-
Technical Report
Bovill Project: Pre-Feasibility Study
PREPARED FOR:
I-Minerals Inc.
PREPARED BY:
Mr. Steven B. Kerr, C.P.G., Principal Consultant - Geology,
Millcreek Mining Group
Mr. Alister D. Horn, MMSA (QP), Principal Consultant – Mining,
Millcreek Mining Group
Effective Date: February 18, 2020
Report Date: March 31, 2020
Project Number: 190079
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY
....................................................................................................................
1-1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
........................................................................................
1-1
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
.............................................................
1-4
Mineral Resources
................................................................................
1-4
Mining
...................................................................................................
1-4
Mineral Processing
...............................................................................
1-5
Mineral Reserves
..................................................................................
1-5
Recommendations
................................................................................
1-5
ECONOMIC SUMMARY
.........................................................................................
1-6
Capital and Operating Costs
.................................................................
1-6
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
........................................................................................
1-7
Property Description
.............................................................................
1-7
Geology and Mineralization
..................................................................
1-8
Exploration
...........................................................................................
1-9
Mining Method
......................................................................................
1-9
Infrastructure
......................................................................................
1-10
Mining Processing
..............................................................................
1-10
Environmental, Permitting and Social Considerations
......................... 1-11
INTRODUCTION
............................................................................................................
2-1
GENERAL
...........................................................................................................
2-1
PROJECT BACKGROUND
.....................................................................................
2-1
SCOPE OF WORK
...............................................................................................
2-2
QUALIFIED PERSONS
..........................................................................................
2-3
SITE INSPECTIONS
..............................................................................................
2-3
RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS
................................................................................
3-1
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION
..............................................................
4-1
PROPERTY LOCATION
.........................................................................................
4-1
MINERAL TENURE
...............................................................................................
4-3
ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES AND PERMITTING
..................................................... 4-6
Environmental Liabilities
.......................................................................
4-6
Required Permits and Status
................................................................
4-6
Exploration
Activities.............................................................................
4-6
Mining Activities
....................................................................................
4-6
OTHER SIGNIFICANT FACTORS AND RISKS
........................................................... 4-7
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-2
ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND
PHYSIOGRAPHY
..........................................................................................................
5-1
ACCESIBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION
..................................................................
5-1
CLIMATE
............................................................................................................
5-1
PHYSIOGRAPHY
..................................................................................................
5-2
LOCAL RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE
......................................................... 5-2
HISTORY
.......................................................................................................................
6-1
IDAHO FIRE BRICK AND CLAY COMPANY (1910-1955)
.......................................... 6-1
U.S. BUREAU OF MINES AND U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY (1942-1956)
.................. 6-1
THE ANACONDA COMPANY (1919, 1952-63)
........................................................ 6-2
U.S. BUREAU OF MINES (1953-1963)
.................................................................
6-2
A.P. GREEN REFRACTORIES COMPANY (1956-1993)
........................................... 6-2
J.R. SIMPLOT COMPANY (1956-1974)
.................................................................
6-2
SEVERAL COMPANIES (1983-1986)
.....................................................................
6-3
NORTHWEST KAOLIN INC. (1999-2002)
...............................................................
6-3
HAMMOND ENGINEERING (1998-PRESENT)
.......................................................... 6-3
I-MINERALS INC. (1999- PRESENT)
......................................................................
6-4
GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND MINERALIZATION
....................................................... 7-1
REGIONAL GEOLOGY
..........................................................................................
7-1
PROPERTY GEOLOGY
.........................................................................................
7-3
Belt Supergroup (Yb)
............................................................................
7-3
Thatuna Granodiorite (Kgd)
..................................................................
7-3
Potato Hill Volcanics (Tphy, Trdy)
......................................................... 7-4
Columbia River Basalts (Tcrb)
..............................................................
7-4
Latah Formation (Tsb)
..........................................................................
7-4
Palouse Formation
...............................................................................
7-5
STRUCTURAL
GEOLOGY......................................................................................
7-5
MINERALIZATION
................................................................................................
7-5
MINERAL OCCURRENCES
....................................................................................
7-6
DEPOSIT TYPES
...........................................................................................................
8-1
EXPLORATION
.............................................................................................................
9-1
PROCEDURES AND PARAMETERS OF SURVEYS AND INVESTIGATIONS
..................... 9-1
SAMPLING METHODS AND SAMPLE QUALITY
........................................................ 9-1
RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
..........................................................................
9-1
DRILLING
....................................................................................................................
10-1
RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
......................................................................
10-14
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSES AND SECURITY
........................................... 11-1
SAMPLING METHOD AND APPROACH
..................................................................
11-1
Core Samples
.....................................................................................
11-1
Channel Samples
...............................................................................
11-2
Bulk
Samples......................................................................................
11-2
ANALYSES
.......................................................................................................
11-2
Geochemistry
.....................................................................................
11-2
Material Characterization
....................................................................
11-3
Density Determinations
.......................................................................
11-6
SECURITY
MEASURES.......................................................................................
11-6
QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE
.......................................................... 11-7
Reference Samples
............................................................................
11-7
Duplicate Samples
............................................................................
11-10
OPINION ON ADEQUACY
..................................................................................
11-12
DATA VERIFICATION
.................................................................................................
12-1
VERIFICATION OF CORE LOGS
...........................................................................
12-1
DATABASE VERIFICATION
..................................................................................
12-1
LIMITATIONS
.....................................................................................................
12-3
OPINION ON DATA ADEQUACY
...........................................................................
12-3
MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING
.................................... 13-1
HISTORICAL TESTING
........................................................................................
13-1
PREVIOUS AND UPDATED TESTING
....................................................................
13-3
Representative Sample Collection
...................................................... 13-3
Comminution
......................................................................................
13-7
Clay Processing
..................................................................................
13-7
Clay
Filtration....................................................................................
13-13
Clay Production Pilot Plants
..............................................................
13-14
Sand Processing
..............................................................................
13-17
Tailings Processing
..........................................................................
13-19
Sand / Clay Hydrocyclone Separation
.............................................. 13-20
Kaolin Flash Calciner Testing-
..........................................................
13-20
MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES
..........................................................................
14-1
DRILL HOLE DATABASE
.....................................................................................
14-1
GEOLOGY OF THE RESOURCE ESTIMATION
........................................................ 14-1
GEOLOGIC MODEL
............................................................................................
14-2
Grade Capping
...................................................................................
14-2
Compositing
.......................................................................................
14-2
Variography
........................................................................................
14-3
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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Density
...............................................................................................
14-3
Topography
........................................................................................
14-4
RESOURCE
MODELING......................................................................................
14-4
MODEL VALIDATION
........................................................................................
14-14
RESOURCE CLASSIFICATION
...........................................................................
14-18
MILLCREEK AUDIT
..........................................................................................
14-18
MINERAL RESOURCE STATEMENT
...................................................................
14-19
MINERAL RESERVES
................................................................................................
15-1
INTRODUCTION
.................................................................................................
15-1
Mineral Reserve definition
..................................................................
15-1
Probable Mineral Reserve definition
................................................... 15-2
Proven Mineral Reserve definition
...................................................... 15-3
Modifying Factors definition
................................................................
15-3
PIT OPTIMIZATION
............................................................................................
15-3
Economic Parameters
........................................................................
