron ore deposit, St-Charles is considered to be rather small. Whether or not it can be viably put into production is a complex issue that deserves further evaluation. Association, funding or off-take agreements by a steelmaker or established iron ore producer would ease the development of the project.
20.1.3 Ilmenite
Ilmenite is the largest source of titanium. Although this metal is famous for its light alloys, the main use of titanium minerals is the production of titanium dioxide47, the main white pigment used in paint. The pigment industry accounts for 80% of the world’s consumption of titanum. Titanium is not used much as a metal due to its refractory nature and the great difficulty to reduce and smelt it. Due to their high cost of production, titanium alloys are restricted to the high-technology industry such as the aerospace and nuclear industries. Titanium white production is fragmented into dozens of producers.
Ilmenite is mined either from heavy mineral sands Ilmenite is mined for the production such as in Virginia (USA), Madagascar and of titanium white, which accounts Australia, of from hard rock, such as Lac Allard in 48 for 80% of the consumption. Québec and Tellnes in Norway. Ilmenite from heavy sand benefits from low mining cost and Titanium white is produced by higher titanium grade, typically exceeding the digesting the ilmenite is sulphuric stoechiometric limit of 47% TiO2. Ilmenite from acid (sulphate route), by upgrading hard rock is typically produced from massive ore, the ilmenite into pseudorutile by and thus used as coarse direct shipping feed. autoclave process, or by direct However, such ilmenite is usually heamoilmenite, reduction of ilmenite into molten with about 35% TiO2 only, not suitable for iron and titanium slag. hydrometallurgical production of titanium dioxide with conventional processes.
High grade ilmenite can be processed directly into titanium white by digestion with sulphuric acid (sulphate route), iron precipitation, hydrolysation of the titanyl sulphate and cracking of the titanium hydrate. This process is capital intensive, costly to operate and reputed to be highly polluting. It is currently being replaced by the chlorine route, which requires higher grade feedstock. To be amenable to the chlorine route, ilmenite needs to be converted into pseudorutile, a process requiring iron leaching. The rutile is
47 Also called titanium white. 48 The Tellness mine is currently operated by Titania AS (owned by Kronos Worldwide Inc.), who actively seek an alternate source of ilmenite, suggesting the near-end of the mine.
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49 The hemoilmenite, as produced at Allard Lake (33% TiO2) or Tellnes (18% TiO2 ), is too low grade to be used directly as feed for the sulphate route. It is therefore dedicated to smelting. Processes to upgrade such ilmenite into pseudorutile were developed, but are still proprietary technologies. Ilmenite smelting facilities are rare. The Lac Allard ore is smelted in Sorel, while the Tellnes is processed in Eramet's Tyssedal titanium slag and iron plant in Norway.
Consensus price for ilmenite hovers at US$95- Ilmenite is currently sold at a price 100. The authors have not been able to find if this hovering around US$95‐100 per ton. price is at the mine or FOB at the smelter or Considering that sea or rail titanium dioxide plant. If the latter, ilmenite transportation costs a minimum of production is very sensitive to transportation $40 per ton, production of this costs, leaving a meagre US$50 per ton at the commodity is very sensitive to mine. Vertical integration seems required to make market location and transportation an ilmenite mine economically viable. Constructions costs of an ilmenite smelter or logistics. titanium white plant are staggering and not accessible to junior companies.
Currently QIT Fer et Titane produce about 800 thousand tons of ilmenite50 yearly, or about a sixth of the world production. This ilmenite is produced at the Lac Allard mine, near Havre St-Pierre on the Lower North Shore, eastern Québec. The totality of the production is shipped by laker vessels to Sorel on the St-Lawrence River, where it is smelted into high purity pig iron (Sorelmetal), steel (Sorelsteel) and a titanium dioxide
(Sorelslag at 80% TiO2 and UGS or upgraded slag at 94.5% TiO2) which is then sold to titanium white producers. The process used in Sorel is complex, involving roasting of the ilmenite, smelting in an arc furnace, casting of the molten iron into pigs or converting it into steel billets. The slag is either crushed into Sorelslag and sold to titanium white producers who use the sulphate route or processed into upgraded slag and sold to titanium white producers who use the chlorine route. Just developing and building the UGS process plant has been a 2 billion dollar investment.
49 Likely a mixture of ilmenite and titanomagnetite, although commercially labelled as ilmenite. 50 Subsidary of RioTinto, usually refered as RioTinto Iron Titanium.
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Ilmenite from the St-Charles deposit is near stoechiometric, grading about 45% TiO2, although concentrates above 38% TiO2 have never been achieved. However, the deposit contains about 15% of ilmenite, a grade too low to be profitably mined for ilmenite only51. It would need to be recovered as a by-product of titanomagnetite and apatite mining, and sold to titanium white producers. Marketting of the ilmenite may then be an issue. Developing a hydrometallurgical process to convert the St-Charles ilmenite into pseudorutile will require years of dedicated metallurgical development, an unlikely avenue for a by-product. Therefore, selling ilmenite as a by-product shall be considered a bonus if it happens, but including ilmenite revenue into an economic model to develop St-Charles is not realistic. As an example, d’Arianne Resources’ Lac à Paul apatite project will produce about 1 million tons of ilmenite per year, which was not included in the economic model of their Scoping study (de l’Étoile, 2010).
Contaminant levels in the St-Charles ilmenite, such as magnesium, chromium and manganese, were never measured.
20.1.4 Ilmenite and titanomagnetite coproduction
,About half of the ilmenite is free in the St-Charles Titanomagnetite and ilmenite does deposit and half is locked into titanomagnetite. The not need to be separated to be used overall titanium grade of the ore is expected to be as feed for direct reduction about 20% TiO2. Considering that ilmenite is worth smelting. Such feed would grade about the same than iron ore on the market, and that titanium slag and steel productions account about 20% TiO2, a grade for similar revenues in the existing operations, the comparable to other ore used as titanomagnetite and ilmenite mixture could be feed for steel and titanium slag used directly as feed for a smelting operation. production. Such process never been Such a process has never been considered and considered and tested on St‐Charles tested for the St-Charles deposit. Such ore would ore. be comparable in titanium grade with Tellnes and approach the Lac Allard grade.
Such mixture of titanomagnetite and ilmenite is used in steel and titanium-vanadium slag production in the Evraz Highveld steel mill in South-Africa52. The ore is a vanadium rich titanomagnetite direct shipping ore produced at Mapoch mines in Limpopo, from the Main Magnetite layer of the Bushveld Complex. The process used at Highveld is complex, involving intensive fusion with the production of hot vanadium-rich iron and titanium slag, followed by the production a second vanadium-rich slag while the molten
51 In-situ ore contains $18 of ilmenite per ton of ore. 52 Previously part of Anglo-American plc.
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An operation similar to Highveld used53 to produce steel, titanium and vanadium in Russia. The former Nizhniy Tagil and Chusovskoy steel mills processed titanomagnetite from Mount Kachkanar in the Urals. Grades were not disclosed.
Three operations are reported in China, with production in the order of 20 000 tpy, mainly from the Panzhihua deposit in Sechuan. Exhaustive review of these operations and their reserve status has not been attempted by the authors. However, nearly all the titanomagnetite projects currently under evaluation in Québec (item 17, page 44) seek the Chinese market, if not Chinese investors. A review of these opportunities and the testing of titanomagnetite plus ilmenite concentrate production is recommended to Micrex.
20.1.5 Vanadium
Micrex has some hopes of vanadium production Titanomagnetite is the dominant from the St-Charles deposit. Although not type of ore for the production of sufficiently tested, the vanadium grade of the vanadium. However, a grade in the titanomagneite is in the order of 0.1-0.2% V2O5, order of 1.3% V O in the magnetite with occasional assays up to 0.4%. In the 2 5 54 is usually required. Such a grade has authors’ experience (Girard 1998 , 2008) the vanadium content of titanomagnetite deposits is not been encountered in St‐Charles, although zoning of the ore, a severely zoned from 1.5% V2O5 in the older less common feature, never been tested. magmatically evolved facies, up to 0.1% V2O5 in the most evolved facies. Vanadium grade typically varies inversely with titanium grade. Therefore, it is still uncertain if a high vanadium grade can be encountered in St-Charles. However, the bulk of the titanomagnetite present at St-Charles is likely to be too low grade for vanadium production.
53 The exact status of this operation is not known to the authors, although it has been reported as shut down. 54 The first author (?) gained significant expertise with vanadium having been the project manager for the McKenzie Bay Resources project in Chibougamau, with which he collaborated up to bankable feasibility in 2002.
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Vanadium can be produced as a co-product with steel and titanium slag, using the processes described above. However, none of these processes have ever been tested on the St-Charles ore. Most of the vanadium production in the world comes from alkali roasting of vanadium-bearing magnetite. In such a process, the magnetite is roasted with soda ash and coal in a rotary kiln to produce soluble sodium vanadate and hematitic calcine. The sodium vanadate is leached and treated with ammonia to precipitate ammonium polyvanadate, which is cracked to yield vanadium pentoxide, the traded commodity. This type of operation requires a magnetite feed with a minimum vanadium grade of 1.3% V2O5 and the processing of 100 000 tons per year of magnetite to be economically viable. Such a grade is currently not reported at St-Charles.
The current vanadium market is largely dominated (70%) by the production of ferrovanadium to be used as an alloying agent in steel. However, the market for this commodity is expected to rise significantly in the event that vanadium-based redox batteries for grid-stabilisation systems reaches commercial production.
20.1.6 Apatite
Phosphate is reported as the fourth largest traded Phosphates are the fourth largest mineral commodity in the world, with a global mineral commodity traded in the production of 173,2 million tons55 or about 15 billion world. It is mainly used for fertilizer dollars a year. In spite of being such a large commodity, phosphates are traded as an industrial production, and is an essential, non‐ mineral and only a limited amount is traded on the replaceable and non‐recyclable spot market. It is a bulky commodity, mostly traded commodity. It is mainly traded on on the continental market and dictated by the continental markets, the seaborne transportation cost. Seaborne market, accounting market being dominated by for less than 20% of the overall phosphate feed, is Morocco which dictates the pricing. limited and dominated by Morroco, thus the FOB Casablanca price is the reference. Morroco phosphate, grading 72 BPL is currently sold at US$182.50/mT56, a record high if we exclude the 2008 peak. Phosphate, used for fertilizer production, is an essential non-replaceable, non-recyclable commodity.
