First Phosphate Bégin-Lamarche update: resource and process notes for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
A resource update at First Phosphate’s Bégin-Lamarche project in northeastern Quebec has lifted indicated resources more than fourfold to 198.5 million pit-constrained tonnes at 6% P2O5, added 6.2 million measured tonnes at 7.7% P2O5, and cut inferred resources to 89.5 million tonnes at 6.16% P2O5 from 68,345 metres of drilling in 276 holes. Metallurgical tests show a 40.4% apatite concentrate, supporting plans for a 10,000‑tonne‑per‑year iron phosphate plant and a proposed phosphoric acid facility near the deep-water Port of Saguenay, 70 km away.
Technical Brief
- Drilling density is high: 68,345 m from 276 holes underpin the current block model.
- Bégin-Lamarche lies ~450 km northeast of Montreal and ~70 km north of the deep-sea Port of Saguenay.
- Site proximity to existing road and power corridors reduces greenfield infrastructure requirements for mine development.
- Metallurgical testwork confirms production of 40.4% apatite concentrate, suitable as feedstock for battery-grade phosphoric acid.
- First Phosphate plans a 10,000 t/y iron phosphate plant near Saguenay as a downstream offtake for Bégin-Lamarche.
- A separate phosphoric acid plant is proposed at the Port of Saguenay, providing upstream reagent for iron phosphate production.
- Apatite’s designation as a critical mineral by Canada, the US and EU may support permitting and funding pathways.
Our Take
First Phosphate’s Bégin-Lamarche project in Quebec is one of the few phosphate stories in our 143 phosphate- and lithium-tagged pieces that is explicitly tied to downstream LFP cathode material, which positions it closer to the battery supply chain than most rock-phosphate juniors in the database.
The recent conditional C$16.7 million non-repayable contribution flagged in our 3 March 2026 coverage of NRCan’s Global Partnerships Initiative indicates that Ottawa now treats Bégin-Lamarche as a strategic LFP hub, which can materially de-risk early engineering for the planned Saguenay iron phosphate facility and associated Port of Saguenay logistics.
With indicated resources at Bégin-Lamarche now several times higher and still 89.5 million tonnes in inferred, the project’s scale is starting to resemble the larger critical-mineral builds in Ottawa’s C$12.1 billion critical minerals portfolio (2 March 2026 article), suggesting it could become a regional anchor asset for Quebec’s phosphate and LFP value chain rather than a niche feed source.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.

