Totec Resources

Flagship Project  |  Ontario, Canada

White Willow

An LCT pegmatite system 8 km southeast of Atikokan and 185 km west of Thunder Bay, in the Thunder Bay South Mining District.

Overview

A district-scale target in a proven jurisdiction

White Willow sits in one of Canada's most established mining regions, with year-round road access and infrastructure close at hand. Its lithium-cesium-tantalum pegmatites span two showings, Maple Leaf and Bingo, across a large, underexplored land package.

The property lies within the Thunder Bay South Mining District, immediately southeast of the town of Atikokan and a short drive west of Thunder Bay. Ontario's skilled workforce, permitting framework and existing haul and power infrastructure make it a low-friction setting in which to advance an early-stage discovery.[1]

Aerial view of a field pickup truck on a gravel bush road cutting through dense green boreal forest
Year-round bush-road access to the White Willow property through the boreal forest near Atikokan, Ontario.
8 km
Southeast of Atikokan[1]
185 km
West of Thunder Bay[1]
Year-round
Road access[1]

Geology

Highly fractionated LCT pegmatites

White Willow lies within the Quetico Terrane of the Superior Province, a metasedimentary belt intruded by S-type granites. Along its northern boundary these granites give rise to LCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) pegmatites carrying the classic fractionation signature of a fertile pegmatite field.[1]

In a fertile system, pegmatite dikes become progressively more chemically evolved with distance from their parent granite. The barren zone nearest the source gives way outward to beryllium, then niobium-tantalum, then lithium and finally cesium enrichment. The presence of beryl, tantalum and cesium minerals at White Willow places its pegmatites at the highly fractionated, most prospective end of that sequence.[1]

  • TerraneQuetico, Superior Province[1]
  • HostMetasedimentary belt, S-type granites[1]
  • StyleLCT pegmatites (Li-Cs-Ta)
  • SettingNorthern granite-metasediment boundary[1]
Diagram of the generalized LCT pegmatite zonation model: pegmatite dikes grade from a barren zone near the granite source through beryllium, niobium-tantalum, lithium and cesium enrichment with increasing fractionation
Generalized exploration model for LCT pegmatites. Source: USGS, modified from Trueman and Cerny (1982).[2] The presence of beryl, tantalum and cesium indicates the White Willow pegmatites are highly fractionated and prospective for lithium.

The Fractionation Sequence

How a pegmatite field tells you where to look

Pegmatite dikes become progressively more chemically evolved with distance from the granite that produced them. Each zone carries a different metal signature. Reading that sequence is how an explorer decides which part of a field is worth drilling. Scroll to walk the sequence outward from the source.[1]

  1. Zone 1

    Barren

    Closest to the parent granite. The melt has not yet concentrated the rare elements, so these dikes carry little of economic interest. Finding only this zone tells you the fertile part of the system lies further out.

  2. Zone 2

    Beryllium

    The first rare-element zone. Beryl appears as the melt begins to concentrate incompatible elements. At White Willow, beryl has been observed in the pegmatites, with crystals reported up to 11 cm.[3]

  3. Zone 3

    Niobium and tantalum

    Further out, columbite and tantalite crystallise. The ratio between the two matters: a low Nb/Ta ratio means the system has evolved far enough to favour tantalum. White Willow returns Nb/Ta below 0.5.[1]

  4. Zone 4

    Lithium

    Spodumene-bearing dikes mark a strongly fractionated system. The largest outcrop mapped at Maple Leaf, roughly 350 m by 70 m, is spodumene-bearing.[3]

  5. Zone 5

    Cesium

    The most evolved zone of all, and the rarest. Cesium enrichment sits at the far end of the sequence. Its presence alongside beryl and tantalite is what places the White Willow pegmatites at the highly fractionated, most prospective end of the model.[1]

Generalized exploration model for LCT pegmatites. Source[2]

Reading the Rock

How a geologist knows a pegmatite is worth chasing

The individual metals at White Willow are covered on their own pages. What follows is the method behind all of them, because the same few ratios decide whether a pegmatite field is worth the next dollar.

Fractionation is the whole game

A pegmatite forms from the last, most stubborn fraction of a granite melt. As that melt cools and moves away from its parent granite, the elements that do not fit neatly into ordinary minerals get concentrated in what is left. Lithium, cesium, tantalum and rubidium are exactly those misfits. The further a melt has evolved, the more of them it carries.

So the question is never simply how much lithium is in a rock. It is how far the system has evolved, because that is what predicts where the good ground lies.