Phosphates are produced dominantly from phosphorite, a sedimentary rock similar to limestone and made of calcium phosphate accumulation in a platformal sequence. With grades ranging from 40% to 78% BPL, the rock is either shipped direct or with minimal beneficiation. The balance of the rock is typically made of calcium carbonate.
55 2008 numbers. See d’Arianne report for more elaborate discussion. 56 June 2011, taken from World Bank data.
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Phosphorite needs to be converted to phosphoric acid in order to manufacture fertilizer, food additives or other phosphorous chemicals. The conversion is made either by sulphuric acid digestion (wet process) which yields phosphoric acid directly or by smelting in an arc furnace to produce elemental phosphorus which is subsequently converted into phosphoric acid. The smelting of elemental phosphorus is considered as an obsolete process, only used on a large scale in China.
Phosphoric acid plants are mostly located near phosphate mines, such as Mosaic in Tampa, Florida, although some are located near markets (intensive farming areas), such as Agrium in Red River, Alberta. The conversion of phosphate requires large amounts of sulphuric acid, access to which57 is the dominant factor in the cost of production. Therefore, the Apatite can be used as feed of transportation issue to operate a phosphoric acid premium quality for phosphoric acid plant is threefold: the transportation costs of plants. Its higher grades and lower apatite/phosphorite, of sulphuric acid and of deleterious contaminant levels phosphoric acid. Deciphering the effect of these allows substantial saving on transportation issues can lead to counterintuitive production and compliance with conclusions. Such situations were discussed at strictest environmental regulations length by the first authors in D’Arianne Resources’ economic assessment study on their for fertilizer. Lac à Paul Apatite project.
Apatite can be used instead of phosphorite for the wet process, accounting for less than 12% of the world production. It has higher grades than phosphorite, typically 82-85% BPL. Higher grades imply savings on transportation costs, on sulphuric acid consumption and on phosphogypsum58 disposal. Furthermore, low levels of contaminants in the apatite concentrate (uranium, thorium, cadmium, etc.) allow the production of contaminant-free phosphoric acid, suitable for food additive production without further refinement. The production of contaminant-free fertilizer is currently promoted in numerous countries59, and it can be expected that it will increase the
57 There is currently a shortage of sulphuric acid availability in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. 58 Phosphogypsum is phosphate contaminated gypsum produced by the reaction of lime bonded to the phosphate and sulphuric acid. In most cases phosphogypsum is contaminated by uranium and other deleterious metals, which render the gypsum unusable for other commercial uses and is then considered as a hazardous waste to be disposed of. Where the apatite concentrate is used as feed in a phosphoric acid plant, the phosphogypsum is typically devoid of such deleterious contaminants and is suitable for the manufacturing of wallboard and other industrial applications. 59 Europe has a law pending application which sets a maximum threshold on
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh demand for clean the phosphoric acid produced from apatite concentrate. Higher grades are reflected in higher prices. Apatite currently trades at about 20% higher price than Moroccan phosphorite on the European market60.
At the present time, apatite concentrates account for about 10% of the world phosphate production. Mines are in operation in Russia, Brazil and Canada. Russian apatite is primarily exported to the European market, where it is preferred over the Moroccan phosphate because of its purity. Brazilian production is dedicated to its domestic market. Finally, Canadian production is from the Agrium mine61, near Kapuskasing, Ontario. It is used as feedstock at the Red River phosphoric acid plant in Alberta.
In every currently operational apatite mine in the world, apatite is hosted in either pristine or weathered carbonatite with a grade ranging from 10% to 80% apatite. Carbonatites are alkaline rocks typically enriched in high field strength elements, such as valuable zirconium, niobium, tantalum and lanthanides, but also deleterious uranium and thorium. Also, similarity to phosphorite, the main constituent other than apatite is carbonate, which needs to be separated efficiently from apatite. Any carbonates left in the concentrate consume an equivalent amount of sulfuric acid.
Currently, there is no apatite mined from nelsonite Apatite is not mined from nelsonite in the world and the authors are not aware of any anywhere in the world. However, in the past. However, two projects are at a stage of advanced development, both in Québec. The two projects are currently being d’Arianne Resources project at Lac à Paul is in a developed, both in Québec. The Lac remote location to the north-east of the Lac St- à Paul project of d’Arianne Jean area. This vast and low grade deposit is Resources is the larger of the two. It targeted to produce about 2 million tons of very is located in the Lac‐St‐Jean region. clean apatite concentrate per year (de l’Étoile, Micrex could benefit from synergy 2010). This deposit is currently estimated at created on the stock market. 260 million tons grading about 12% apatite (5.7%
P2O5). Although located about 170 km away from the nearest rail spur and 210 km away from nearest deepwater seaport, it has been calculated that the apatite concentrate can be delivered to either the conterminous American or west European market at a competitive price. Ilmenite is present in the Lac à Paul deposit in proportions similar to
major contaminants and renders all fertilizers produced from phosphorite unsuitable. 60 Apatite concentrates are traded by contract. The selling price is typically not disclosed. It is difficult to obtain an accurate price. 61 The Agrium mine in Kapuskasing has almost exhausted its reserve apparently. No other Canadian source is currently available to provide feed to Red River.
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Second is the Arnaud project, owned by SGF-Minerals62 and Yara. It is located near Sept-Iles, less than 20 km from a deepwater seaport. It is expected that this seaborne apatite, about 1.5 million tons a year, can be delivered to Tampa, Florida or Europe at competitive prices. The Arnaud project requires the selling of ilmenite and titanomagnetite as coproducts to be economically viable.
Apatite from the St-Charles deposit is considered to be very similar to the one the Lac à Paul and Arnaud deposits. Successful apatite beneficiation of the St-Charles ore yielded a concentrate similar in grade and recovery to the Lac à Paul concentrate. However, the contaminant content of the concentrate has never been measured. Apatite mines cannot be viable with a production of less than about 1 million tons of concentrate per year, which would require a mining rate of minimum 5 million tons per year, and thus a deposit of minimum 100 million tons.
20.1.7 Rare-earth elements
The presence of rare-earths in the St-Charles ore has been suggested well before the actual frenzy on the stock markets (Tinsdale, 1972). Various attempts were made to recover them (Cotnoir et Delisle, 1988). The tests indicate that the rare-earths grade covaries with the apatite grade, and therefore these elements are dominantly held as solid solution in apatite. No rare-earth minerals, such as monazite63 or xenotime64 have been observed. Total rare-earth content is relatively low, dominated by light rare-earths. Since rare-earths are hosted in apatite, a rare-earth concentrate cannot be obtained through beneficiation, and hydrometallurgy will be required to extract them. However, no existing phosphoric acid plants can recover rare-earths, so no bonus can be expected on the apatite price.
Rare-earth metallurgy is known to be very complex. All rare-earth elements have very similar chemical behavior, so to isolate the individual rare-earths is a tedious and costly process, requiring state-of-the-art technology. The reader should not be lured by the sky- rocketing price of some of these rare-earths. These elements are expensive because of their low abundance compared to overall rare-earths and the difficulty in isolating them,
62 Formerly owned by Soquem, a mineral exploration corporation fully owned by SGF-Minerals, which is a government owed investment holding company. 63 +3 Monazite: RE PO4: A rare-earth phosphate. 64 Xenotime:YPO4, A yttrium phosphate.
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20.2 Niche markets
The project was initially presented to the authors with the option of producing industrial commodities on a small scale for some niche markets or specialty products. Pros and cons are abundant:
• Only limited mineral resources are needed; to be mined on a small scale by quarrying. • Only limited capital is required to define the resources and to set-up a mine and mill. • The produced commodities need to be marketed to potential consumers. The consumers already have their providers who need to be dislodged. • No volume savings is possible. Mining and milling will be at the high end in terms of the cost of production. Price of the commodity is typically adjusted to these high production costs. • Typically, consumers require a product with their own specification. This necessitates an adapted and flexible mill to produce a range of quality and grade. Such flexibility cannot be counteracted by producing the “best product on the market” 65. • An off-take agreement is usually needed with potential consumers prior to starting such a production. Extensive testing by the consumer will be required, which has to be embedded in the metallurgical testing. • Producing such quality-sensitive commodity requires a very homogeneous feed at the mill, not only in term of grades, but in terms of contaminant and mineral properties. • Obviously, small scale production of niche commodities is not compatible with large scale production of more usual commodities such as phosphate, iron ore or ilmenite. • Evaluating the market for such commodities is difficult, since no figures are available, and the collaboration of potential consumers is required.
65 This error has been fatal to Orléan Resources’ wollastonite project in the Lac- St-Jean area around 1987.
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Numerous niche markets are currently being evaluated by Micrex:
DMS Slurry: DMS plants are 66 extensively used by the coal industry to separate light coal from heavier rock fragments. Slurry is made using magnetite powderand water. Magnetite is used for its density and its ferromagnetic properties, and not for its chemical composition. Titanomagnetite is thought to be fully compatible with the process. The presence of ilmenite inclusions is not considered to be a hinderance, only to increase the weight adding to the processing cost. The challenge in producing such a material is obtaining sufficient fineness and homogeneity in grain size. The rod mill bond index is critical with respect to production cost, likely accounting for more than 80% of the cost of such an operation. The market targeted by Micrex is the Appalachian coal mines in the United States, who currently import the material.
Water treatment plants: Ferrous sulphate (FeSO4) is used in water treatment systems. It acts as a flocculent (replacing alum salt), as a reducing agent and as a promoter of phosphate precipitation. Ferrous sulphate is produced by attacking magnetite with sulphuric acid. The reaction does not work as efficiently on hematite or pelletized iron ore. The current market is supplied by Sweden at $250 per metric ton. This price is about 200% the amount paid for iron-ore by steelmakers. Currently, the ferrous sulphate market is estimated at about 100 000 tons per year for the Atlantic coast of the United States. The presence of titanium oxide in the St-Charles ore is not a hindrance for ferrous sulphate production, other than a 10% dilution, impacting transport cost and equipment sizing, but has to be verified.
