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First Phosphate Updates on Corporate Developments, Management Appointments and Insider Stock Purchases

  • Written by Media Outreach
Saguenay, Quebec - Newsfile Corp. - February 27, 2025 - First Phosphate Corp. (CSE: PHOS) (OTCQB: FRSPF) (FSE: KD0) ("First Phosphate" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the following corporate updates. Bégin-Lamarche Phosphate Mine The Company recently concluded its National Instrument 43-101 ("NI-43-101") compliant mineral resource estimate (September 2024) and its NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment (December 2024) for its Bégin-Lamarche property. The Company is in the process of completing its internal pre-feasibility analysis and is readying to launch its formal feasibility study. Buildout capex for the mine is estimated at US $459 million. Annual mine revenues over 23 years are expected to peak at US $362 million at a 37.1% pre-tax IRR. In December 2024, the Company announced definitive long-term agreements with creditworthy offtake partners that are not impacted by the current North American trade-tariff situation. The Company also continues to work towards project financial participation in the Bégin-Lamarche mining project by its indigenous partner, Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation. Phosphoric Acid Facility In December 2024, the Company concluded licensing and engineering agreements for a 190,000 tonne per annum phosphoric acid facility. The internal pre-feasibility and capex study for the facility has now completed by engineering firm Ballestra S.pA. (though not NI 43-101 compliant). Buildout capex for the facility is estimated at US $175 million. Revenues from the facility at today's prices could total $284 million per annum using directly produced apatite concentrate from the Company's future Bégin-Lamarche phosphate mine. Definitive offtake in place for this facility is not impacted by the current North American trade-tariff situation. First Saguenay Iron Phosphate Plant In September, 2024, La Baie, Quebec was chosen as the site for the Company's First Saguenay iron phosphate facility. The feasibility study for the facility has now been fully completed by Ultion Technologies Inc. (though not NI 43-101 compliant). Pending financing, First Saguenay is expected to start small-scale production of iron phosphate pre-cursor material in 2026 ramping up to 11,882 tonnes per annum by 2028 with yearly revenues projected at US $53 million. Funding costs for the facility are estimated at US $76 million. Funding discussions for the facility are ongoing and proceeding as expected. The Company is also waiting for clarity on the impact of the North American trade-tariff situation before assessing its final deployment timelines and rollout plans. Building owner Logistique Proco Inc. has pledged maximum flexibility in terms of lease uptake. The Company has also located various secondary plant development locations in the United States should the North American trade-tariff situation require production facilities in multiple countries. The Company is currently negotiating definitive supply agreements with major purchasers of LFP CAM materials in various segments of the LFP battery industry. In November 2024, the Company signed a collaboration agreement with GKN Hoeganaes, a division of GKN Powder Metallurgy and one of the largest iron powder producers globally. GKN will be able to supply the Company with up to 400,000 tonnes of iron powder required to be able to eventually scale iron phosphate pre-cursor using large economies of scale. GKN Hoeganaes was also successful in integrating the Company's magnetite (a secondary recovery from its Bégin-Lamarche property) into the GKN proprietary Ancorsteel melting process. This innovative process has led to the development of a high-purity iron powder, which can serve as an input for iron phosphate pre-cursor production. Given, this development, the Company should be in a position to create iron phosphate precursor from both the phosphate and the iron material emanating from its Bégin-Lamarche property to achieve full backwards integration with the mine source. The commencement of the industrial operations proposed by the Company, including the Bégin-Lamarche phosphate mine, phosphoric acid facility and the First Saguenay iron phosphate facility, are subject to a number of conditions, including permitting and financing which the Company continues to work towards diligently. Management Appointments Armand MacKenzie has been promoted to the post of President of the Company and David Dufour to the position of Senior Vice-President. "Armand and David have proven their abilities to assume team leadership. Armand will lead discussions with our indigenous partner and indigenous financial institutions to ensure we meet our objective of having deep Indigenous financial participation in the Company. David will drive operations and community relations as we begin to enter into the next stages of planning of our feasibility study," said John Passalacqua, CEO of First Phosphate. Insider Stock Purchases C...

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