15-4
NSR Calculations and Cutoff Grades
.................................................. 15-5
Slope Parameters
...............................................................................
15-6
Pit-Optimization Results
.....................................................................
15-7
Ultimate Pit Limit Determination
.......................................................... 15-9
PIT DESIGNS
....................................................................................................
15-9
Bench Height
......................................................................................
15-9
Pit Design Slopes
.............................................................................
15-11
Haulage Roads
.................................................................................
15-11
Pit Phasing
.......................................................................................
15-11
DILUTION
.......................................................................................................
15-14
ESTIMATED RESERVES
...................................................................................
15-14
MINING METHOD
........................................................................................................
16-1
MATERIAL TYPES
.............................................................................................
16-1
MINING METHOD
..............................................................................................
16-1
MINE-WASTE FACILITIES
...................................................................................
16-1
MINE-PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
.........................................................................
16-2
EQUIPMENT SELECTION
....................................................................................
16-7
MINE PERSONNEL
............................................................................................
16-7
RECOVERY METHODS
..............................................................................................
17-1
INTRODUCTION
.................................................................................................
17-1
PROCESS DESCRIPTION
....................................................................................
17-1
PROCESS OVERVIEW
........................................................................................
17-1
ROM STOCKPILING AND CRUSHING CIRCUIT SUMMARY
...................................... 17-3
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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CLAY/ SAND SEPARATION CIRCUIT SUMMARY
.................................................... 17-3
CLAY CIRCUIT SUMMARY
..................................................................................
17-3
SPECIALITY SANDS CIRCUIT
..............................................................................
17-4
TAILINGS SUMMARY
..........................................................................................
17-4
MINE INFRASTRUCTURE AND LAYOUT
..................................................................
18-1
MINE LAYOUT
...................................................................................................
18-1
FACILITY LAYOUT
.............................................................................................
18-1
Buildings
.............................................................................................
18-3
TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS
.....................................................................
18-3
Roads
.................................................................................................
18-3
Ore Transport
.....................................................................................
18-5
Reagent Supply and Transport
...........................................................
18-6
Product Transport
...............................................................................
18-6
Water Distribution
...............................................................................
18-6
Electricity
............................................................................................
18-7
Natural Gas
........................................................................................
18-8
Fuel Storage, Supply, and Distribution
................................................ 18-8
Communications
.................................................................................
18-8
HUMAN RESOURCES
........................................................................................
18-8
TAILINGS DISPOSAL
..........................................................................................
18-8
TSF Design Criteria
..........................................................................
18-10
TSF Site Description
.........................................................................
18-11
TSF Design Features
........................................................................
18-12
TSF Construction
..............................................................................
18-12
TSF Operation
..................................................................................
18-13
TSF Design Assessments
................................................................
18-14
TSF Instrumentation and Monitoring
................................................. 18-15
TSF Closure
.....................................................................................
18-15
MARKETS AND CONTRACTS
...................................................................................
19-1
METAKAOLIN
....................................................................................................
19-1
Introduction
.........................................................................................
19-1
Kaolin Background
.............................................................................
19-1
Metakaolin Product
.............................................................................
19-1
Metakaolin Market
..............................................................................
19-2
Metakaolin Pricing and Contracts
....................................................... 19-4
HALLOYSITE
.....................................................................................................
19-5
Introduction
.........................................................................................
19-5
Halloysite Background
........................................................................
19-5
Halloysite Market
................................................................................
19-7
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-6
Pricing and Contracts
.........................................................................
19-9
SAND PRODUCTS
.............................................................................................
19-9
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, PERMITTING, AND SOCIAL OR COMMUNITY
IMPACT
.....................................................................................................................................
20-1
INTRODUCTION
.................................................................................................
20-1
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
................................................................................
20-1
Environmental Setting
.........................................................................
20-1
Environmental Study Requirements
.................................................... 20-2
Summary of Environmental Studies
.................................................... 20-2
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
...........................................................................
20-9
Mine Permitting
.................................................................................
20-12
Air Quality Permitting
........................................................................
20-12
Cultural Resources
...........................................................................
20-13
Migratory Bird Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Acts
........ 20-13
Subsurface Sewage Disposal
...........................................................
20-14
Potable Water
...................................................................................
20-14
Water Rights
.....................................................................................
20-14
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND COMMUNITY IMPACTS
...................................... 20-14
Stakeholder Engagement
.................................................................
20-14
Social Impacts
..................................................................................
20-17
Environmental Impacts
.....................................................................
20-18
Threatened and Endangered Species and Wildlife Assessment
....... 20-20
WASTE MANAGEMENT
....................................................................................
20-21
REHABILITATION AND CLOSURE
.......................................................................
20-22
CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS
..........................................................................
21-1
MINE CAPITAL COSTS
.......................................................................................
21-1
Assumptions and Approach
................................................................
21-1
Capital Costs - General
......................................................................
21-2
Initial Capital
.......................................................................................
21-3
Sustaining Capital
...............................................................................
21-4
Working Capital
..................................................................................
21-4
MINE OPERATING COSTS
..................................................................................
21-4
Contract Mine Operating Costs
...........................................................
21-4
Owner’s Mine Operating Costs
...........................................................
21-5
Owner’s Plant Operating Costs
...........................................................
21-6
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
..............................................................................................
22-1
INTRODUCTION
.................................................................................................
22-1
ASSUMPTIONS
..................................................................................................
22-1
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-7
ECONOMIC CRITERIA
........................................................................................
22-1
Production
..........................................................................................
22-1
Pricing and Revenues
.........................................................................
22-2
Taxes and Royalties
...........................................................................
22-2
Capital Costs
......................................................................................
22-3
TAXES AND ROYALTIES
.....................................................................................
22-3
Royalties
.............................................................................................
22-3
Federal Tax
........................................................................................
22-3
State Corporate Income Tax
...............................................................
22-3
Mine License Tax
...............................................................................
22-3
Property Tax
.......................................................................................
22-3
Depreciation / Depletion
.....................................................................
22-3
Tax Loss Carryforwards
......................................................................
22-4
CASH FLOW
.....................................................................................................
22-4
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
......................................................................................
22-6
ADJACENT PROPERTIES
..........................................................................................
23-1
OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION
....................................................... 24-1
INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
..................................................................
25-1
CONCLUSIONS
.................................................................................................
25-1
Mineral Resources
..............................................................................
25-1
Mining
.................................................................................................
25-1
Mineral Processing
.............................................................................
25-2
Project Economics
..............................................................................
25-3
Mineral Reserves
................................................................................
25-3
Environmental Studies, Permitting, and Social or Community
Impact . 25-4
RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
..............................................................................
25-5
Risks
..................................................................................................
25-5
Opportunities
......................................................................................
25-5
RECOMMENDATIONS
................................................................................................
26-1
REFERENCES
.............................................................................................................
27-1
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-8
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Audited Mineral Resource Estimate
.........................................................................
1-3
Table 1.2 Proven and Probable Reserves*
..............................................................................
1-4
Table 1.3 Initial CapEx Summary
............................................................................................
1-6
Table 1.4 Contractor OpEx Summary
......................................................................................
1-7
Table 1.5 Owner’s OpEx Summary
.........................................................................................
1-7
Table 2.1 Responsible Qualified Persons
................................................................................
2-3
Table 4.1 Mineral Leases
........................................................................................................