Ferric sulphate (Fe2(SO4)3 ) is produced from ferrous sulphate via contact with an oxidizing agent. It has various industrial applications, such as a dye fixing agent, pigment for the brick and concrete industry, or as a source material for the synthesis of more complex iron chemicals.
Heavy aggregates: Massive magnetite or ilmenite can be used as heavy aggregates in specialty concrete. The Bignell mine in St-Urbain, Charlevoix has produced limited quantities of heavy aggregate. Other than manufacturing cement, heavy aggregate can also be used for the production of heavy ballast for
66 DMS - Dense media separation: An industrial process used to separate various materials based on their contrasting density. Magnetite slurry is made into slurry with a specific density. Mixed materials are fed into the slurry, where light materials float and heavy materials sink. The slurry is recovered after the process with a magnetic separator.
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the railroad. This use requires the proximity of a rail spur. Such ballasts are typically sold at $20 per ton. The proximity of a deep water seaport may enable the selling of ballast to the southeastern United States where quality aggregates are rare. It is uncertain how apatite would react if the ore is used as aggregate for concrete manufacture and if an expanding reaction such as the alkali-silica reaction would take place.
20.3 Permitting
The targeting of any specialty market for the St-Charles ore will require making a significant amount of marketed product available to potential consumers for testing. With this purpose in mind, Micrex planned the extraction of a 10 000 ton bulk sample in 2007 from Lot 46. All required permits were obtained from the Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, the ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec and the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec. An agreement was also made with Mr. Cloutier (surface rights owner). A rehabilitation plan was provided to the various organisations (Cormier, 2006). Although expired, these permits and rehabilitation plans are likely to be easily reactivated.
It is expected that small scale mining, comparable to dimension stone quarrying, would be easily accepted by the local population. However, large scale mining of iron ore or phosphate will require careful lobbying and consultation with the population. Such a project will not be feasible without social acceptance, although the regional population does not have a history of social opposition to project development. The economy of the region has been severely affected by the down turn in the forest industry, and the population is quite receptive to alternate industries.
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ITEM 21: INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
Compilation of the available historical data clearly indicates to the authors that the evaluation of the St-Charles deposit cannot proceed directly toward a preliminary economic assessment as planned by Micrex Developments, and require a set-back toward proper resources definitions. This is required in spite of the abundant metallurgical testing, numerous resources mentioned in literature, and the former 72 diamond drill holes reported. The non-systematic approached used in historic works precluded their use in current standard compliant resources assessment.
However, in spite of the lack of systematic work, the numerous well trained geologists who succeeded each other in evaluating the deposit over the last 100 years cannot be fooled about the magnitude of the deposit. The resources will be defined according that sufficient drilling is carried out over the deposit.
The St-Charles deposit is a vanadium-nearing iron-titanium oxide plus apatite cumberlandite and nelsonite deposit, suitable for the production of titanomagnetite, ilmenite and apatite. Quite extensive metallurgical testing was historically carried out, including successful beneficiation of titanomagnetite, ilmenite and apatite concentrate. Smelting of titanomagnetite has been successfully attempted both by direct reduction in arc furnace and standard smelting in blast furnace and subsequent steel conversion.
According to such, two different family of market product can be contemplated for St- Charles production. First is the large scale production of titanomagnetite for steelmaking, ilmenite for titanium pigment production and apatite for the phosphoric acid production. For each of these markets, St-Charles deposit should be considered as quite small, although synergy can be achieved with other projects. Development of such project will require Micrex to seek collaboration or even investment from a strategic partner.
Second, as seek for by Micrex Development, is the production of specialty product for niche markets. Micrex works on this issue enable them to identify various product, such as magnetite for dense media slurry, or the source material for ferrous sulphate used in water treatment. Development of such product is a complex endeavour, which is however more accessible to a junior mining company.
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ITEM 22: RECOMMENDATIONS AND BUDGET
The compilation of the available historical data clearly indicates to the authors that evaluation
First, it is recommended that a high definition magnetometer survey be conducted over the holdings. This would allow the proper outlining of the deposit and hopefully model its geometry at depth. A boom-mounted helicopter-borne survey is recommended, flown at minimal altitude (20 m) and 50 m line spacing, oriented east-west.
Second, it is recommended that a short drilling campaign targeting the very best magnetic anomaly be carried out. A total of 12 holes, about 100 m in length, for a total of 1200 m, with a 50 m spacing, should be sufficient to delineate a measured resource of about 2 million tons. All samples should be assayed for major oxides and tested for magnetite content with a Davis tube. This evaluation should be sufficient to initiate a “niche market” small scale production.
Third, it is recommended that a systematic drilling be carried out over the entire deposit to evaluate its overall resources. Drilling fences every 200 m will be required to calculate inferred resources, for a total of 9 fences of 450 m each, or a total of 4500 m.
Fourth, cuttings from the samples collected from the core should be used for metallurgical testing of the various processes required by the eventual client of the specialized niche products. About 10 tons of material should be made available.
22.1 Budget
Micrex did not indicate to the authors the amount of monies they anticipate to raise on the stock market. However, the authors suggest a minimum of $330 000, sufficient to carry out a phase I program that includes the magnetometer survey and the drilling of the very best anomalies. A maximum financing of $1 250 000 will allow the carrying out of both phase I of the program including a thorough resource definition of the deposit, metallurgical testing and preliminary economic assessment. It is understood that the phase II program is conditional only on the amount of monies available and not on the results of phase I.
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Phase I Airborne magnetometer 200 km @ $50 $10 000 survey Magnetometer interpretation $15 000 Drilling 1200 m @ $200 $240 000 Assaying 300 samples @ $150 $45 000 Resource calculation $20 000 Total for phase I $330 000
Phase II Drilling 4500 m @ $200 $900 000 Assaying 1000 samples @ $150 $150 000 Magnetite concentration $100 000 Economic assessment study $100 000 Total for phase II $1 250 000 Total for phases I & II $1 580 000
Based on their experience, the authors consider these work recommendations and budgets as realistic and sound. Due to the particular nature of this project and the abundant historical work, the authors are confident that there is a sufficient resource to initiate a small scale operation delineated by the phase I program, and a significant resource easily definable with the phase II program. Assuming rapid financing, drilling could be carried out in autumn 2011, resource or economic assessment provided in winter 2012, and bulk sampling and pilot plant testing in summer 2012.
Respectfully submitted
Réjean Girard, P. Geo. OGQ no521
Jean-Paul Barrette, P. Geo. OGQ no619
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ITEM 23: REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
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TURNER, A, AUSTIN, J B. (2004). Ground magnetic surveying, surface sampling and core relogging and sampling at the St. Charles magnetite deposit, Micrex Development Corp., GM-61415, 41 p.
TURNER, J., et KUPSCH G., Barbara (2006). Technical report on the St-Charles magnetite deposit, Bourget Township, Quebec, Canada, Apex Geoscience, 36 p.
WADDINGTON, G W. (1942). Rapport géologique, levé boussole d'inclinaison et titrage, dépôt de St-Charles, GM-06755, 1 carte, 16 p.
WADDINGTON, G W. (1944). Report on geological and dip needle surveys with assays, St Charles deposit, Department of Mines, GM-06755, 12 p.
WADDINGTON, G W. (1948). Rapport sur les gisements de magnétite titanifère de Saint-Charles, cantons de Bourget et de tache, comte de Chicoutimi, ministère des Mines, S 004, 30 p.
WADDINGTON, G.W. (1950). Report on the Saint-Charles titaniferous magnetite deposits, Bourget and Taché townships, Chicoutimi County, Québec, Province of Quebec, Department of mines, Mineral deposits branch, 12 p.
WATT, A. (1970). Diamond drill record: Quebec Department of Mines, GM-26970, 11 p.
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ITEM 24: AUTHOR’S CERTIFICATION
RÉJEAN GIRARD, PROFESSIONNAL GEOLOGIST
I. Réjean GIRARD. P. Geo., do hereby certify that:
1. I am currently employed as a senior geologist by: IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. 1319, boulevard St-Paul Chicoutimi, Québec, G7J 3Y2
2. I graduated with a degree in geology from Université Laval in Ste-Foy, Québec, in 1985. In addition, I completed 5 years of graduate studies in mineral resources at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.
3. I am a member of the Ordre des géologues du Québec, no521.
4. I have worked as a geologist for 26 years since my graduation from university.
5. I have read the definition of "qualified person" set out in National Instrument 43- 101 ("NI-43-101") and certify that by reasons of my education, affiliation with a professional association (as defined in NI-43-101) and past relevant work experience, I fulfill the requirements to be a "qualified person" for the purpose of NI-43-101.
6. I am responsible for the preparation of the technical report entitled St-Charles-de- Bourget Titaniferous Magnetite Project, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Area Quebec, Canada, a 43-101 Compliant Technical Report dated August 24, 2011 relating to St-Charles-de-Bourget property. I visited the property on October 21, 2011 and May 21, 2011.
7. I am not aware of any material fact or material change with respect to the subject matter of the Technical Report that is not reflected in the Technical Report of which the omission to disclose would make the Technical Report misleading.
8. I am independent of the issuer, having applied all the tests in section 1.5 of National Instrument 43-101.
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9. I have read National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101-F1 and the Technical Report has been prepared in compliance with that instrument and form. 10. I consent to the filing of the Technical Report with any stock exchange or other regulatory authority and any publication of the Technical Report by them on their publicly accessible websites. I also consent to the use of excerpts of the report as long as it does not alter the contents or the meaning of the report.
Dated August 24, 2011
______
Réjean Girard, P. Geo. OGQ no521
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JEAN-PAUL BARRETTE, PROFESSIONNAL GEOLOGIST
I. Jean-Paul Barrette. P. Geo., do hereby certify that:
1. I am currently employed as a senior geologist by: IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. 1319, boulevard St-Paul Chicoutimi, Québec, G7J 3Y2
2. I am a graduate of Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, with a B. Sc. in geology (1884).
3. I am registered as a Professional Geologist in good standing with the Ordre des géologues du Québec with member number 619.
