Revised JORC Mineral Resources & Reserves

RNS Number : 8548D
Anglo Asian Mining PLC
02 November 2020
 

 Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

02 November 2020

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Gedabek Open Pit and Gadir Underground Mine - Revised JORC Mineral Resources and Reserves

Ugur Open Pit - Remaining Mineable Material

New Mine Life of Eight Years

 

Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer, is pleased to announce updated Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, estimated in accordance with the JORC (2012) code, for the Gedabek open pit and Gadir underground mine located at the Company's Gedabek licence area ("Gedabek") in Western Azerbaijan. The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimates have been prepared by the independent company Mining Plus UK Limited ("Mining Plus") and are based on robust geological models, which benefit from information gathered during the mining of the deposits, recent geological work and exploration drilling. The Company also announces an update for its Ugur open pit Mine.

 

Summary

· Revised Mineral Resources for Gedabek open pit

o Total Mineral Resources of 735,000 ounces of gold and 69,100 tonnes of copper

o Mineral Resources now include material contained in stockpiles

o Zinc Mineral Resources now also estimated to enable the technical implications of higher zinc grades at depth to be understood

· Revised Mineral Resources for Gadir Underground Mine

o Total Mineral Resources of 267,000 ounces of gold and 2,183 tonnes of copper

· Ore Reserves for the Gedabek Open Pit and Gadir Underground Mine

o Gedabek open pit of 284,000 ounces of gold and 26,000 tonnes of copper

o Gadir underground mine of 49,000 ounces of gold and 191 tonnes of copper

· Mine life for the Gedabek open pit of eight years

o Mine life based on the current mining practices of the Gedabek open pit

o Optimisation of the mine plan being carried out to enable more efficient mining and maximise use of our processing capability

· A residual mineral study of Ugur shows that, as expected, the mine is nearing depletion but exploration in the vicinity of, and below, the mine continues

o Copper mineralisation has been identified

 

Anglo Asian CEO, Reza Vaziri, said " I am delighted to announce these latest JORC estimates for the Gedabek open pit and Gadir underground mines. These show the economically mineable Ore Reserves remaining in the open pit mine amount to 284,000 ounces of gold and 26,000 tonnes of copper. The economically mineable Ore Reserves for the Gadir underground mine amount to 49,000 ounces of gold and 191 tonnes of copper.

"The mine life of the new model is a further eight years assuming the current mining rate from the open pit, however the Company is carrying out a study to see if part of this ore can also be mined more efficiently by underground mining. Our ongoing exploration programme targeting five new deposits is also expected to produce additional ore sources to further complement the production from the Gedabek open pit and the Gadir underground mines."

Anglo Asian Group Director of Geology & Mining, Stephen Westhead, said "These latest resources and reserves statements and the extensive geological and mining work supporting them provide the production platform to develop a long-term operational strategy. Gedabek ore production will be supplemented by mining of the Gadir underground reserve, stockpile inventory and potential new deposits. The ongoing underground development will provide the technical data to optimise the open pit and underground production profile to maximise cashflow. Exploration results from the rest of the Gedabek contract area are delivering "mineable" grades and there is a focus on drilling the areas of known mineralisation to assess continuity for resource estimation to further prolong mine life, within an extended Production Sharing Agreement."

Mine Life, Development and Exploration Upside

 

The current mine life of the Gedabek open pit, based on the mining schedule used for its Ore Reserves estimation, is now eight years. The mining schedule assumes a continuation of the current mining practices used in the Gedabek open pit. However, such a mining schedule, results in spare capacity of the current processing facilities which can be used to treat additional sources of ore. Ore production from the Gedabek Open pit will also be supplemented by stockpile material and ore mined from the Gadir underground mine to increase utilisation of the processing facilities.

 

The Company is also undertaking an assessment for the underground mining of part of the existing Gedabek Open Pit Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. This is to determine whether underground mining of this ore will be more economic and better match the requirements of the processing facilities. Underground tunnelling is currently being developed from the south below the Gedabek open pit. This will soon link with the tunnel being developed from Gadir at the northern end of Gedabek. The continuous tunnelling will allow for the additional assessment of ore extraction from underground as well as the exploration of the deeper extensions of mineralisation. Only the upper level of mineralisation is currently contained within the new open pit Ore Reserves, and a study is now being carried out to look at the benefits of open pit versus underground mining and scheduling. The positive impact of underground extraction is likely to be the avoidance of significant waste rock removal required by the open pit extraction plan, thus improving the mining economics and potential for additional Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

Further exploration is planned of the extensive deeper mineralisation already identified below the current Gedabek Mineral Resources. The objective is to increase the size of the Mineral Resources with the aim to develop future additional underground Ore Reserves.