4-4
Table 10.1 Summary of Drilling at Bovill Project
....................................................................
10-1
Table 10.2 Bovill Project Drillholes
........................................................................................
10-2
Table 11.1 Clay Code Assignment
........................................................................................
11-6
Table 12.1 Database Verification
Holes.................................................................................
12-2
Table 13.1 Sample Locations
................................................................................................
13-4
Table 13.2 Summary of Test-Work and Reporting
.................................................................
13-6
Table 13.3 Clay Processing Product Recoveries and Brightness
........................................ 13-10
Table 13.4 Product Yields (Based on previous mine plan and
testing samples) .................. 13-10
Table 13.5 Vacuum Filtration Results
..................................................................................
13-14
Table 13.6 Summary of Key Processing and Final Product from 2017
Pilot Plant ............... 13-15
Table 13.7 Summary of Key Processing and Final Product
................................................. 13-17
Table 13.8 XRD Analysis of the Tailings Composite Sample
............................................... 13-19
Table 13.9 Product Data Summary
.....................................................................................
13-23
Table 14.1 Capping and Compositing Results
.......................................................................
14-3
Table 14.2 block model density values
..................................................................................
14-4
Table 14.3 block model dimensions
......................................................................................
14-5
Table 14.4 percentage of model blocks in clay shell
..............................................................
14-5
Table 14.5 Resource Estimation Parameters
......................................................................
14-12
Table 14.6 Resource Estimation High-Grade Restrictions
................................................... 14-13
Table 14.7 Grade Estimation Performance Parameters
...................................................... 14-15
Table 14.8 Statistical Validation
..........................................................................................
14-16
Table 14.9 Nearest Neighbor Validation
..............................................................................
14-17
Table 14.10 Mineral Resource Summary
............................................................................
14-20
Table 15.1 Pit Optimization Economic Parameters
................................................................
15-4
Table 15.2 Whittle Pit Optimization Results
...........................................................................
15-8
Table 15.3 Proven and Probable Reserves*
........................................................................
15-14
Table 15.4 Proven and Probable Reserves with Associated Waste
..................................... 15-15
Table 16.1 Mine Production Schedule
...................................................................................
16-4
Table 16.2 Annual Ore Delivery to the Plant
..........................................................................
16-5
Table 16.3 Annual Stockpile Balance
....................................................................................
16-6
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-9
Table 18.1 Building and Structure Details of Bovill Process
Plant.......................................... 18-3
Table 18.2 Tailings Storage Facility Design Parameters
....................................................... 18-9
Table 18.3 Summary of TSF Design Criteria and Assumptions
........................................... 18-11
Table 18.4 TSF Design Storage Capacity and Stage Design Life
........................................ 18-13
Table 18.5 Hydrotechnical Modeling Results
.......................................................................
18-14
Table 20.1 Required Environmental Permits
.......................................................................
20-10
Table 20.2 Summary of Estimated Disturbance and Reclamation for
Bovill Project ............. 20-19
Table 20.3 Summary of Waste Generation and Disposal/Reuse
Methods ........................... 20-21
Table 21.1 Initial CapEx Summary
........................................................................................
21-3
Table 21.2 Contractor OpEx Summary
..................................................................................
21-5
Table 21.3 Owner’s OpEx Summary
.....................................................................................
21-7
Table 22.1 Cash Flow Summary
...........................................................................................
22-5
Table 22.2 Results of Economic Analysis
..............................................................................
22-6
Table 25.1 Project Economics
...............................................................................................
25-3
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-10
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 General Location Map
............................................................................................
4-2
Figure 4.2 Locations of Mineral Leases
...................................................................................
4-5
Figure 7.1 Regional Geology of the Bovill Project
....................................................................
7-2
Figure 10.1 Drilling Locations for Bovill Project
......................................................................
10-2
Figure 11.1. UOI Reference Material Tests
...........................................................................
11-9
Figure 11.2. UOI Reference Material Test with Bias Correction
............................................. 11-9
Figure 11.3. UOI vs GMT -325 Mesh Duplicates
.................................................................
11-11
Figure 11.4. UOI vs CCL -325 Mesh Duplicates
..................................................................
11-11
Figure 13.1 Metallurgical Sample Location and Pit Outlines
.................................................. 13-5
Figure 13.2 GMT Clay Testwork Processing Flowsheet
........................................................ 13-9
Figure 13.3 Finished Halloysite Product Brightness
............................................................
13-12
Figure 13.4 Flash Calcining System Schematic
...................................................................
13-22
Figure 14.1 Limits of Nested Clay Shells
...............................................................................
14-7
Figure 14.2 I-minerals Block Grade Cross-Section WBL
....................................................... 14-8
Figure 14.3 I-minerals Block Grade Cross-Section Middle Ridge
.......................................... 14-9
Figure 14.4 I-minerals Block Grade Cross-Section Kelly’s Hump
North ............................... 14-10
Figure 14.5 I-minerals Block Grade Cross-Section Kelly’s Hump
South .............................. 14-11
Figure 15.1 Pit Slope Parameters*
........................................................................................
15-7
Figure 15.2 Ultimate Pit Design
...........................................................................................
15-10
Figure 17.1 Process Flow Diagram
.......................................................................................
17-2
Figure 18.1 Mine Layout
........................................................................................................
18-1
Figure 18.2 Plant and Infrastructure Layout
...........................................................................
18-2
Figure 18.3 Moose Creek Road Upgrades
............................................................................
18-4
Figure 18.4 Mine Haul Road Upgrade
...................................................................................
18-5
Figure 18.5 Mine Haul Road Upgrade - Typical Section
........................................................ 18-6
Figure 18.6 Tailings Facility Staging Plan
............................................................................
18-10
Figure 19.1 Increase in Published* Interest in Halloysite
....................................................... 19-6
Figure 20.1 Area Drainage Map
............................................................................................
20-6
Figure 20.2 General Geology Map
........................................................................................
20-7
Figure 20.3 Community Map
...............................................................................................
20-16
Figure 21.1 Owner’s OpEx Summary
....................................................................................
21-7
Figure 22.1 Revenues over Life-of-Mine
................................................................................
22-2
Figure 22.2 Sensitivity to Costs
.............................................................................................
22-6
Figure 22.3 Sensitivity to Prices
............................................................................................
22-7
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-11
UNITS
acre-ft acre-foot
AC alternating current
A ampere
A-hr ampere-hour
atm atmosphere
avg average
BBL barrel
Ga billion years
BHP brake horsepower
btu British thermal unit
ft3 cubic foot
CFM cubic feet per minute
CFS cubic feet per second
in3 cubic inch
yd3 cubic yard
d day
dB decibel
° degree
°F degree Fahrenheit
DC direct current
$ dollars (United States dollars, unless otherwise stated)
dozen dozen
fph feet per hour
fpm feet per minute
fps feet per second
ft foot
ft-lb foot-pound
gal gallon
gpm gallons per minute
gps gallons per second
Hz Hertz
HP horsepower
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-12
hr hour
In inch
kt kilotons (short)
ktpa kilotons (short) per annum)
kV kilovolt
kVA kilovolt-ampere
kW kilowatt
kWh kilowatt-hour
MW megawatt
mi mile
mph miles per hour
M million
Ma million years
min minute
mo Month
ppb parts per billion
ppm parts per million
p per (imperial)
/ per (metric)
% percent
lb pound
lb/ft3 pounds per cubic foot
PSF pounds per square foot
PSI pounds per square inch
PSIA pounds per square inch absolute
PSIG pounds per square inch gauge
rad radian
rad/s radians per second
RPM revolutions per minute
RPS revolutions per second
RMS root mean square
s second
T tesla
t short tons
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-13
tpd short tons per day
tph short tons per hour
tpm short tons per month
Tpy short tons per year
TSF Tailings Storage Facility
S.G. specific gravity
ft2 square foot
in2 square inch
yd2 square yard
STP standard temperature and pressure
% vol volume percent
V Volt
VA Volt-ampere
W Watt
Wh Watt-hour
wk week
wt weight
% wt weight percent
yd yard
yr year
SG Specific Gravity
Note: Unless otherwise noted, or to be consistent with previous
reporting, this
document uses common imperial units, and all economic reporting
is in constant
(2019) US dollars.