4. I have worked as a geologist for a total of 26 years since my graduation from university.
5. I am co-responsible for the preparation of the Technical Report entitled St-Charles- de-Bourget Titaniferous Magnetite Project, Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Area Quebec, Canada, a 43-101 Compliant Technical Report dated August 24, 2011, relating to St- Charles-de-Bourget property. I visited the property on May 21, 2011.
6. I am not aware of any material fact or material change with respect to the subject matter of the Technical Report that is not reflected in the Technical Report of which the omission to disclose would make the Technical Report misleading.
7. I am independent of the issuer, having applied all the tests in section 1.5 of National Instrument 43-101.
8. I have read National Instrument 43-101 and Form 43-101-F1, and the Technical Report has been prepared in compliance with that instrument and form.
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9. I consent to the filing of the Technical Report with any stock exchange or other regulatory authority and any publication of the Technical Report by them on their publicly accessible websites. I also consent to the use of excerpts of the report as long as it does not alter the contents or the meaning of the report.
Dated August 24, 2011
______
Jean-Paul Barrette, P. Geo. OGQ no619
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ITEM 25: ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGURES, TABLES AND APPENDICES)
25.1 Figures
Figure 1: Project location
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Figure 2: Property location (Google earth)
Figure 3: Regional geology (Laurin and Sharma 1979)
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Figure 4: Geological map (Jooste 1949)
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Figure 5: Ground magnetic survey (Fulcher 1972) and drill holes.
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Figure 6: Compilation of exploration works and drill holes
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25.2 Appendices
Appendix 1: Claim list
NTS Township Range Lot Area Type Title Status Registry Expiration Credits Requirement Fees Ownership (HA) 22D11 BOURGET 1 48 52,83 CDC 2016024 Actif 12/06/2006 6/11/2012 $ $ 1 200 $ Roch Cormier (8805) 100 % - 53 (responsable) 22D11 BOURGET 1 44 59,56 CL 5206686 Actif 12/04/1999 4/11/2013 $ $ 2 500 $ Roch Cormier (8805) 100 % 4 207 53 (responsable) 22D11 BOURGET 1 45 58,09 CL 5206687 Actif 12/04/1999 4/11/2013 $ $ 2 500 $ Roch Cormier (8805) 100 % 4 207 53 (responsable) 22D11 BOURGET 1 46 56,57 CL 5206688 Actif 12/04/1999 4/11/2013 $ $ 2 500 $ Roch Cormier (8805) 100 % 16 124 53 (responsable) 22D11 BOURGET 1 47 54,66 CL 5206689 Actif 12/04/1999 4/11/2013 $ $ 2 500 $ Roch Cormier (8805) 100 % 4 207 53 (responsable)
Claim list as extracted from GESTIM (claim registry available on-line at ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec), translated into English for convenience.
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APPENDIX 2
HISTORICAL WORKS AND REPORTS
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
2010 (1) Not Public Letter to Micrex Devlp Co. ?
2010 (2) From Micrex Analysis certificate Loring Laboratories (Alberta) Not indicated but likely from 38 samples ICP 30 elements and Website Ltd for Micrex 1999 drill core (990401- re-assay for Rare 990449 and 990602-990632, Earth numerous missing numbers, )
2006 Not Public Technical report on the APEX Geoscience Ltd, Intended to be a 43-101 Historic works with Reported the 2003's field visit Did not reported all historic drill programs and results St.Charles magnetite Edmonton (Turner, A.J.) for report, but not compliant. results deposit Micrex Dvlp Co. 2004 GM 61415 Ground Magnetic Survey, Turner, A., for Apex Historic works Ground Magnetic survey 14.4 line-km Resampled 1999 core by 88 core Numerous traces surface sampling and core Geoscience Ltd for Micrex using GPS locating; total field (2000m x splitting the remaining core + samples and major elements relogging and sampling, St- Develpment corp. and gradiometer magnetics; 1000m grid 10 large grab sample of 5- (369.7m) + 10 assayed by ICP, Charles magnetite deposit Measurement of magnetic gallons pale each collected grab samples including Fe2O3t, susceptibility in 1999's drill from magnetite units TiO2, P and all Rare- holes 1,2,3,4,6 every half Earth elements meter.
2002 Not public Letter to Micrex Devlp Co., Sneddon, D.T. for Micrex Reported the historic Magnetometer profiles on 4 Mineral resources Development & Corp.. datas: 1999's log, assays sections atop of 1999 drill- estimation-St-Charles from 1944 to date, holes grouped on grid deposit geophycical and reference 0350N, 0830W geological survey reports
1999 GM58955 Diamond Drill record, St- Marmot Research Inc. By 7 DDH99-01 to -05 477m ICP 30, trace Charles Bourget property Sneddon, D. with log, DDH99- elements, Rare 6 & 99-7 no log earth and major oxides
1988 (1) GM46903 Report on visite, Javelin-St- Siriunas, M.J. to Canhorn Geological reconnaissance Sketch map only at Rock grab sample 30 samples Sc, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Charles Property Mining Corp. (Willoughby, of ore occurrencesplus 1''=1000' Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, N.O.) recommandations for a Tm, Yb, Lu, Th, U, K, detail exploration program Ti, V, Sr, Zr by with budget. Neutron Activation and X-ray F method
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 2010 (1) Not Public ? Bench scale magnetite 10 Fusion: No information on sample type, location or reference number, no concentration test P2O5,Fe2O3,MgO,Al2O3, reference on sample owner and used laboratory. TiO2,CaO,SiO2,MnO
2010 (2) From Micrex No information on sample type, location and reference number Website
2006 Not Public Did not reported all exploration works and results, nor did reported and discussed about mineral resources and metallurgical tests, no compilation map 2004 GM 61415 Surfaces Grinding and magnetic 2 Fe2O3, TiO2, P2O5, trace Geochem results and certificate for resampled core are not in the report Magnetic profil indicated the presence of two zones of magnetite mineralization, which corroborated the previous oxidized grabs separation tests (Davis and whole rocks but available in Micrex's private file; sample taken from the surface are mapping by Jooste (1948). These magnetite bodies mesure approximately 1.5km long (N-S) by 200-400m in width (E- samples (10kg) Tube), specific gravity deeply altered and oxidized W); high magnetic susceptibity come from titaneferous apatite-magnetite rich unit essentialy; sharp magnetic susceptibity contrast between magnetic unit (ore) and anorthosite ranging from 0 to 800-900 SI-unit; magnetic units identified in the core as: 1) SPMT or ''salt and pepper'' textured apatite-poor magnetite rock, 2) APMT or normally very coarse apatite-rich magnetite rock, 3) ANOR or anorthosite, and 4) MFDK or fine grained, dark green-black, mafic rock; the two magnetite concentrate from apatite-rich magnetite samples yeilded 82.83 wt% and 84.55% Fe2O3, from headgraded of 48.11 wt% and 65.32wt% Fe2O3 and thus only 30.8wt% and 61,5% magnetite; low iron recovery are attributed to the weathering of the samples and presence of iron-bearing silicates (olivine megacrysts); the magnetite concentrate from these 2 samples is of sufficient quality to be sold as a heavy media for use in the coal production process; titanium values are high and could represent a significant value; more itesting is required in regard of liberation of titanium-bearing mineral
2002 Not public Tonnage estabed by extrapolation of the 5000 The 5000 gammas isocontour was used to delimited barren rocks 37, 793,026 tons @ undisclosed grade. Resources are divided into mesured (6.0Mt) , indicated (12Mt) and infered gammas isocontour from 1972's flux gate (anorthosite) from ore; polygons method was then used, Grade was resources (19.79 Mt). These numbers included the Grand Sagnenay works (31,938,903 tons using 20% dillution) magnetometer survey over the whole calculated from numerous grab, channel and ddh samples, density of plus the Javelin works (5,854,123 tons using 45% dillution); property, and also encompassing a small area 4.6544 or 290.434 lbs/sq ft (from CRM); using the average of 2 measured surveyed in 1996 and 1999, plus datas from 23 areas for the former Grande Sagnenay property and a method of strips historical drill logs (1944, 1946, 1948, 1954, estimate for the former Javelin property. Strictly not 43-101 and CIM 1959, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1987 and 1999) compliant.
