お知らせ • May 26
First Phosphate Corp. Reports Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Bégin-Lamarche Phosphate Deposit
First Phosphate Corp. announced the results of its updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its Bégin-Lamarche project in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec, Canada. The updated Mineral Resource Estimate includes results from the 2025-2026 drilling program. The updated Mineral Resource Estimate includes a 378% increase in Indicated Mineral Resources over the Company's Initial Mineral Resource Estimate dated September 9, 2024. Measured pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 6.2 Mt @ 7.70% P2O5 (phosphate). Indicated pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 198.5 Mt @ 6.00% P2O5. Inferred pit-constrained Mineral Resource: 89.5 Mt @ 6.16% P2O5. The Deposit remains open at depth. Metallurgical test work indicates an anticipated apatite concentrate grade of 40.4% P2O5 at an 88% process recovery rate, with very low levels of potentially deleterious elements, and has been qualified for production of battery-grade phosphoric acid for lithium iron phosphate battery with a conversion ratio of 91.1%. The Deposit is located next to existing road and hydroelectric infrastructure and at only 70 km driving distance from the deep-sea Port of Saguenay. The Deposit benefits from definitive, long-term, partially prepaid offtake from an existing, creditworthy partner. Apatite (phosphorus, phosphate) is listed on the critical minerals lists of Québec, Canada, the United States and the European Union. The updated Mineral Resource Estimate, with an effective date of May 1, 2026, was carried out by Mr. Antoine Yassa, P.Geo., of P&E Mining Consultants Inc., who is an Independent Qualified Person within the meaning of Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101: Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Bégin-Lamarche Phosphate Deposit contains a significant phosphate Mineral Resource that is associated with well-defined oxide-apatite peridotite intrusions within the large Lac-Saint-Jean anorthosite suite. The phosphate Deposit is comprised of four mineralized zones which are continuous, only separated by faults within the Deposit and extend over a length of 2,750 m. The Mountain Zone is a single phosphate-bearing mass having a diameter of up to 200 m and a length of 250 m. The Northern zone is comprised of four phosphate layers ranging from 30 m to 200 m in thickness and a length of 625 m. The Central Zone bears eight phosphate layers, one of them having up to 50 m in thickness and extending to 900 m. The Southern Zone bears three phosphate layers, one of them having up to 125 m in thickness and extending to 725 m. The Bégin-Lamarche Deposit mineralized wireframes boundaries were determined from lithology, structure, and grade boundary interpretation based on visual inspection of drill hole cross-sections. Four mineralized wireframe zones were developed and referred to as the Mountain, Northern, Central and Southern Zones. The mineralized wireframes were constructed on 50 m spaced vertical cross-sections, with on-screen digitized polylines on drill hole cross-sections in GEMS™. The mineralized wireframe outlines were influenced by the selection of mineralized material above 2.5% P2O5 that demonstrated a lithological and structural zonal continuity along strike and down dip. In some cases, mineralization <2.5% P2O5 was included for the purpose of maintaining mineralized zone continuity. The minimum constrained width for mineralized wireframe interpretation was 3 m of drill core length. The Bégin-Lamarche Mineral Resource Estimate is based on 276 drill holes totalling 68,345 m. The database contained 20,682 analyses for percentage of P2O5. Measured Mountain: 6.2 Mt @ 7.70% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 0.47. Indicated Mountain: 5.3 Mt @ 8.45% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 0.45. Indicated Northern: 78.3 Mt @ 6.69% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 5.24. Indicated Central: 71.0 Mt @ 5.50% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 3.91. Indicated Southern: 43.9 Mt @ 5.26% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 2.31. Total Indicated: 198.5 Mt @ 6.00% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 11.91. Measured & Indicated Mountain: 11.5 Mt @ 8.04% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 0.92. Measured & Indicated Northern: 78.3 Mt @ 6.69% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 5.24. Measured & Indicated Central: 71.0 Mt @ 5.50% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 3.91. Measured & Indicated Southern: 43.9 Mt @ 5.26% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 2.31. Total Measured & Indicated: 204.7 Mt @ 6.05% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 12.38. Inferred Mountain: 0.5 Mt @ 9.09% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 0.04. Inferred Northern: 30.7 Mt @ 7.33% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 2.25. Inferred Central: 31.8 Mt @ 5.67% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 1.80. Inferred Southern: 26.5 Mt @ 5.32% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 1.41. Total Inferred: 89.5 Mt @ 6.16% P2O5, P2O5 (Mt): 5.50. Mineral Resources, which are not Mineral Reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. The Company expects that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource may be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration. The Mineral Resources in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. The Bégin-Lamarche Mineral Resource Estimate was derived from applying a 2.5% P2O5 cut-off value to the pit-constrained block model and reporting the resulting tonnes and grades for potentially mineable areas. The following parameters were used to calculate the cut-off value that determines the open pit potentially economic portion of the constrained mineralization. The P2O5 cut-off value is calculated with parameters below: USD:CAD Exchange Rate: USD 0.72, P2O5 Price (32%): USD 225/t (approx five-year trailing average), P2O5 Price (40%): USD 280/t, P2O5 Process Recovery: 88%, Processing & Conc Transport Cost: CAD 20/t, G&A: $1.50/t, Mining Cost: CAD 2.75/t (mineralized material and waste), Pit Slopes: 45°. Accordingly, the P2O5 cut-off of potential open pit mining is calculated to be = 2.5%. The optimized pit-constrained Mineral Resource Estimate is moderately sensitive to the selection of reporting P2O5 cut-off values. Metallurgical Testwork has been successfully conducted by SGS at their Québec City facility with additional support by SGS Lakefield Ontario.