Muscovite is the gauge

Muscovite mica takes lithium, cesium and rubidium into its structure in proportion to how evolved the melt was when it crystallised. That makes it a far better indicator than a headline grab sample, which is selective by nature and reflects wherever the sampler chose to swing the hammer. Muscovite chemistry describes the system. A grab sample describes one rock.[4]

Two ratios do most of the work

The potassium to rubidium ratio falls as a melt fractionates, because rubidium progressively displaces potassium in the mineral structure. A low K/Rb is the signature of an evolved system.

The niobium to tantalum ratio behaves the same way. Niobium and tantalum travel together, and tantalum concentrates later, so a falling Nb/Ta ratio points to a system that has run further down the sequence. Both ratios are standard tools in rare-element pegmatite exploration, and both are discussed in the filed technical report.[4]

The sequence tells you where to look

Enrichment tends to arrive in order, running from beryllium through niobium and tantalum to lithium and cesium. That is why cesium values are read as a maturity indicator for the whole field rather than as a target in their own right, and why beryl in outcrop is treated as an early sign that the system is fertile.

Source[4]

Fractionation indicators describe the character of a pegmatite system. They are not a statement that any metal is present in economic quantity on the Property, and no mineral resource has been estimated.

Maple Leaf Showing

A large, spodumene-bearing pegmatite trend

The Maple Leaf showing defines a pegmatite trend roughly 8 km long and 1 km wide, of which about 3 km has been mapped in detail. Surface work has confirmed 47 LCT pegmatites carrying spodumene, beryl and coarse tantalite.

47

Confirmed LCT pegmatites across the mapped trend.[1]

14.64%

Ta2O5 in coarse tantalite from a selective surface grab sample.[3]

~8 km x ~1 km

Pegmatite trend, with ~3 km mapped in detail.[1]

Scale and mineralogy

The largest outcrop mapped to date measures roughly 350 m by 70 m and is spodumene-bearing. Across the showing, coarse crystal growth points to a well-developed, evolved system, with beryl crystals up to 11 cm and K-feldspar to 100 cm.[3]

  • Largest outcrop~350 m x ~70 m, spodumene-bearing[3]
  • Beryl crystalsUp to 11 cm[3]
  • K-feldsparUp to 100 cm[3]

Surface geochemistry

Grab and channel sampling has returned a consistent lithium-cesium-tantalum tenor across the showing, indicating the fertility of the pegmatite field. Grab samples are selective by nature and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization on the property.[3]

  • Cesium36 samples >115 ppm Cs[3]
  • Lithium45 samples >300 ppm Li[3]
  • Highest Li results6 samples >1,000 ppm Li, up to 0.5% Li2O[3]
A blocky pale green crystal resting on quartz-rich outcrop beside a yellow field notebook marked with a centimetre and inch scale
A coarse, blocky pale green crystal in pegmatite at Maple Leaf, field notebook for scale.
Coarse-grained pegmatite outcrop with dark black tantalite crystals and pale feldspar and quartz, a mechanical pencil placed for scale
Coarse pegmatite with dark tantalite and blocky feldspar, mechanical pencil for scale.
Coarse-grained quartz-rich pegmatite with a rock pick placed for scale
Coarse-grained, quartz-rich pegmatite, rock pick for scale.

The coarse tantalite grade of 14.64% Ta2O5 at Maple Leaf is in the range of coarse-tantalite results reported by Green Technology Metals from its North Aubrey prospect at the Seymour Lake project in the same region.[3]

Mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties, including Green Technology Metals' Seymour Lake project, is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the White Willow Property. The Qualified Person has not verified the information regarding the adjacent property, and that information is not indicative of mineralization on the White Willow Property. The adjacent-property information regarding Green Technology Metals' North Aubrey prospect is drawn from Green Technology Metals' public disclosure, as compiled in the Totec Resources corporate presentation, August 2026.

Bingo Showing

A 5 km pegmatite field, open in both directions

The Bingo showing extends a pegmatite field roughly 5 km in length that remains open in both directions. Two mapped pegmatites measure 600 m and 450 m long and up to 75 m wide, and would form a combined strike of approximately 1.2 km if connected.

~5 km

Pegmatite field, open in both directions.[1]

600 m & 450 m

Two mapped pegmatites, up to 75 m wide.[1]

~1.2 km

Combined strike if the two bodies connect.[1]

Fractionation geochemistry

Bingo returns the low K/Rb and Nb/Ta ratios and elevated lithium, rubidium, cesium and tantalum values that mark a highly evolved, fertile pegmatite field.[3]

  • K/Rb<20[3]
  • Nb/Ta<0.5[3]
  • Lithium>800 ppm Li[3]
  • Rubidium>4,200 ppm Rb[3]
  • Cesium>950 ppm Cs[3]
  • Tantalum>350 ppm Ta[3]

Indicator mineralogy

The showing hosts the mineral assemblage expected of an evolved LCT system: white beryl, spessartine garnet, blue-green apatite and tantalite, along with suspected holmquistite.[3]

A quartz-rich rock sample with black tantalite crystals and orange iron staining, a paper sample-number tag placed beside it
A sample from White Willow showing dark tantalite in a quartz-rich matrix.