1999 GM58955 Assay certificate and log report are incomplete, no information available See 1 DDH99-1 to -7 profils map in the 2011 report about sample number/interval references ; 5 holes are located on the same place as a chinese-hat pattern, and thus oriented along and at right angle to the suspected Fe-Ti-P-rich zone
1988 (1) GM46903 No comment about results of this sampling program; La (1 to 80ppm), Ce (5 to 270 ppm); Nd (< 10ppm to 200ppm), Sr(4 to 1301 ppm); Sample location is uncertain, plotted on aerial photographe and on sketch map (1''= 1000'); all samples were described;
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
1988 (2) GM46902 Rapport d'échantillonnage CRM for Canhorn Mining en vrac sur les propriétés Corp. And Rock Cormier & Grand Sagnenay et Javelin Associates
1987 GM 45102 Report on Grand Sagnenay RCA R. Cormier & Associated Rock and soil sampling survey 9 samples (5kg Fe2O3, TiO2, P2O5 Property for Canhorn Mining each) + 1 soil and Y sample
1985 GM42216 Certificat D'analyses Serge Gélinas & Associés Ltée Grab rock samples 13 samples SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, for Frédéric Exploration Ltée MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, TiO2, MnO, P2O5, PAF 1977 GM 33193 Diamond Drill record, St- Tindale, J.L. for Grand 2 ddh 77-1, 77-2 30.8m + 30.8m= Only 70-1 profile Charles Bourget property Sagnenay & Mineral Ltd 61.6m provided with assays over 27.85m ) 1973 GM30853 Evaluation of the Robert, M. of Research and Mineral examination from Surface sample 4 lbs Fe, Ti, P, R.E., Y, V metallurgical possibility for Productivity Council, Canada polish section and Rare Earth St.Charles deposit for Tindales, J. of elements International Mines Services Ltd
1972 GM28015 Report on a ground Fulcher B.C., on behalf of Succinct review of the Ground magnetometer 51.2 line-km magnetic survey International Mines Services then available ddh survey using a Fluxgate Ltd. intrument along a cut grid with broad, fluxgate, thus measuring only the vertical component, of the magnetic field. 1970 GM26970 Diamond Drill record, St- Watt, A. for Grand Sagnenay 4 ddh70-2 to ddh70- 260.6m + %Fe, TiO2, SiO2, Charles Bourget property Mines & Minerals Ltd 4 with description 27.85m (70-1) = P2O5, V2O5 and 70-1 without 288.5m description
1967 GM35116 Diamond Drill record, Québec government, 1 ddh7-7 85.7m No mention Georges Néron Property Department of Natural Resources 1967 GM35117 Diamond Drill record, Québec government, 1 ddh7-9 87.5m ?? Rosaire Néron Property Department of Natural Resources 1967 GM35118 Diamond Drill record, André Québec government, 1 ddh-7-11 70.1m ?? Roy Property Department of Natural Resources
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 19882010 (2)(1) GM46902Not Public Bulk sample Apatite (P2O5) 2 Major and traces Complete apatite separation testing. Positive results but more Apatite liberation size from Fe-Ti ores from 2 deposits sites is about 100 mesh or finer; Rare-Earth elements are of 113.4 kg concentration tests; high elements, Rare investigation in pilot plan was recommanded found in solid solution in apatite; Xenotine, bastmasite (monazite) were observed; Conventional concentration taken from 2 Yttrium content earth,mineral comp. methods on Javelin ore can raise the P2O5 level from 8.49% to 42.1% with apatite recovery of 43.3% and a weight sites recovery of 10.29%; The St-Charles ore gives an upgrading of P2O5 level from 8.41% to 40.7% with recevery of 33.8% and weight recovery of 33.8% and a weight recevery if 7.27%; the Yttrium content in apatite increase from 140 ppm in head sample to 520 ppm in the final flotation concentrate with recovery of 39.5% and the weight recovery of 10.29% in the Javelin ore; in the St-Charles deposit the yttrium content 140 ppm in the head and concentrate content is 560 ppm with 27.7% recovery and weight recovery of 7.3%; The rare earth's grade increase to a level of 2578 and 2775 ppm in the flotation final concentrate; The final concentrate content in europium, samarium and yttrium yield a potential value of $180US per ton of apatite; Holmium and thulium levels decrease in the final flotation concentrate as compared to the tails of second-pass magnetitic concentration.
1987 GM 45102 Sample locations are uncertain The results confirmed that the iron-rich sample contain high amount of P2O5 and Yttrium; P2O5 values in the non- magnetic amples shows phosphate grades 3 times higher than the magnetic one ; Yttrium grades correlate with apatite abundance, but not with Fe2O3 or TiO2 values; Yttrium: 4 to 98 ppm Y , P2O5: 0.46% to 11.10%, Fe2O3: 5.73% to 55.20%, and TiO2: 1.36% to 15.00%
1985 GM42216 Grab sample taken from outcrops and trenches, scale 1:2500
1977 GM 33193 Only 1 log available (77-1) without assay result. Location from an old magnetomer map along with previous DDH . Ddh included: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 70-1,-2,-4, 67-1,67-2.
1973 GM30853 1.8kg sample Benchscale test for Mineral resources reported, no details, not 43- Informations published in regard of historical DDH such as assays and Reported resources, non-43-101 compliant, of 6.0M tons at 29.47% Fe, 10.12% TiO2, 9.25% P2O5, 0.1% V2O5, and apatite and magnetite 101 nor CIM compliant. profiles (ref. GM 019496, Rinfret (1963)), economic analyse and value of 0.1% combined R.E. oxides plus Yttrium calculated from the 1972's report. Recommandation to float the apatite, concentration ore deposit and concentrate; discard the magnetite fraction from the tailing and recover ilmenite by gravity separation. The apatite concentrate coul be processed on site to produce phosphoric acid which potential sales revenue to approximate $13.50 per ton (1973); the Fe-Ti magnetite concentrate was considered to have no current value. Hence, the operation was recommanded for larger tonnages than what was estimated for the deposit. Clean Fe-Ti concentrates were not accheived and further metallurgical testing was recommanded to separate ilménite from magnetite. Ulvospinel wasd recognized as a potential problems.
1972 GM28015 Hand contoured and colored magnetic map at a scale 1''=200', plus a With a background magneitc field of +2500 gammas, a threshold was set at +5000 gammas to outlines the several geology map at 1''=1000'; the base line correspond to the bondary small deposits and one large irregular but fairly continuous deposits; trend of the anomalies is a few degres off the between lots 45 and 46. north-south; the contacts of the deposit are identified by the sharp decline of intensity, with a negative anomaly up to -32,000 gammas. No pole corection seem applied. No indication on diurnal drift corrections.
1970 GM26970 Location of DDH on claim map including 70-1 hole for which no description is available, see GM33193 for information about this hole.
1967 GM35116 No collar location or coordonate, no assay result but sample # 7-7-67 shown on the description, logged by Warren, B..Not certain this hole is within St-Charles property 1967 GM35117 No collar location or coordonate, no assay result but sample # 7-9-67 is shown in the description, logged by Warren, B..Not certain this hole is within St-Charles property 1967 GM35118 No collar location or coordonate, no assay result but sample # 7-11-67 is shown 1n the description, logged by Warren, B..Not certain this hole is within St-Charles property
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
1967 GM35119 Diamond Drill record, Québec government, 1 ddh-7-12 129.5m ?? Raymond Tremblay Department of Natural Property Resources 1967(2) GM20071 Diamond Drill record, J.B. Grand Sagnenay Mines & 2 ddh-67-2, ddh-67 -862.8' (263.0m) ?? Aird Claims Minerals Ltd, 3 1967(1) GM19308 Diamond Drill record, J.B. Ross, G. for Grand Sagnenay 1 ddh-67-1 140.0' (42.7m) ?? Aird Claims Mines & Minerals Ltd,
1966 GM18737 Concentration tests on Department of Energy, Mines Mineralogical examination titaniferous ore from and Resources, Ottawa, Titanium Product Corp., St- Mines branch investigation Charles Bourget Twp report IR-66-82 for Titanium Products Corp.
1963 (3) GM13702 1 DDH Log with assay results Sander, G.W. for Grand 1 ddh-14 400' (121.9m) Fe, Ti, P Sagnenay Mines & Minerals Ltd 1963 (2) GM 19496 Compilation d'analyse sur Rinfret, L.H. for Canadian DDH compilation des sondages Javelin Foundries and Machine Works Ltd 1963(1) GM16661 Depôt de magnétite Bourret, P.E. of Québec Mineralogical examination Review of concentration titanifère, Mine Saint- gouvernment, Mineral and metallurgical tests Charles Research Division for Alma results Mutual Aid Syndicate
1961 GM11452 Diamond Drill Record Pollack, H.L. for Grand 1 ddh-13 1100' (335.3m) Fe, TiO2,P,SiO2 Sagnenay Mines and Minerals Ltd 1960 GM09890 Report on magnetic survey Gledhill, T.R. for Grand Dip needle survey on grid 16.0 line-km Sagnenay Mines and Minerals 5600' x 1800' (1,706m x Ltd 548m) 1959(2) GM9337-B Report of Detail Geological Allen, J.M. for Grand Geological mapping based 1''=200' Complete historical Dip needle survey on line Previous grab sample from 19 samples Fe, TiO2, P2O5, P, Mapping Sagnenay Mines and Minerals on a grid, line spacing of datas compiled with all spacing of 200' Grand Sagnenay Apatite, SiO2 Ltd 200', detail map with ddh then available assays, location and DDH section with assays, mineralization including unpublished datas from Grand Sagnenay (assay not localized)
1959(1) GM9337-A Report on magnetite survey Sulmac Exploration Services Ground magnetometer 47.5 line-km Ltd for Grand Sagnenay Mines survey on grid 8863' x 3400' and Minerals Ltd (2,682m x 1,056m), with 200' line spacing. 1958 RG-78 Geological Report of Josste, R.F., Department of Regional geological survey 1:63,360 coloured scale Compilation of historic Unpublished assay from 9 Major and traces Bourget Area Mines, Geological Surveys of basement , detail map with Titaniferous works and analyses on St- American Metal (1948) are elements Branch, Québec mapping, evaluation and magnetite exposure and Charles Fe-Ti-P deposit provided in this report geochemical analysis of 1''=400' detail map of St- St.Charles Fe-Ti-P ore Charles deposit. Still the deposit best map available.
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 20101967 (1) GM35119Not Public No collar location or coordonate, no assay result but sample # 7-12-67 shown on the logl, logged by Warren, B..Not certain this hole is within St- Charles property 1967(2) GM20071 Location ddh on claim map, no assay. Not certain this hole is within St- Charles property 1967(1) GM19308 Location ddh on claim map, no assay. Not certain this hole is within St- Charles property
1966 GM18737 ?? Mineral examination, 1 Soluble Fe, P2O5, TiO2 Negative conclusion for Fe market and apatite grade is too low. The ore contain 47.9% soluble Fe, 20.68% TiO2 and 0.525% P2O5; The best iron and titanium concentrates were Grinding tests (-10, 28, obtained by low and high intensity magnetic concentration as follow : 1) Iron conc, , low magnetic intensity : 62.45% 65 and 200 mesh) and Fe, 9.22% TiO2, -0.01%P2O5 with recoveries of 65.7%Fe and 16.1% TiO2; 2) for titanium conc., low intensity magnetic separation magnetic concentrates are: 23.5%Fe, 40.27% TiO2 and 1.5% P2O5 (analysis)with recoveries of 16,1% Fe and 63.7% tests, TiO2 and 3) for titanium conc., high intensity magnetic concentrates are: .29.5% Fe, 38.16% TiO2, 0.22% P2O5 (Analysis) and recoveries of 25.4%Fe and 71.6% TiO2 ; the high titanium content in the iron concentrate and the high P2O5 content in titanium concentrate make these inacceptable to the steel, pig-iron and titania slag production. Notice that titanium largely exceed iron in the titanium concentrate, suggesting either rutile or pseudorutile. 1963 (3) GM13702 Location ddh on claim map; see GM33193 for information about this hole (no logs available)
1963 (2) GM 19496 4 vertical sections including 18 holes: 1961's including 4 sections with colored DDH profiles, map scale 1''=100' Calculated a resource of 12.6Mt @ 20% magnetite. Titaniferous magnetite gneiss with less than 20% magnetite ddh # 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8,10,14, 16,17,18,19, 21, were excluded; Not a 43-101 nor CIM compliant resource calculation 22,23, 24, 25, 26, 1963(1) GM16661 Negative conclusion for iron and Titanium market and apatite grade is to low.