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
TOC-14
ABBREVIATIONS
AACE Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering
Alchemy Alchemy Kaolin Corporation
ALS ALS Global
AMSL above mean sea level
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
AZ Arizona
Bilfinger Bilfinger Water Technologies Incorporated
BMP Best Management Practices
CCL Commercial Clay Laboratory
CIM Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum
CRB Columbia River Basalts
CWA Clean Water Act
DCF Discount cash flow
DOT Department of Transportation
D.I. De-ionized
ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System
FOB Free-on-board
G&A General and Administrative
GMT Ginn Mineral Technology
HEC-HMS Hydrologic Engineering Center – Hydrologic Modeling
System
HDPE High-Density Polyethylene
HNT Halloysite Nanotubes
ID Idaho
ID2 Inverse Distanced Squared
IDAPA Idaho Administrative Procedure Act
IDEQ Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
IDFG Idaho Department of Fish and Game
IDL Idaho Department of Lands
IDWR Idaho Department of Water Resources
IFCC Idaho Fire Brick and Clay Company
IMM Idaho Industrial Minerals
JD Jurisdictional Determination
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TOC-15
LOI Loss-on-ignition
LOM life-of-mine
MDA Mine Development Associates
Millcreek Millcreek Mining Group
MK Metakaolin
MR Middle Ridge
MRL Mineral Research Laboratory
MSGP Multi-Sector General Permit
MSHA Mine Safety and Health Administration
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NKH North Kelly’s Hump
NOE Notification of Exploration
NOI Notice of Intent
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NTNC non-transient non-community
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer
PCA Portland Cement Association
PCC precipitated calcium carbonate, or portland cement
concrete
PEM palustrine emergent march
PFS Pre-Feasibility Study
PFW palustrine forested wetland
PJD preliminary jurisdictional determination
PM particulate matter
PTC Permit to Construct
QA/QC Quality-assurance / quality-control
QP Qualified Person
RDI Resource Development Corporation
ROM run-of-mine
RWi Modified Bond Rod Mill Work Index
SCM supplemental cementitious materials
SEM Scanning Electron Microscopy
SHPO State Historic Preservation Office
SKH South Kelly’s Hump
SWPPP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
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TAPPI Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry
TGM Technical Guidance Manual for Individual and Subsurface
Sewage Disposal Systems
TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load
UOI University of Idaho
US United States
USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers
USBM United States Bureau of Mines
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency
USFS United States Forest Service
USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Service
USGA United States Golf Association
USGS United States Geological Survey
UT Utah
WBL Washington Brick and Lime
WRCC Western Regional Climate Center
XRD X-Ray Diffraction
XRF X-Ray Fluorescence
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SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Millcreek mining Group (Millcreek), in conjunction with Mine
Development Associates
(MDA) has prepared this Technical Report on the Bovill kaolin
and halloysite clays project
(the Bovill Project) on behalf of the project owner and issuer,
I-Minerals Inc. (I-Minerals).
The purpose of this Technical Report is the describe the current
pre-feasibility study and
state the related mineral resource and reserve estimations.
Since 1999, I-Minerals have acquired the relevant leases for the
area currently considered
for the Bovill Project and have conducted various drilling
exploration studies, as well as
pre-feasibility, and feasibility level studies. I-Minerals have
offices in Idaho and Vancouver,
Canada, and are listed on both US and Canadian exchanges.
The Bovill Project is located in Latah county, in north-central
Idaho, within an area referred
to as the ‘Idaho Clay District’ which lies between the towns of
Moscow and Bovill. Mining
in the district began as early as 1910 and continues to this
day.
The Bovill Project has been planned as an open-pit truck and
excavator operation. Only
open-pit mining methods are considered for mining at Bovill.
Material being mined consists
of clays, sands, and soils, and no drilling or blasting is
anticipated. Mining operations will
occur in various smaller pits, with the operations being
performed by a mining contractor.
The mining rate will average approximately 243 kilotons per year
(ktpa). Waste will be
disposed of in external dumps, as well in backfill of the pits.
Halloysite grades average
8.3% and kaolinite grades average 17.7% through the life-of-mine
(LOM).
The mine will be accessed and supplied using existing forest
roads with some
modifications for safety and effectiveness. Electrical power and
natural gas will tie-into
existing nearby networks. Process water will generally be
available from run-off from the
tailing area, or provided by water wells or a surface reservoir,
while potable water will be
provided by potable water wells. Tailings disposal will consist
of a dry stack storage facility
located near the process plant.
The Bovill Project has been the subject of a number of
comprehensive test-work programs
extending back nearly a decade. Previous test work, including
additional test work
completed by Ginn Mineral Technology (GMT) in 2019, successfully
processed material
from the resource using production scaled systems to generate
metakaolin, a standard-
grade HalloPure® halloysite; a high-purity ULTRA HalloPure®
halloysite; and specialty
sands. (HalloPure® and ULTRA HalloPure® are registered
trademarks of the branded
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products that I-Minerals intend to produce and market. Any
further reference to ‘HalloPure’
or ULTRA HalloPure within this report is to those trademarked
products.)
Ore will be fed to the plant with a front-end loader for
comminution then fed to a sand/clay
separation circuit using cyclones. Sand will be sent to dry
stack tailing with the exception
of a screening operation to produce specialty sand. Clays will
be split, with the oversize
fraction sent to waste and the halloysite and kaolin cyclone
overflow fraction transferred
to a fractionation centrifuge to separate the halloysite and
kaolin fractions. The halloysite
can then subjected to differential flotation to upgrade standard
halloysite to a premium
halloysite product, while the kaolin is conditioned, filtered,
dried and calcined to form
metakaolin. The calcined metakaolin is milled to produce the
final product.
A 3D block model of the deposit was generated and then audited
to confirm its validity.
The portion of the deposit with reasonable prospects for
eventual economic extraction was
considered to be mineral resource. Millcreek considers the
kaolinite and halloysite
mineralization at the Bovill Project to be amenable to
extraction using open-pit mining
methods. Since the previous resource report, the commodity
quartz & K-spar sands are
no longer considered resources. No cut-off grade has been
applied to the resource
because all recovered material in the resource estimation
contains sufficient kaolinite or
halloysite to be mined for a profit.