Property Map

Two showings across one land package

White Willow property map showing the property boundary with the Bingo showing to the west and the Maple Leaf showing to the east, overlaid with lithium-in-soil geochemistry and anomalous tantalum and cesium sample sites
White Willow property map. Lithium-in-soil geochemistry (ppm) and anomalous tantalum and cesium sample sites define the Bingo showing to the west and the Maple Leaf showing to the east. Source: Totec Resources corporate presentation, August 2026.
Ownership and royalties

Totec acquired White Willow from Usha Resources Ltd. on January 20, 2026, through the acquisition of 1540359 B.C. Ltd. for $50,000 in cash and the issuance of 35,500,000 common shares. The subsidiary was wound up into Totec by vertical short-form amalgamation effective May 6, 2026.

The property is subject to net smelter return royalties of 3.0% and 1.5%. Portions of these royalties may be purchased by the Company for US$1,250,000 and US$1,000,000 respectively.

Sources[5][6]

From the Field

White Willow on the ground

A geologist in a high-visibility red vest crouching to sample a light-grey granitic outcrop at the edge of a calm, forest-lined boreal lake
Sampling a lakeshore outcrop at White Willow, Thunder Bay South Mining District.
A grey and white weathered pegmatite outcrop surface with a blue-handled geologist's brush and a strip of red flagging tape
A cleaned pegmatite outcrop surface with geologist's brush and flagging tape.
Coarse-grained pegmatite with black tantalite crystals set in pale feldspar and quartz, a mechanical pencil placed for scale
Dark tantalite and blocky feldspar in coarse pegmatite, pencil for scale.
A blocky pale green crystal on quartz-rich outcrop beside a yellow field notebook marked with a scale
A coarse, blocky pale green crystal with a field notebook for scale.
A quartz-rich rock with black tantalite crystals, orange iron staining and a paper sample-number tag
Dark tantalite in a quartz-rich sample, with sample tag.
Coarse-grained quartz-rich pegmatite with a rock pick placed for scale
Coarse-grained, quartz-rich pegmatite, rock pick for scale.

The Road Ahead

A disciplined exploration approach

Totec's approach at White Willow is to build the geological picture methodically, letting each stage of surface work sharpen the targets that follow before any subsurface testing is considered.

  1. Systematic mapping

    Extend detailed geological mapping across the Maple Leaf trend and the open Bingo field to define the full extent and orientation of the pegmatite swarm.

  2. Prospecting and sampling

    Follow up the strongest lithium, cesium and tantalum responses with continued grab and channel sampling to confirm grade tenor and fractionation trends.

  3. Geophysics

    Apply geophysical surveys to trace pegmatite bodies under cover and test whether separate outcrops connect at depth.

  4. Target definition

    Integrate mapping, geochemistry and geophysics to prioritise the most prospective zones ahead of any future subsurface targeting.

Sources[1][3]

The scientific and technical information on this page has been reviewed and approved by Deepak Varshney, P.Geo, CEO and Director of Totec Resources, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Historical results referenced from the 2022 Surface Prospecting Report filed for assessment (AFRI 20000022099).

This page contains forward-looking statements regarding Totec Resources Ltd. and its exploration plans. Actual results may differ materially, and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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Sources

References

Every numbered claim on this page is attributed to the source it came from.

  1. totecresources.com Totec Resources Ltd., Corporate Presentation, August 2026
  2. pubs.usgs.gov Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, U.S. Geological Survey, March 2026
  3. geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca 2022 Surface Prospecting Report, White Willow Property, Grid Metals Corp, assessment file AFRI 20000022099
  4. sedarplus.ca NI 43-101 Technical Report on the White Willow Property, Thunder Bay South Mining District, Ontario, filed on SEDAR+
  5. sedarplus.ca Totec Resources Ltd., Management Discussion and Analysis for the nine months ended December 31, 2025, filed on SEDAR+
  6. totecresources.com Totec Resources Approved for Listing on OTCQB Venture Market, news release dated May 27, 2026

Sources are named to identify where the information came from. Their inclusion does not indicate any affiliation with, sponsorship of, or endorsement of Totec Resources Ltd. by the organisations cited, or by the Government of the United States. Third-party statements describe the metal and its supply chain. They are not statements about Totec Resources Ltd. or the White Willow Property, and no inference should be drawn from them as to the presence, grade or economic viability of any mineralization on the Property.