1961 GM11452 Collar of ddh location indicated on a claim map, hole profile 1''=100'; see GM33193 for information, no description available
1960 GM09890 Contoured map at a scale of 1''=200''
1959(2) GM9337-B Based on numerous grab samples and core Grand Sagnenay samples (19 samples from OS 2 to OS20) are not Six bodies of titanifeorous magnetite form the nine currently known were considered as ammenable to open pit samples from 1944 to 1959 exploration localized and without reference, probably from private unpublished mining; Ressource were estimated for A zone (low P ore type) and for F, G, H, I zones (high P ore type), which are programs, delimited A,F,G,H,I Zones as sizable data considered large enough to form a single ore body; Geological estimates is 3.32M tons and geophysical estimates is ore bodies; mining concession #129 4.19Mt of ore @32.02% Fe, 10.97% TiO2, 18.97% Apatite, 12.68% SiO2. This corresponds to a mineral composition : 56 % titanium-magnetite, 19% apatite and 25% olivine; used a specific gravity of 4.2 (262lbs/1cu'), 7.62 cu' per ton and 1 to 1 ratio of anorthosite to titaniferous magnetite ; 2.99Mt of this tonnage iwas estimated using the 10,000 gammas isocontour as the ore outline; asuming 100' as a maximum depth for an open pit; Using a 300' mining depth enables to estimate a larger resource of 30M tons made by Canadian Javelin; Drill holes indicated a maximum ore width of 150' in a zone which could contain some 6.0M tons, which resources is considered more realistic; high titanium content in the ore is not suitable to use in normal blast furnace feed, and require separation fine intergrown of ilmenite from the magnetite; Such separation was subsequently attempted without success.
1959(1) GM9337-A Results provided as a contoured magnetomer map at a scale of 1''=200''; indicate the presence of a large magnetite- rich intrusive roughly 1,200' x 1,800' plus several minor magnetite anomalies. Instrument used not indicated.
1958 RG-78 Excellent detailled map of thedeposit; metallogenic discussion. St-Charles deposit interpreted as injections, which initial magma managed to remain liquid at a relatively low temperature due to the abondant digested silicates and apatite; the parent liquid may have not been derived by filter-press differentiation of one or another adjacent rock has suggested previously by Osborne (1928); Although the adjacent anorthosite seems the most obvious source rock, Jooste concluded that the titaniferous magnetites were formed by the injection of the residual magma that was kept liquid by its unusual composition and was derived by fiter-pressing of partly consolidated ophitic anorthosite troctolite.
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
1953 GM2530-B Exploration Report Pesonen, P.E. for Canadian 15 DH01 to DH12, 3150' (960.12m) No assay results Javelin Foundries and ddh-29, ddh-B, shown but some Machine Works Ltd ddh-C are in GM 33193
1953 GM2530-A Daily diamond Drill Report Pesonen, P.E. for Canadian 16 ddh13 to ddh-28 4016' (1224.1m) No assay results Javelin Foundries and * ddh A,B,C (No provided Machine Works Ltd log)
1949 R.P. No 222 Preliminary Report on the Jooste, R.F., Department of Regional geological survey 1''=1 mile of Bourget Good historic review Bourget Area Mines, Geological Surveys , some observation about Township Area with Branch, Québec the St.Charles Fe-Ti-P location of titaniferous deposit magnetite outcrop
1949 GM1940 Flotation test on sample of American Cyanamid Co. For Microscopical examination an ilmenite-apatite ore, St- American Metals Company and mineral identification Charles Iron Deposit of ore
1948 S004 Rapport sur les gisements Waddington, G.W., Ministère Observation on the field Reported historic assays Dip niddle survey on de magnétite titanifère de des Mines, Québec only, no mapping datas: 15.54km2. Results on 1''=1 St-Charles mile scale map
1948 GM1565 The St-Charles titaniferous Jooste, R.F., Department of Previous results from Scale map 1''=400' other magnetite deposits location Mines, Geological Surveys regional geological survey, maps are same as for GR and previous geological Branch, Québec more discussion about the No.78 (1958) work-Extract from Geology origine of magnetite-rich of Bourget Map-Area bodies, preliminary results of mineralogical study
1948 GM0377 Memo of the Phosphate Bourret, P.E. of Québec deposit of the province of gouvernment, Mineral Québec Research Division for Alma Mutual Aid Syndicate
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 20101953 (1) GM2530-BNot Public Location of ddh colar and hole projection upon magnetic anomalies (dip Interpretation of the ore body from high magnetic contours, labeled as ''magnetic outcrops'' needle survey) at a scale of 1''=100'. No analysis result was published. Holes ddh-29, ddh-B, ddh-C are not located on map but the description is available; collar coordinates are from lot position and on 200' spacing grid lines 1953 GM2530-A Location of ddh colar and hole projection on magnetic anomalies (dip needle survey) at a scale of 1''=100'. No analysis result is disclosed; collar coordinates are from lot position and on 200' spacing grid lines.
1949 R.P. No 222 Preliminary observations and descriptions of lithologies and mineralizations.
1949 GM1940 Seven(7) grab Grinding and flotation 7 Traces and major Produce concentrate of high grade of apatite and low recovery for Best results are: 1) 90-94% apatite was recovered in a concentrate that assayed 40% P2O5 anf 0.5% TiO2, magnetite ore sample tests (9) to produce high elements in head and in ilmenite and magnetite separated concentrate (intergrowth and concentrate assayed 60% Fe, 13-14% TiO2 and 0.03-0.10% P2O5 and contained 45% TiO2 and high grade of ilmenite (13.6kg each) grade of apatite, concentrate samples consequent admixtures of these two minerals) concentrate produced assayed 40.2% TiO2, 0.14% P2O5and 33.47% Fe and the cleaned tailing appeared to be free ilmenite and magnetite ilmenite; 2) Most of apatite is liberated when the grinding ore is 65 mesh, ilmenite parly free at this grind, as concentrates approxomately half of the ilmenite was found intimately associated with the magnetite ams will not be liberated even after fine grinding; 3) Additionnel test works is necessary to produceing and ilmenite concentrate of the desired 45% TiO2; mineral observed is magnetite, ilmenite, apatite, and olivine in that order in abondance, plus labradorite, goethite, rutile. bowlingite, hematite, chalcopyrite, antigorite, pyrite, hedenbergire, hornblende, chlorite, biotite, and limonite; 50% of ilmenite is free,most of the balance (46%) is very fine grained in inclusion and ''locked'' with magnetite; 5) must of the apatite are free or nearly so
1948 S004 Many small to large magnetic anomalies unidentified Low variation of ore analysis from all samples; the biggest ore outcrop sites are ''A'', ''J'', and ''I''; channel sample from Zone ''A'' took over 5000'2 surface gave average 40.23% Fe, 13.25% TiO2, 0.03% P, and 0.11% V (low phosphatic type ore); the ''J'' (not delimited) low-phosphorus type ore occurrence gave average from 6 samples 43.94% Fe, 18.74% TiO2, 1.00% P, and 0.03% V; the ''I'' occurrence (400' x 100', open) gave average from 11 samples 46.95% Fe, 17.95% TiO2, and 0.03% P; for more see Waddington, 1944
1948 GM1565 Detail mineralogy study Inlcuded also comparison with another Fe-Ti deposit in the world and Principal geological units and mineralization types are described; categorized as phosphatic types ores for B, C, D, F, origine of Fe-Ti-P-V mineralization of St. Charles deposit, and its uses D, F, G, H, I, J, plus V, VII deposits located in central part of lot 46 and adjacent lots, plus phosphatic-poor type on southern part, comprising deposits I,II, III, IV, V, VIII, IX, X, XII, XIII, plus A zone which latter contains more than 5% apatite; Grab sample from P-high ore type in B,C,D, and F gave 2.7% to 5.52% P, 37.61 to 39.31% Fe, and 16.21 to 16.16% TiO2; and occurrence G-H-I contains 35.77% Fe, 13.63% TiO2, and 4.09% P corresponding to 30% magnetite, 21% apatite, 26% ilmenite and 24% olivine, spinel and other minerals; In spite of the considerable variation of the proportion of different mineral, the analyses are remarkably uniform; Phosphorus-poor Fe-Ti ore type does not exceed 0.13% P, but generally less, whereas the Fe range from 39.81 to 52.17%, and TiO2 ranges from 13.35 - 22.04%, averaging 46.24% Fe and 19.08% TiO2, all located within the southerm part of lot 44 and 45; The mineral proportions of Low-P ore type contains an aveage of 36% ilmenite, 44% magnetite, and 20% olivine, spinel and other minerals; The P-poor Ti-Fe ores types is similar to P-high type, except that apatite is scarce or absent, granularity tends to be coarser, and contains more iron and TiO2 in place to apatite; other mineral are: magnetite, maghemite (browish magnetite), ilmenite, spinel, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite, plagioclase and serpentine;
1948 GM0377 Produced a concentrate of high grade apatite , but did not succeded to produce separated ilmenite and magnetite concentrates due to intergrowth and admixture of these two minerals.