The table below presents the Mineral Resource Statement for the
Bovill Project, audited
and confirmed by Millcreek:
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Table 1.1 Audited Mineral Resource Estimate
Classification Resource Area Tons
(000s) Kaolinite
(%) Halloysite
(%) Kaolinite
Tons (000s) Halloysite
Tons (000s)
Measured
Kelly's Hump 3,540 13.08 3.86 463 137
Middle Ridge 2,180 10.95 4.15 239 91
Sub-Total 5,720 12.27 3.97 702 228
Indicated
Kelly's Hump 7,500 14.81 2.77 1,110 208
Middle Ridge 5,140 17.91 3.61 920 185
WBL 2,900 13.31 1.62 386 47
Sub-Total 15,540 15.56 2.83 2,416 440
Measured & Indicated
Kelly's Hump 11,040 14.26 3.12 1,574 344
Middle Ridge 7,320 15.83 3.77 1,159 276
WBL 2,900 13.31 1.62 386 47
Total 21,260 14.67 3.14 3,119 667
Overall pit slope angle in soil was 34°, in mineralized
material, 43°.
Optimized pit extents were constrained by the lease boundaries
and delineated wetlands areas, both of which were provided by HDR
Engineering Inc. (2013).
Total Kaolinite recovery assigned to 95%.
Values Presented here have been rounded to reflect the level of
accuracy.
The geology Qualified Person (QP) is not aware of or perceives
any environmental,
permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing,
political, or other relevant
factors having any material impact on the resource estimate
other than what is discussed
in this report.
Reasonable mining costs and plant recoveries were used as
early-stage inputs to the pit-
shell optimization model. Optimized pit shells were designed
accounting for bench design,
ramps, dilution, etc. Mine planning and economic modelling based
on those pit shells were
then found to demonstrate the feasibility of economic recovery
of a portion of the mineral
resource. These mineral reserves are summarized as follows:
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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Table 1.2 Proven and Probable Reserves*
Proven Probable Total P&P
Total (kt) 1,310 1,868 3,178
Halloysite (%) 8.8 8.0 8.3
Halloysite (kt) 115 149 264
Kaolinite (%) 11.1 22.4 17.7
Kaolinite. (kt) 145 418 563
NSR ($/ton) $108 $123 $117
* Notes on Mineral Reserves: • Reserves are based on a $40.00
NSR cutoff grade and pit designs. • Rounding of numbers in mineral
reserves listed above may cause apparent
inconsistencies.
In Millcreek’s opinion, these estimates are in accordance with
guidelines proposed by the
CIM and referenced by NI 43-101.
The accuracy of resource and reserve estimates is, in part, a
function of the quality and
quantity of available data and of engineering and geological
interpretation and judgment.
Given the data available at the time this report was prepared,
the estimates presented
herein are considered reasonable. However, they should be
accepted with the
understanding that additional data and analysis available
subsequent to the date of the
estimates may necessitate revision. These revisions may be
material. There is no
guarantee that all or any part of the estimated resources or
reserves will be recoverable.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
MINERAL RESOURCES
The geologic resource model has been audited, validated, and
independently re-created.
The model was found to produce a reasonable representation of
the deposit and its
mineral resources.
Total measured and indicated resources were found to be 21,260
kt of mineral-bearing
ore, yielding 3,119 kt of kaolinite and 667 kt of
halloysite.
MINING
The deposit at the Bovill Project has been found to be amenable
to economic extraction
using surface mining methods, with a standard ‘truck-shovel’
approach, and with little or
no need for drilling and blasting. It is proposed that a
contractor be used for mining
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operations. The mine plan has been developed to produce
approximately 11 ktpa of
halloysite and 23 ktpa of kaolinite, from an average of 233 kt
of total ore and waste are
mined each year, during ‘steady state’ production after project
ramp-up.
MINERAL PROCESSING
The main products that I-Minerals intends to produce through
this facility are metakaolin,
standard and high-purity grade halloysite and a specialty sand
product.
A reasonable design has been proposed for the processing plant
administration facilities,
dry stack tailings system, and all required infrastructure
including power, gas, and water
supplies.
The process design comprises five main areas: run-of-mine (ROM)
stockpiling and
crushing, clay / sand separation through the use of hydrocyclone
classifiers; kaolin and
halloysite clay separation by centrifuge; kaolin calcination and
milling to produce
metakaolin; upgrading; and product preparation. The various
tailings streams will be
collected and sent to a thickener, and then a pressure filter,
to produce a low-moisture
tailings cake suitable for disposal in the (dry-stack tailings)
DST facility.
MINERAL RESERVES
• An ‘optimized pit shell’ approach was followed in order to
develop a pit shell development strategy that optimizes cash flow,
and accounts for the various
economic sensitivities of the project.
• Reasonable mining costs and plant recoveries were used as
early-stage inputs to the optimization model. The economic pit
shell slopes were found to be generally
insensitive to constraint by geotechnical parameters. Optimized
pit shells were
designed accounting for bench design, ramps, dilution, etc.
• The mineral Proven and Probable reserves are comprised of
3,178 kt of ore, producing 264 kt of halloysite and 563 kt of
kaolinite.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have
demonstrated economic
viability.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In Millcreek’s opinion, the pre-feasibility work summarized in
this Technical Report
demonstrates the economic viability of the project.
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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It is recommended that the next study phase be performed at a
‘feasibility study’ level, or
higher, in order to demonstrate the economic feasibility of the
project and develop a more
detailed estimate of the project value to support major
investment decisions.
ECONOMIC SUMMARY
CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS
Initial capital costs, including a 15% contingency, are
summarized in the table below:
Table 1.3 Initial CapEx Summary
Item CapEx ($ 000)
Contractor
Mobilization $133
Site Preparation $254
Pre-Production Opex $936
Sub-Total $1,323
Owner's Operations
Eng. & Office Equip. $60
GPS / Survey Equip. $80
Light Vehicles $111
Buildings $100
Pre-Production Opex $2,592
Sub-Total $2,943
Owner's Plant
Eng. and mgmt., misc. $5,171
Mechanical, equip./ install. $13,982
Structural, equip./ install. $10,249
Electrical, equip./ install. $5,698
Civil, equip./ install. $2,673
Sub-Total $37,772
Capital Contingency (15%) $6,306
TOTAL $48,344
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Sustaining capital for the remainder of the LOM is estimated at
$5.9M, or approximately
$205,000 per year. It was assumed that the initial working
capital would be equal to
approximately 50% of the operating cost in Year 1 (results in
working capital of $3.5M).
The following tables summarize the mining costs including both
contractor and owner
mining costs. The total LOM costs were estimated to be $244M or
$38.66 per ton
(including both waste and ore) mined. This amount excludes $3.5M
of capitalized
contractor and owner pre-production costs.
Table 1.4 Contractor OpEx Summary
* Total tons are combined tons waste stripped, and mined ore
Table 1.5 Owner’s OpEx Summary
Task OpEx ($ 000) OpEx ($/total ton*)
Labor (Owner's ops) $7,350 $1.16
M&S (operations) $746 $0.12
Labor (plant) $85,754 $13.56
M&S (plant) $71,113 $11.24
Reclamation & Closure
$7,219 $1.14
G&A $36,234 $5.73
TOTAL $208,416 $32.95
* Total tons are combined tons waste stripped, and mined ore
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
The Bovill Project is located near the town of Bovill in Latah
County in northern Idaho
(Figure 4.1). The project is located approximately 30 miles
east-northeast of Moscow,
Idaho and approximately 72 miles southeast of Spokane,
Washington, the closest major
city to the project. The nearest, large communities are Moscow,
Idaho (population 25,000),
Task OpEx ($ 000)
Ore Mining $11,879
Waste Stripping $8,951
Stockpiling $14,914
Road Maintenance $381
TOTAL $ $36,125
TOTAL ($/total ton)* $5.71
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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located about 30 miles west- southwest of the Bovill Project,
and Lewiston, Idaho
(population 32,000), located about 42 miles southwest of the
Bovill Project.
