La Blache Fe-Ti-V Project

Overview

  • The La Blache Project is comprised of 176 claims and covers 9466.97 hectares
  • 100 km north of the community of Baie-Comeau, Quebec
  • The property is part of the La Blache Anorthosite Complex and hosts the Farrell-Taylor magnetite-ilmenite deposit
  • Proprietary TiO2, V2O5 and Fe2O3 processing and recovery technology through ORF Technologies Acquisition
  • Preliminary metallurgical testing of the oxide mineralization yielded 90% recovery of Iron and 95% recovery of Vanadium into a final high-purity product
  • A titanium dioxide (TiO2) product suitable for further processing to pigment-grade TiO2 was fully recoverable in testing
 

Advantages

  • TiO2 technology developed by ORF proved to be 144.8% more cost-efficient than conventional processes. 
  • TiO2 is in demand and price increases in the first 6 months of 2021 from most producers has increased by $400 per ton
  • Quebec is a very favourable province for mining
  • The Quebec Government considers titanium and vanadium mining strategic

COG TiO2Eq (%)

Volume*

Tonnage*

 Fe2O3 (%)

Fe (%)

TiO2 (%)

V (%)

V2O5 (%)

TiO2Eq (%)

0

22,200,000

102,120,000

59.51

41.62

17.94

0.18

0.33

21.67

5

22,110,000

101,720,000

59.70

41.75

18.00

0.18

0.33

21.74

5.1

22,110,000

101,700,000

59.70

41.76

18.00

0.18

0.33

21.75

6.7

22,030,000

101,320,000

59.86

41.87

18.05

0.18

0.33

21.80

10

21,820,000

100,370,000

60.21

42.11

18.16

0.19

0.33

21.93

15

20,970,000

96,460,000

61.18

42.80

18.46

0.19

0.34

22.29

Table from the 2012 report “NI 43-101 Technical Report: Resource Estimation of the La Blache Project Cote-Nord, Quebec, Canada for Nevado Resources Corporation”. This historic estimate is relevant because it is the culmination of previous work conducted on the property. It is Temas’s opinion that this historic estimate is reliable as it was prepared to the quality and rigour as defined by NI43-101 standards to define an inferred resource at that time. As it was 2012 it did not incorporate the supplemental changes to refine the resource categories in 2014, a qualified person has not conducted sufficient work to classify the historical estimate required to categorize this resource to current CIM definitions of a resource (this may include additional drilling requirements). Temas Resources is not treating this historic estimate as current mineral resources and a qualified person has not reviewed the work to define the quality of the work associated with this historic estimate.

 

Overview of TiO2

  • Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring oxide of titanium. It has the highest refractive index of any material known to man and is one of the whitest materials on earth
  • When ground into a fine powder, it transforms into a pigment that provides maximum whiteness and opacity
  • TiO2 pigments are used in paints and coatings, plastics, paper, building materials, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods and many other commercial products

TiO2 market has historically demonstrated a healthy track record of growth

  • Long-term TiO2 demand correlated with GDP growth
  • Historical short-term swings in TiO2 demand driven by customer stocking/ destocking actions
  • Expected to be reduced going forward with margin stabilization strategy
  • COVID-19 halted demand upturn in early 2020
  • Continued stimulus and end-market strength serve as leading indicators of the currently anticipated strong 2021 demand recovery in excess of GDP

Current conditions indicate TiO2 market is in the early stages of demand recovery.

ORF Technology Application

  • A 2017 study published by the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute (“NRRI”) on the ORF Technologies patents and estimated that its TiO2 recovery process can reduce production cost by 69.7%
  • The entire market size for TiO2 is $15.76 billion and is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% until 2025, according to Grand View Research, Inc.
  • The Patent’s process is less energy-intensive than the industry standard
  • High quality TiO2 from low grade materials
  • Suitable for all ilmenite ores (Cr, Co, V rich). Captures value additional value from Fe, V, Co, Cr that is not possible in the other processes