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
1947 GM6800 Concentration tests on Energy, Mines and Resources titaniferous magnetite- Canada apatite ore from St-Charles deposit
1946 GM0274 Preliminary Report on the St- Joliffe, A.W. McGill University Geological reconnaissance Scale map 1''=400' detail 14 bulk sample for a total 14 samples Fe,TiO2,P2O5,V2O5 Charles Titaniferous for Gauthier's Claims of ore occurrences and map of property (4 lots). weight of 1120 lbs (508kg) of magnetite deposit detail mapping and Trench sketch map + phosphatic-rich ore (G,H,I sampling (channel sample) sample location scale zones) of St-Charles Fe-Ti-P 1''=100' occurrences
1946 GM0277 Detail of sampling, Bourret, P.E., Québec Detailled maps of Iron Scale map 1''=100' Grab Samples taken in F,G,H, I 6 samples Several traces and titaniferous iron deposit gouvernment, Mineral occurrence with location (2200' x 1550' area) zones, plus a bulk sample of majors elements Research Division for Alma of sample taken from old 600 lbs (272.2 kg) in six Mutual Aid Syndicate sampling program different zones (Bourett, 1937)
1944 M-1101 Special Report on The Osborne, F.F., for Department Compilation of titaniferous Scale 1''=500' Review of previous work Grab samples taken in F,G,H, 9 samples Fe, TiO2, SiO2, Al2O3, Microtextures of Certains of Mines, Division of Mineral magnetite outcrops plus A zones, CaO, MgO,P,S, V Quebec Iron Ores Deposits, Québec including Zones A,B,C,D,F,G,H,I
1944 GM6756 Report on geological and Waddington, G.W., Ministère Previous work review, Scale map 1''=1/2mile of Review of historical work Dip niddle survey over the 16000' x dip niddle surveys with des Mines, Québec geological reconnaissance the magnetic anomaly plus assay results whole property as well as 16000' grid assays, St-Charles Deposit and outcrop location outside property covering the diorite and Ophitic troctolite dikes, magnetic profils at a scale of 1''=400'
1943 PR 179 Utilization of the Bourgoin, L., Department of Titaniferous Magnetites of Mines, Québec St.Charles
1940 GM0599 Geological Report on Titanium and Steel Corp. To Overview of geology and St.Charles property Ores & Metal Corp. titanium market without map, essentially for due diligence purpose
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 20101947 (1) GM6800Not Public 14 bags of ore Grinding and flotation Composite sample from 14 samples gave : 34.84% Fe, 12.76 TiO2, 9.65% P2O5, and 0.14% V2O5; Microscope for a total tests (6) to produced an examination suggest 30% magnetite, 25% ilmenite, 23% apatite, plus spinet and silicates 22%; Ilmenite and weight of high grade apatite, magnetite shows very fine intergrown; Apatite concentrates (70% recovery) yielded 40% apatite, 1% Fe and 0.5% 515.5kg ilmenite and magnetite TiO2; magnetite benificiation did not produce a magnetite concentrate free of ilmenite, even after grinding at 94% concentrates passing 325 mesh, which assays yielded 61.7% Fe, 12.7% TiO2, and 0.013% P2O5; Magnetic separation tailing gave 34.9% Fe, 42.2% TiO2, an trace of P2O5 and futher testing gave 80% ilmenite, 7.5% magnetite, with trace of P2O5 with very low ilmenite recovery; It appears possible to obtain a fairly high grade apatite concentration free from Fe and TiO2 with overall recovery of 70%.
1946 GM0274 Low-P ore from zones I, II, III, IV, X, XII and XIII averaged Fe 46.5%, TiO2 18.5%, and P 0.01% corresponding to an approximate mineral composition of 40% magnetite, 35% ilmenite, and 25% spinel and silicates; The four sample of high-P ore from F,G,H, and I zones yielded an average of Fe 35.3%, TiO2 13.5%, P 4.2%, V 0.08% which represent a mineral composition of 30% magnetite, 25% ilmenite, 23% apatite , and 22% spinel; The low-P ore is similar as Sanford Lake deposit, New York while high-P ore is similar to nelsonite ores from Virginia; preliminary concentration tests upon grinded the ore to minus 20-mesh produced concentrates at 50% Fe and 24%TiO2, andabout 50% Apatite, which are but below the market specification.
1946 GM0277 Total of 3600 pounds (1.8ton) of Fe-Ti-P-V ore All Sample are from 1941 sampling programm, no titanium assay were A total of 35 samples, including grab, channel and bulk samples, gave averages of 39.10 %Fe, 1.05 % P2O5 and from a bulk sample which graded 49.47%Fe, published for the bulk sample. 0.21% V2O5 (No TiO2 results for bulk); Channel and grab sample gave averages of 33.83% Fe, 18.35% TiO2, 0.62% ?% TiO2, 0.65%P and 0.17% V. P2O5 and 0.26% V2O5; High phosphorus type Fe-Ti ore (channel, grab and bulk samples) gave averages of 44.35% Fe, 2.17% P2O5, 0.19% V2O5 and low phosphatic ore gave averages of 44.44% Fe, 0.08% P2O5, 0.09% V2O5; High phosphosrus ore without bulk sample (channel and grab only) gave averages of 22.35% Fe, 17.33% TiO3, 2.17% P2O5, 0.11% V2O5 and low phosphorus ore gave averages of 38.20% Fe, 18.75% TiO2, 0.03% P2O5 and 0.32% V2O5; bulk samples (6 x 600 lbs) contain high grade of iron (average 44.38% Fe) and morate apatite (1.48% P2O5) and vanadium (0.28% V2O5) content.
1944 M-1101 All samples are from the high phosphorus type Fe-Ti-P ore except one which is from Zone A; Grades for the differents sample ranges as follow: Fe (33.27-40.08%), TiO2 (12.29 to 20.72%), P (1.31 to 5.54%), V(.06 to 0.11%); All opaque minerals typically look like aggregate of magnetite, ilmenite and spinel but widely varies in mineral proportions; magnetite host intergrowths of lamellar ilménite; the ilmenite inclusion within magnetite is, in most specimens, so fine that its recovery by typical methos is probably not feasible; Three type ores; ilmenite free magnetite, 2) medium-titanium magnetite and 3) ilmenite rich.
1944 GM6756 Sample locations indicated on schematic map Suggest that zones ''A'' to ''I'' and ''I'' to ''XIII' represent a broad 6000' by 1200' area with potential ore. The magnetite deposit occurs as disconnected segregations within an anorthosite mass. It crops as numerous separated outcrop as well as in the form of small to very large boulders scattered over considerable areas. He described two type or ore, either as black and coarse grained type or steel grey and fine grained ore type. Contact are apparently clean and but irregular. Homogeneity of the ore is supported by assay results: Zone''A'' (40.2%Fe, 13.4%TiO2, 0.03%P, 0.11%V) Phosphorus low type, Zone ''J'' (43.9%Fe, 18.7%TiO2, 1.0%P, 0.03%V) high phosphorus type; Average from 52 assays gave 42.78%Fe (32.92% to 52.37%Fe) and 16.47%TiO2 (10.46% to 22.32% TiO2). Ti-Fe ratio varies 1:3 to 1:6, with an average of 1:4.3.
1943 PR 179 Microscopic examination ? Several elements High-phosphorus ore type: 43.95% Fe, 6.74% Ti, 0.12% V, 1.45%P; Low-phosphorus ore type: 43.43% Fe, 12.04% Ti, of low and high (Ti,Fe,C,V,S,P) 0.18% V, 0.63%P; Phosphorus-free ore type= 48.18%Fe, 11.22% Ti, 0.17%V, 0.00%P; Pig iron obtained with charcoal phosphorus ore types; reduction condition from 2 tests averaged 98.13%Fe, 0.05%Ti and 1.0% P with 89% ore recovery. This contain pig reduction, blast furnace iron is too rich in phosphorus. Slag assayed at 8.08%Fe, 19.36%Ti and 0.28%V; It succesfully separated Ti from Fe-Ti- and concentration tests P ore; High phosphorus iron ores can be reduced in a blast furnace to produce low-phosphorus pig irons plus V and P-rich slag; recovery of titanium from the slag for use in the pigment industry does not seems economicaly feasible; Need more testing and exploration drilling to determine Fe,Ti,V, and P potential to supply a metallurgical plant.
1940 GM0599 Agreement concluded between Titanium and Steel Corp. and Titanium Products Corp. to buy all interest of on the project.
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Report Geological information Geophysical information Geochemical information and assays Drilling
Lenght/sur- Number Year Report # Report name Authoship Type of work Provided map Compilation Type of survey Sample type Nb sample Assays Hole number Total lenght (m) Assays face of holes
1942 GM6755 Rapport Géologique, levé de Waddington, G.W., pour le 1''=400' Review of the geological Dip niddle survey over the 4000' x 3200' Channel and chip samples 23 samples Traces (Ti,Fe,P,S,V) boussole d'inclinaison et Ministère des Mines, Québec setting and mineral property, results presented grid and majors elements titrage, dépôt de St.Charles occurrences, old as contour maps at scales of (MgO, CaO, Al2O3, trenches, claim post, 1''=100' and 1''=400'' plus TiO2, SiO2 magnetite boulders sketches at 1''=20'. occurrences 1935 GM6801 Report on the metallization Energy, Mines and Resources of Iron content in Canada titaniferous magnetite from St.Charles deposit
1937 GM07866 Rapport sur le dépôt de fer, Bourret, P.E. of Québec Overview of St-Charles gouvernment, Mineral deposit and market Research Division assesment 1924-26 Bulletin, Titaniferous Iron Deposits Robinson, W.A.H., Energy, St-Charles Iron deposit No.642 Mines and Resources Canada, geological recognition, Mines Branch
1924 GM00276 Titaniferous Iron Deposits Robinson, W.A.H., Energy, Topographic map at a scale of 1:2250 approx. on Mines and Resources Canada, which the mineralized outcrops and magnetite Mines Branch anomalies are indicated. 1933 Annual Annual report of the Denis, B.T., for the Bureau of Geological and mapping colored map scale report 1932 Québec for the calendar Mines, Québec reconnaissance of the 1mile=1'' year 1932, The Simard Map- Bourget twp area plus area, Chicoutimi other twps east and north of Sagnenay river
1915 AP-1915-01 Les Minerais de fer au Dulieux, P.E., Ministère de la St-Charles Iron deposit Sketch map, south part Québec, gisements et colonisation, des mines et geological recognition, of the deposit at a scale utilisations pêcheries southern part (same report of 200'=1'' as Denis (1912) 1912 OM-1912(A) Report on Mining operation Denis, T.C., Department of St-Charles Iron deposit Sketch map, south part Colonization , Mines and geological recognition, of the deposit at a scale Fisheries, Québec southern part of 200'=1''
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Report Concentration/Metallurgical tests Number Mineral ressources estimation Comments Results Year Report # Sample type Testing of Assays sample 20101942 (1) GM6755Not Public Preliminary results; claim posts were not according to lot boundary lines An irregular distribution of Fe-Ti-P occurrences over a large area (6000' x 1200' or 1829m x 366m) was noticed; --> see claims maps of the time Several ore zones were identified and labelled as Zones ''A'' (5,000' 2) to zone ''I'',.Of these only zone ''A'' is properly outcropping to allow taking of channel samples. The average grade from 16 channel samples yielded 40.08% Fe. Detail result on Waddington (1944) report. He also mapped a large dispersion of blocks and boulders of magnetic ore, which was interpreted as from local origin.