Several miles of power lines will need to be constructed,
connecting the nearest substation
to the plant site. Natural gas is available from a pipeline that
extends from Moscow to
Bovill (approximately 2 miles of additional pipeline will need
to be constructed). Water
required for processing will primarily come from a small
reservoir north of the Bovill Project
site, with potable water provided by on-site wells.
Mineral tenure is held through 11 mineral leases, all of which
are on State of Idaho
endowment lands.
Since 1910 the area has been identified an exploited for its
clay deposits by operators
including Anaconda and J.R. Simplot. I-Minerals acquired rights
to mineral leases to the
project area in 1999 and has undertaken various exploration
programs and mining studies.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION
The region surrounding the Bovill Project is dominated by late
Precambrian
(Mesoproterozoic) sedimentary rocks of the Belt Supergroup
(Belt). The Belt covers large
portions of western Montana, northern Idaho and parts of
Washington and Wyoming.
Saprolitization of exposed intrusive rocks resulted from intense
weathering in a humid,
warm to hot climate during the Miocene epoch. During the same
general timeframe, the
Columbia River basalts were erupted, and the Latah Formation
(lacustrine) sediments
were deposited (Hosterman, et al., 1960). In response to the
strong weathering, much of
the plagioclase feldspar and at least some of the mica in the
near-surface portions of the
Thatuna intrusives were altered to one or more varieties of clay
minerals. The depth limit
of weathering may initially have been fairly uniform; however,
subsequent erosion has left
a variable weathering profile with thickness roughly dependent
on topography. At present,
the depth of weathering may exceed 100 ft along ridges and be
less than 3 ft in some
valleys.
The residual deposits consist primarily of kaolinite and
halloysite clay intermixed with
grains of K-feldspar and quartz. Kaolinite and halloysite clay
comprise the mineral deposit.
Minerals of economic interest include:
• Halloysite, an aluminosilicate clay mineral with hollow
tubular morphology
• Kaolinite, a hydrated aluminum silicate clay mineral, used in
ceramics, rubber, plastics, etc. and when calcined becomes a
metakaolin clay, or dehydroxylated
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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kaolin clay, which is reactive (Pozzolan) and enhances the
strength, density and
durability of concrete and ceramics.
EXPLORATION
Seven drilling campaigns have been completed on the Bovill
Project since 2000.
Three types of samples have been collected from the Bovill
Project to characterize the
clay deposits: 1.) Drill core samples to support resource
estimation; 2.) Channel samples
for metallurgical characterization; and 3.) Bulk samples for
metallurgical test work.
Subsequent test work on whole rock geochemistry and material
characterization was
undertaken, and I-Minerals has completed a program of QA/QC.
A site visit was completed to the Bovill Project by Mr. Steven
Kerr, Principal Geologist for
Millcreek, on September 19, 2019. Mr. Kerr is a QP for this
pre-feasibility study (PFS).
Millcreek completed a series or routine verifications to ensure
reliability of the compiled
databases provided by I-Minerals. This work including checking
the compiled databases
with lithologic contacts and noted alteration with the field
logs. Likewise, the analytical
results for drill holes were checked against a database, and
with the input files used to
setup a geologic model. Millcreek found no significant errors in
our audit.
Millcreek is of the opinion that good professional judgment, and
appropriate exploration
and scientific methods were utilized in the collection and
interpretation of the data used in
this report. The sampling data is sufficient and spaced
appropriately to support the
resource estimation. However, users of this report are cautioned
that the evaluation
methods employed herein are subject to inherent
uncertainties.
MINING METHOD
The deposit at the Bovill Project has been found to be amenable
to economic extraction
using surface mining methods, with a standard ‘truck-shovel’
approach, and with little or
no need for drilling and blasting. It is proposed that a
contractor be used for mining
operations. The mine plan has been developed to produce
approximately 10 ktpa of
halloysite products and 20 ktpa of metakaolin, from an average
of 233 kt of total ore and
waste are mined each year.
Waste dumps include both external dumps, which are located
outside of designed pits,
and backfill dumps, which are designed over some of the pit
designs.
Proven and Probable Reserves were used to schedule mining and
plant production, and
Inferred Resources inside of the pit were considered waste. The
final production schedule
uses trucks and excavators as required to produce the ore to be
fed into the process plant
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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and maintain stripping requirements. All ore material is hauled
to a centralized stockpile
before being processed. A small loader and up to five small
10-yd3 haul trucks will be
used to move the ore from this stockpile to the plant stockpile.
A mining contractor will
operate the mine 8 months of the year, to minimize the impacts
of inclement weather,
while the stockpile will provide feed to the plant throughout
the year.
I-Minerals proposes a production ramp-up schedule in order to
allow time for key markets
to further develop. The ramp-up in production is based on
percentages of the maximum
throughput which starts at 27.5% in year 1, then 55% in year 2
followed by 81.5% in year
3 and full production in year 4 and beyond. Total ore throughput
at the plant was designed
to be at 130,000 tons per year. Halloysite grades average 8.3%
and kaolinite grades
average 17.7% through the life of mine.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Process Plant and associated infrastructure follow an
existing ridgeline, which
topography lends itself to an effective facility layout with the
majority of the plant equipment
to be located on stable, cut ground.
The mine will be accessed and supplied using existing forest
roads with some
modifications for safety and effectiveness. Electrical power and
natural gas will tie-into
existing nearby networks. Process water will generally be
available from run-off from the
tailing area, or provided by water wells, while potable water
will be provided by potable
water wells. Tailings disposal will consist of a dry stack
storage facility located near the
process plant.
Local communities will supply the labor for the project with no
on-site housing to be built.
MINING PROCESSING
The Bovill Project has been the subject of a number of
comprehensive testwork programs
extending back nearly a decade. Previous testwork was for the
production of both sands
and clays. Currently, the focus is the production of clays which
include Bovill Kaolin,
HalloPure halloysite and ULTRA HalloPure. Previous test work,
including additional test
work completed by GMT in 2019, successfully processed material
from the resource using
production scaled systems to generate these commercial
products.
The main products that I-Minerals intends to produce through
this facility are:
• Metakaolin
• Standard grade HalloPure halloysite
• High-purity ULTRA HalloPure halloysite
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• Specialty sand (excluded from the mineral resource and
reserves estimates).
Ore will be feed to the plant with a front-end loader which
feeds a single stage crusher.
Crushed ore will feed a sand/clay separation using cyclones to
separate the products.
Sand will be sent to dry stack tailing with the exception of a
screening operation to produce
specialty sand.
Clays will be split to produce a minus 20 micron cut, with the
oversize fraction sent to
waste. The halloysite and kaolin cyclone underflow will be
transferred to a fractionation
centrifuge to separate halloysite from the kaolin clays.
The kaolin will be conditioned filtered, dried and calcined to
form metakaolin. The calcined
metakaolin is then milled to produce the final product.