 

Furthermore, if any of the Company's exploration targets are developed into mines, ore from these sources can also be used to ensure processing plants are fully utilised, with the option of further expansion of the facilities.

 

Gedabek Open Pit JORC (2012) Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves - Summary

 

· Gold and copper Mineral Resources (at a cut-off grade of 0.2 grammes per tonne of gold) as follows:

o Measured and Indicated: 551,000 ounces of gold, 33,400 tonnes of copper and 2,202,000 ounces of silver

o Total (including Inferred): 735,000 ounces of gold, 41,200 tonnes of copper and 2,457,000 ounces of silver

· Gold and copper Proven plus Probable Ore Reserves as follows:

o 284,000 ounces of gold, 26,000 tonnes of copper and 1,754,000 ounces of silver

· Additional Mineral Resource (gold grade below 0.2 grammes per tonne and copper grade above 0.3 per cent.) contains 27,900 tonnes of copper and 261,000 ounces of silver

 

Gedabek Open Pit - JORC (2012) Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statements at 30 June 2020

 

Anglo Asian, together with the mining and geological consulting group Mining Plus, prepared the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimation of the Gedabek deposit. The detailed Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimation parameters per Table 1 of the JORC code can be accessed at http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8548D_1-2020-11-1.pdf . A glossary of terminology related to the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimate and other information is set out in the appendix below. Full technical Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves reports by Mining Plus is available on the Group's web-site at:

https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2020/10/30134936/AAZ-Gedabek_Mineral-Resource_Estimate_2020_JORC.pdf   and;

https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2020/10/30134939/AAZ-Gedabek_Reserves_Report_r3.pdf

 

The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are prepared in accordance with JORC Code (2012), which is the current edition of the JORC Code.  After a transition period, the 2012 edition came into mandatory operation from 1 December 2013. The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves stated below are in-situ.

 

Gedabek Open Pit - Mineral Resources

 

MINERAL RESOURCES (cut-off grade of 0.2 g/t gold)

 

Mineral

Resources

 

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

In-situ grades

Contained Metal

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Copper

grade

(%)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Zinc grade

(%)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(kt)

Silver

 

(koz)

Zinc

 

(kt)

Measured

15.8

0.66

0.12

2.58

0.24

335

19.0

1,311

37.9

Indicated

12.0

0.56

0.12

2.31

0.16

216

14.4

891

19.2

Measured and

Indicated

 

 

27.8

 

 

0.62

 

 

0.12

 

 

2.46

 

 

0.21

 

 

551

 

 

33.4

 

 

2,202

 

 

57.1

Inferred

13.0

0.44

0.06

0.61

0.15

184

7.8

255

19.5

TOTAL

40.8

0.56

0.10

1.87

0.19

735

41.2

2,457

76.6

Some of the totals above may not add due to rounding

 

ADDITIONAL MINERAL RESOURCES (Additional to Gold Mineral Resource)

(gold cut-off < 0.2 g/t and copper > 0.3 %

 

Gold

Copper

Silver

Zinc

Contained Metal

 

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

Copper

grade

(%)

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

Zinc grade

(%)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(kt)

Silver

 

(koz)

Zinc

 

(kt)

Measured

-

-

2.15

0.43

0.08

16.4

1.86

0.53

-

9.2

42

9.9

Indicated

-

-

2.13

0.34

0.28

13.9

2.03

0.51

-

7.2

125

10.4

Measured and

Indicated

 

 

-

 

 

-

 

 

4.28

 

 

0.39

 

 

0.36

 

 

14.5

 

 

3.89

 

 

0.52

 

 

-

 

 

16.5

 

 

167

 

 

20.2

Inferred

-

-

2.85

0.40

0.15

19.4

7.04

0.54

-

11.4

94

38.0

TOTAL

-

-

7.10

0.39

0.51

15.9

10.9

0.50

-

27.9

261

58.2

Some of the totals above may not add due to rounding

Mineral Resource classifications are based on the gold estimation confidence.  Copper, silver, and zinc are reported within these classifications.