1935 GM6801 Grinding, concentration ?? Metals et oxides Total Iron (conc: 61.4%, tails: 16.9%), metallic iron (conc: 58.8% Fe, tails 4.7%) Titanium (comc: 24.5% TiO2, tails: and Furnace tests from 3.3%), phosphorus (conc: 0.31% P, tails: 1.65%). Numerous operation is needed to metallized Iron (95.7 %) which few samples recovered 93% of titanium from the head, the type of furnace selected seems inappropriate, consuming too much charcoal
1937 GM07866 No investigation was made, reported only Summary of several iron deposit located in the Québec Grenville informations from several authors. Province
1924-26 Bulletin, ?? ?? ?? Suggested the presence of well above 1 1924's report is not available. Most informations were taken from Estimated resources above 1 millions of tons with 48%Fe and 13% Ti. This author claims the St-Charles ideposit No.642 millions of tons (not 43-101 compliant!) GM0599(1940) report, deposit size estimated at 700' x 200' contains sufficient Iron, titanium and phosphorus to make economic production of titaniferous cement, steel and phosphatic fertilizer. The difficulties is anticipated as with the separation of those elements.
1924 GM00276 Only map, no text report This map shown several and discontinous small to large ore occurrences scattered over an area of 2215' (672m) by 1500' (450m).
1933 Annual Mapping and lithologies description, including paleontological fauna in report 1932 limestone rocks; no observation on St-Charles Fe deposit
1915 AP-1915-01 Concentration test at 3 Fe,Ti,S,P Estimated a resource of 4.0Mt in the southern Mineral resources calculations from surface information only (projeted Estimated resources (not 43-101 compliant) of 5.0Mt at about 50%Fe and 10%Ti; concentration test allowed 75- different grain size part of the deposit plus 5.0Mt if it included downward). 85% recuperation, producing a concentrate grading 50-59.7% Fe, 6.5-9.4% Ti, very low P. Most of titanium is not also the northert part. recovered, talling grading 17% to 21% Ti.
1912 OM-1912(A) Concentration test at 3 Fe,Ti,S,P Estimated a resource of 4.0Mt in the southern Mineral resources calculations from surface information only (projeted Estimated resources (not 43-101 compliant) of 5.0Mt at about 50%Fe and 10%Ti; concentration test allowed 75- different grain size part of the deposit plus 5.0Mt if it included downward) 85% recuperation, producing a concentrate grading 50-59.7% Fe, 6.5-9.4% Ti, very low P. Most of titanium is not also the northert part. recovered, talling grading 17% to 21% Ti.
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Appendix 3 Summary of assay results from surface samples Location Type Type Total TiO2 P205% P% V V2O5% Others (%) Others(%)+comments site sample ore Fe% % % Waddington, 1944 (GM 6755, GM6756), Osborne, 1944 (M-1101), Bourret, 1944 (GM0277) General Grab 42.78 16.47 Ti/Fe= 1/4.3 ratio Grab, Site A, Low- 39.92 13.35 0.03 0.11 SiO2(13.06),MgO(11.35) Average of 11 P Al2O3(6.37),S(0.05),CaO(0.21) samples Site B Grab High- 38.40 17.14 3.12 0.10 Average High-P ore Zones B to I: P SiO2 (6.11) Site C Grab High- 33.32 13.38 2.06 0.09 MgO (5.41) P Al2O3 (5.68) Site D Grab High- 37.6 16.29 3.19 0.09 S (0.09) P CaO (9.29) Site E Grab High- 45.43 20.72 1.31 0.14 F (0.27) P Cl (0.03) Site F Grab High- 37.15 15.19 3.35 0.09 P Site G Grab High- 35.38 14.4 4.45 0.08 P Site H Grab High- 33.27 12.3 4.43 0.06 P Site I Grab High- 35.30 12.29 4.54 0.07 P Average Grab High- 36.98 15.21 3.31 0.09 Sites B P to I Site J Grab Low 44.21 18.77 0.92 0.03 SiO2 (5.0) S (0.03) Average & MgO (4.0) CaO (3.07) of 6 High- Al2O3 (7.1) MnO (0.42) samples P Site I Channel Low- 46.95 17.95 0.03 0.31 No data No data Average 10'1& P 11 15'1. samples Site II Channel Low- 47.41 18.57 0.00 0.29 No data Average 10'1. P 4 samples Site III Channel Low- 52.30 21.87 0.00 0.33 No data 1 sample 7'1. P Site IV Grab Low- 38.90 13.55 0.00 0.35 No data 1 sample P Site VII Grab High- 33.95 11.94 1.45 0.29 No data 1 sample P Site X Grab Low- 41.31 17.92 0.00 0.33 No data 1 sample P Site XII Grab Low- 47.95 20.71 0.03 0.33 No data 3 P samples Site XIII Grab Low- 47.45 20.90 0.02 0.34 No data P General Grab Low 42.78 16.47 0.02 No data No data Ti/Fe= 1/4.3 ratio Average channel P 56 ? samples Bourret, 1946 (GM0277) Site I Bulk - Low- 44.16 No 0.01 0.01 No data No data 600 lbs P data Site V Bulk - High- 45.22 No 0.95 0.09 No data No data 600 lbs P data Site VII Bulk - No No No No data No data 600 lbs data data data
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc. The St-Charles Titanomagnetite Deposit, NI-43-101 Compliant Technical Report lihhkh
Location Type Type Total TiO2 P205% P% V V2O5% Others (%) Others(%)+comments site sample ore Fe% % % Site VIII Bulk - Low- 38.44? No 2.10 .03 No data No data 600 lbs P data Site X Bulk - Low- 49.37 No 0.13 0.22 No data SiO2(2.12), Al2O3 (5.91) 600 lbs P data CaO (0.16), MgO (3.26) Site XII Bulk - Low- 44.71 No 0.06 0.09 No data No data 600 lbs P data Allen, 1959, Grand Sagnenay Mines & Minerals Ltd. (GM9337-B) Grab, Sites F,G,H,I High- 33.91 11.43 8.68 3.78 No No data SiO2(10.51) Not localisable Average 18 samples P data Apatite(21.29) Joliffe, 1946 (GM-274) Site G Channel High- 34.84 12.97 9.08 No No 0.15 Average 50' to P data data 14 300' sample Gélinas, 1985 (GM42216) Site III Grab Low- 44.05 16.72 0.46 SiO2(6.45), Al2O3(5.97), MgO(4.13), MnO(0.99), CaO(6.45), Average P Na2O(0.25) 13 Location uncertain samples Cormier, 1987 (GM45102) Sites I to XII Low- 30.20 9.33 7.96 Y(65.67ppm) Location uncertain Average 9 grab P samples Turner, 2004 (GM61415) Site VII Grab High- 45.69 17.49 1.78 SiO2(1.68), MnO(0.40), Al2O3(4.53), Na2O(0.11) P CaO (4.61), Y (43 ppm), V (753ppm) Sites G- Grab High- 33.65 9.01 5.61 SiO2(12.74), MnO(0.45), Al2O3(2.07), Na2O(0.19) H P CaO (12.7), Y (117 ppm), V (283ppm) Siriunas, 1988 (GM46903) Ti & Rare Earth elements were analyzed only Site VII Grab High- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti All ppm: Ce(110), La(36), Nd(83.1), Average P (10.0%) Sm(19.9), Sr(76.67), Yb(3.5), Zr(26) 9 samples Zone F- Grab High- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti All ppm: Ce(146), La(48), Nd(113), G-H-I Average P (1.76%) Sm(24), Sr(442), Yb(48), Zr(23) south 2 limit samples Zone F- Grab High- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti All ppm: Ce(103), La(34), Nd(73.5), G-H-I Average P (3.24%) Sm(18.3), Sr(673), Yb(3.2), Zr(22), Site H 4 V(45 for 1 sample) samples Sites III- Grab Low- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti (5.8%) All ppm: Ce(105), La(33), Nd(69.6), XII north average P & Sm(23), Sr(365), Yb(3.0), Zr(21), V(6 5 High- for 1 sample) samples P Zone F- Grab High- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti(2.35%) All ppm: Ce(108), La(36), Nd(75), G-H-I Average P Sm(18.8), Sr(953), Yb(3.7), Zr(32), V(8 Central 6 for 1 sample) part samples Site F-G Grab Low- n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti(1.66%) All ppm: Ce(150), La(66), Nd(73), P Sm(13), Sr(1142), Yb(1.8), Zr(314) South Grab ? n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti(1.66%) All ppm: Ce(10.6), La(5.2), Nd(10), site I, Average Sm(0.8), Sr(1403), Yb(0.5), Zr(36),V(6) between 5 north and samples south parts Power Grab ? n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. n.d. Ti(0.85%) All ppm: Ce(7), Gd(300ppm), La(4), Line Lot Nd(-10), Sm(1), Sr(1048), Yb(-0.5), 46 Zr(34), V(65)
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IOS Services Géoscientifiques inc.