Both the standard and high purity halloysite products will be
produced in the same
equipment train, which will be operated as needed. The clays are
both dried and milled
prior to shipment.
ENVIRONMENTAL, PERMITTING AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
To support the Bovill Project’s mine and environmental
permitting requirements, the
following baseline environmental studies and surveys have been
conducted:
• Wetlands and Vegetative Survey
• Water Resource Assessment (Surface and Groundwater)
• Threatened and Endangered Species and Wildlife Assessment
• Air Quality Assessment
• Cultural Resources Assessment
Several plans and permits are required for the Bovill Project,
including:
• An Idaho Mine Operation and Reclamation Plan, administered
through IDL.
• An Air Quality Permit, administered by Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality (IDEQ)
• A Clean Water Act Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System General Permit for Discharges from Construction
Activities, and Multi-Sector
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General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with
Industrial Activity,
administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA).
• A Section 404 Nationwide Permit 14 (linear transportation
projects) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
• A Subsurface Sewage Disposal Permit for the site’s septic
system and a Public Non-Community Water Supply System Permit for
the site’s potable water system,
both of which are administered by IDEQ
• Proof of application of water to beneficial use for water
permit rights received or the Section 16 reservoir and groundwater,
administered by the Idaho Department
of Water Resources (IDWR)
No listed threatened or endangered species or critical habitat
as identified under the
Endangered Species Act, have been identified. A “no effects” for
cultural resource impacts
under the National Historic Preservation Act is anticipated.
Overburden, waste rock, ore,
and tailings characterization have been completed and the
materials are not acid
producers.
The amended Idaho Mine Operation and Reclamation Plan and permit
application should
be finalized and filed with Idaho Department of Lands (IDL)
shortly after issuance of this
Technical Report.
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INTRODUCTION
GENERAL
Millcreek Mining Group (Millcreek), in conjunction with Mine
Development Associates
(MDA, a division of RESPEC) has prepared this Technical Report
on the Bovill kaolin and
halloysite clays project (the Bovill Project) on behalf of the
project owner and issuer, I-
Minerals Inc. (I-Minerals).
I-Minerals have acquired the relevant leases for the area
currently considered for the Bovill
Project and have conducted various drilling exploration studies,
as well as pre-feasibility,
and feasibility level studies. I-Minerals have offices in Idaho
and Vancouver, Canada, and
are listed on both US and Canadian exchanges.
Millcreek Engineering was formed in 1997 and is an integrated
company that has been
providing expertise and experience in bulk materials handling,
mechanical, civil, structural,
electrical, and process engineering to mining and power utility
companies for over 20
years. The Millcreek Mining Group was formed in 2014 as a
division of Millcreek
Engineering. Our professionals all have extensive experience
(approximately 20 - 30
years +) in both consulting and industry, with a focus on coal,
oil shale, base and precious
metals, agri-minerals and industrial minerals. Millcreek’s
personnel have prepared
numerous feasibility-level studies, reserve certifications, and
have authored independent
technical reports for public reporting purposes (JORC, NI
43-101, and SEC) over a wide
range of commodities.
Unless otherwise noted, or to be consistent with previous
reporting, this document uses
common imperial units, and all economic reporting is in constant
(2019) US dollars.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Latah county, in north-central Idaho, is host to an area
referred to as the ‘Idaho Clay
District’ which lies between the towns of Moscow, and Bovill,
and encompasses several
deposits bearing refractories clays and other industrial
minerals. Mining in the district
began as early as 1910, and continues to this day, with
operators or interested parties
including the US Bureau of Mines (USBM), and United States
Geological Survey (USGS),
Anaconda, J.R. Simplot, and various smaller mining
companies.
Since acquisition of mineral leases in 1999, I-Minerals has
performed extensive core
drilling and geologic assessment of the deposit, as well as
various estimates of geologic
resources and economic reserves, including an updated NI 43-101
Prefeasibility Technical
Report in 2014 (by SRK Consulting), a NI 43-101 Feasibility
Technical Report in 2016 (by
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GBM Engineers), and a current NI 43-101 Resource Technical
Report in 2019 (SRK
Consulting and HDR).
Following recent feasibility level work, it was proposed that
the project value could be
enhanced by eliminating the production of sands and focusing on
three products:
metakaolin, standard, and premium grade of Halloysite. This
document summarizes the
efforts of Millcreek and MDA to prepare a pre-feasibility level
of study on the economic
viability of the project.
SCOPE OF WORK
The scope items to cover certification of the resource and
reserve estimates for the project
include:
• Preliminary data collection and review
• Site visit and data gathering
• Geologic information review and validation
• Mineral ownership / control validation
• Resource estimate / validation
• Metallurgical testing
• Mineral processing
• Project Infrastructure
• Environmental review
• Mine plan review and validation
• Marketing review
• Capital and operating cost estimate for the plant
• Capital and operating cost review for the mine and
operations
• Project economics
• NI43-101 reserve certification and reporting
It was assumed that the previous work of other consultants would
be used, as applicable.
• HDR provided guidance on previous work on environmental
aspects of the property, including hydrogeology, permitting and
closure
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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• MDA updated the pit optimization analyses, pit plans, dump
designs and production schedules, as well as mining capex and opex
schedules
• Input on the marketing and pricing of halloysite products was
provided by DURTEC GmBH, of Germany
• Input on the marketing and pricing of metakaolin was provided
by KMR, of Reno, NV
• SRK provided the geologic assessment, resources estimation and
geologic model
• Tetra Tech previously proposed a design for tailings
facilities and associated infrastructure, which has been used in
this PFS for the purposes of assumed
design and updated cost estimation.
QUALIFIED PERSONS
The various responsible qualified persons (QPs) for the
pre-feasibility study described in
this report are summarized in Table 2.1, and include:
Table 2.1 Responsible Qualified Persons
QP Name Sections of Responsibility
MDA (Tom Dyer) Items 15 - 16
Millcreek (Steven Kerr) Items 4 - 12, 14; contribute to Items 1,
3, 23, 25, 26, 27
Millcreek (Rainer Stephenson) Items 13, 17, 18; contribute to
Items 1, 3, 25, 26, 27
Millcreek (Alister Horn) Items 2, 21 - 22; contribute to Items
1, 3, 23, 25, 26, 27
SITE INSPECTIONS
Of the responsible QPs for the project, Mr. Tom Dyer and Mr.
Steve Kerr have made
personal site inspections that are considered to be current.
• Mr. Tom Dyer inspected the project site on January 7th, 2015.
Mr. Dyer is a Principal Engineer with MDA.
• Mr. Steven Kerr inspected the project site on September 19,
2019. Mr. Kerr is a Principal (Geology) with Millcreek.
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS
This technical report has been prepared by QPs who relied on a
variety of sources for
their data and information.
Mineral tenure and ownership information was provided by
I-Minerals, and Millcreek is not
aware of, and has not relied on, any independent legal opinion
as to project tenure and
ownership, royalties and other encumbrances. Such information is
relevant to Items 2 and
22.
Millcreek has relied on both previous and currently updated work
by HDR concerning the
current status of environmental studies and permitting, as
covered in Item 20. This work
is primarily covered in extracts from HDR’s document
‘0530-RPT-019’, updated in March,
2020.
Millcreek was guided by I-Minerals in our assumptions on how
taxes might be applied, as
well as on corporate overhead costs. These were review by
Millcreek and confirmed to be
reasonable before inclusion in the economic model, as covered in
Item 22.
Information on kaolin products and metakaolin pricing is based
on work by Mr. Thomas
Adams, P.E. President of KMR Collaborative (KMR), and from phone
interviews and email
and written correspondence shared between December, 2019 and
February, 2020. KMR
are a materials, engineering and marketing firm with a focus on
the cement industry and
a leading expert in the cement industry, particularly in the
field of supplemental
cementitious materials (SCMs) and the use of pozzolans.
Information on halloysite products and markets is based on work
by Dr. J. Schomburg of
DURTEC GmbH (DURTEC) and from phone interviews, email
correspondence and a
presentation shared between September, 2019 and February, 2020.
DURTEC are a
leader in mineral-based applications for nanotechnology and
clean technology, with
specific expertise in halloysite. DURTEC are particularly
familiar with the proposed
products to be produced at Bovill.
Information from both KMR and DURTEC was used in Items 19 and
22, and both groups
are considered to be independent of I-Minerals.
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION
PROPERTY LOCATION
The Bovill Project is located near the town of Bovill in Latah
County in northern Idaho
(Figure 4.1). The project is located approximately 30 miles
east-northeast of Moscow,
Idaho and approximately 72 miles southeast of Spokane,
Washington, the closest major
city to the project. Boise, the state capitol, is located
approximately 227 miles south of
Bovill. The Bovill Project is situated at latitude 46° 52' 43.5"
N, longitude 116° 25' 47.2" W.
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alisterhText BoxBOVILL PROJECT GENERAL LOCATION MAP
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
4-3
MINERAL TENURE
Mineral tenure is held through 11 mineral leases with a combined
area of 5,140.64 acres,
administered by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL). Lands
administered by IDL carry a
mandate to generate revenue for the state’s public-school system
and other state
institutions through leasing and sales of timber, grazing and
extraction of petroleum and
mineable materials. IDL lands are categorized as Fee Simple (FS)
or Minerals Only (MO)
lands. The State owns both surface and mineral rights on its
endowment lands, whereas
on MO lands, the State owns mineral rights only and surface
rights are owned by another
entity. The majority of I-Minerals leases are located on State
of Idaho land. Mineral tenure
for kaolin and clay products do not extend onto MO lands.
Table 4.1 provides a summary of the 11 mineral leases held by
I-Minerals, and Figure 4.2
shows the locations of the mineral leases. Millcreek requested
and reviewed current lease
documents from IDL and found all leases to be active and in good
standing. In 2018 all 11
mineral leases were amended, providing clarifications to the
term and expiration of the
leases. The mineral leases carry a lease term of 10 years,
effective March 1, 2013, and
so long thereafter as kaolin, clay, quartz, mica, feldspar,
feldspathic by-products, clay by-
products, metalliferous minerals, or any of them, are produced
in paying quantities, or as
much longer thereafter as the Lessee in good faith shall conduct
mining operations
thereon.
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BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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Table 4.1 Mineral Leases
Lease Number Township Range Acres
E410005 41 North 1 West 172.00
E410006 41 North 1 East 377.75
E410007 41 North 1 East 400.00
E410008 40 North 1 West 583.97
E410009 40 North 1 West 629.50
E410010 41 North 1 West 604.96
E410011 41 North 1 West 555.92
E410012 41 North 1 West 121.41
E410013 41 North 1 West 640.00
E410014 41 North 1 West 575.13
E410015 41 North 1 West 480.00
Total 5140.64
The State of Idaho retains a 5% gross sales royalty due upon
commencement of any
mineral production.
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
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ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES AND PERMITTING
ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITIES
The Leases held by I-Minerals cover areas of historic open pit
mining. These areas include
open pit mines, waste dumps and tailings areas. At this time,
there are no known
environmental liabilities associated with the exploration work
conducted by I-Minerals, and
all activities to date are covered under general State and
Federal authorizations for
exploratory work. I-Minerals submitted an original bond of $750
to the IDL to cover
environmental liabilities associated with its exploration work.
This bond remained in place
throughout the work, but it was refunded in December 2012. On
November 1, 2010, the
State of Idaho revised its bonding program requiring I-Minerals
to pay a reclamation bond
of $100 per lease per year until 2019. In addition, in June
2014, I-Minerals posted an
additional bond in the amount of approximately $6,200 for
additional exploration on
currently held leases. This bond was refunded upon I-Minerals
submitting a $20,000 bond
for work under an Instrument Amendment to the Operating and
Reclamation Plan (ORP)
approved April 26, 2017. All reclamation bonding is current
through October 19, 2017, and
the IDL has approved all reclamation conducted to date.
The QPs are not aware of any significant environmental
liabilities at present which would
of the estimate of mineral resources or reserves on the project
at this time.
REQUIRED PERMITS AND STATUS
I-Minerals is currently permitted for the following activities
at the Bovill Project site (IDL
mineral leased lands):
EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES
I-Minerals conducted exploration activities in accordance with
Idaho Administrative
Procedure Act (IDAPA) 20.03.02.060 - Exploration Operations and
Required Reclamation.
I-Minerals filed an original Notification of Exploration (NOE)
to the IDL in 2000, which was
subsequently amended for surface exploration and drilling
programs. Exploration
disturbances have been reclaimed and approved by the IDL.
MINING ACTIVITIES
I-Minerals is permitted through an approved Mine Plan of
Operations and Reclamation
Plan from IDL for the mining of approximately 10 acres of
feldspathic sands from June
through October for up to 10 years (2012 through 2022). The
feldspathic sands were
deposited as tailings from clay mining operations that occurred
on or near the I-Minerals
mineral leases between 1956 and 1974. These activities are
conducted under a National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System's (NPDES) Multi-Sector
General Permit (MSGP)
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I-MINERALS – 190084
BOVILL PROJECT TECHNICAL REPORT
4-7
for stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activities
(Permit Number
IDR053100). The stormwater permit became effective on November
8, 2012 and has been
extended until June 4, 2020.
A review of project plans identified a range of environmental
permits, review processes,
and authorizations required for construction, operation, and
closure. Development of the
Bovill Project will require approval of a Plan of Operations and
Reclamation Plan by IDL
(IDAPA 20.03.02), and an updated notice-of-intent (NOI) for
coverage under the NPDES
MSGP for industrial activities (Sector J3: Mineral Mining and
Dressing/Clay, Ceramic, and
Refractory Materials). I-Minerals submitted to IDL an Operating
and Reclamation Plan on
April 4, 2017, which was approved on October 26, 2017. Mining
cannot start until the
reclamation bond is paid, which has been delayed until an
amendment to the ORP is made
to the current operation plan contained in this document and a
new bond is calculated. In
addition, a State air quality permit will be required for
emission sources, including dryer
stacks and fugitive dust. Closure of the mine requires IDL
approval of a Mine Site
Reclamation and Tailings Closure Plan as discussed above. Also,
monitoring of certain
resources will likely be mandated through the State mine
permitting process as well as
through the Federal NPDES stormwater general permit. I-Minerals
applied for water rights
in the name of the State to withdraw water from the Section 16
Reservoir and from
groundwater wells to help support mine activities and received
them February 8, 2017.
A goal of the Bovill Project design is to avoid disturbances in
jurisdictional wetlands or
other waters, so that a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit will
not be required, or at