Stockpiles included in Measured Resources and Ore Reserves

Measured Mineral Resources

 

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

Stockpile grades

Contained metal

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Copper

grade

(%)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(kt)

Silver

 

(koz)

Agitation leach

0.02

1.87

0.24

17.79

1

0

10

Flotation

0.14

0.90

0.53

11.71

4

0.7

53

Heap leach (crushed)

0.06

0.81

0.11

7.71

2

0.1

16

Heap leach (ROM)

0.61

0.73

0.21

10.23

14

4.3

201

Stockpile Mineral Resources

0.83

0.79

0.26

10.44

21

2.2

279

 

Gedabek Open Pit - Ore Reserves

 

 

 

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

In-situ grades

Contained metal

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Copper

grade

(%)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(kt)

Silver

 

(koz)

Proven

8.07

0.72

0.19

3.48

187

15.3

902

Probable

3.65

0.64

0.23

4.87

75

8.5

572

In situ-ore reserves

11.72

0.70

0.20

3.91

263

24

1,474

 

 

Stockpile grades

 

 

 

Agitation leach

0.02

1.87

0.24

17.79

1

0

10

Flotation

0.14

0.90

0.53

11.71

4

0.7

53

Heap leach (crushed)

0.06

0.81

0.11

7.71

2

0.1

16

Heap leach (ROM)

0.61

0.73

0.21

10.23

14

4.3

201

Stockpile ore reserves

0.83

0.79

0.26

10.44

21

2.2

279

TOTAL ORE RESERVE

12.55

0.70

0.21

4.34

284

26.0

1,754

 

Proved and Probable Ore Reserves estimate is based on that portion of the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of the deposit within the scheduled mine designs that may be economically extracted, considering all "Modifying Factors" in accordance with the JORC (2012) Code.

 

Gadir Underground Mine JORC (2012) Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves - Summary

 

· Gold and copper Mineral Resources (at a cut-off grade of 0.5 grammes per tonne of gold) as follows:

o Measured and Indicated: 211,000 ounces of gold, 2,024 tonnes of copper and 326,000 ounces of silver

o Total (including Inferred): 267,000 ounces of gold, 2,183 tonnes of copper and 328,000 ounces of silver

· Gold and copper Proven plus Probable Ore Reserves as follows:

o 49,000 ounces of gold, 191 tonnes of copper and 51,000 ounces of silver

 

Gadir Underground Mine - JORC (2012) Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statements at 30 June 2020

 

Anglo Asian, together with the mining and geological consulting group Mining Plus, prepared the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimation of the Gadir deposit. The detailed Mineral Resources and Ore Reserve estimation parameters per Table 1 of the JORC code can be accessed at http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8548D_2-2020-11-1.pdf . A glossary of terminology related to the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves estimate and other information is set out in the appendix below. Full technical Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves reports by Mining Plus is available on the Group's web-site at:

https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2020/10/30134949/AAZ-Gadir_Mineral-Resource_Estimate_2020_JORC.pdf and;

https://wp-angloasianmining-2020.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/2020/10/30134926/AAZ-Gadir_Reserves_Report_v5.pdf

 

The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are prepared in accordance with JORC Code (2012), which is the current edition of the JORC Code.  After a transition period, the 2012 edition came into mandatory operation from 1 December 2013. The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves stated below are in-situ.

 

Gadir Underground Mine - Mineral Resources

 

MINERAL RESOURCES (cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t gold)

 

Mineral

Resources

 

Tonnage

 

(kt)

In-situ grades

Contained Metal

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Copper

grade

(%)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Zinc grade

(%)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(t)

Silver

 

(koz)

Zinc

 

(t)

Measured

2,035

2.47

0.09

4.69

0.61

162

1,831

307

12,407

Indicated

966

1.59

0.02

0.63

0.33

49

193

20

3,188

Measured and

Indicated

 

 

3,001

 

 

2.19

 

 

0.07

 

 

3.40

 

 

0.52

 

 

211

 

 

2,024

 

 

326

 

 

15,595

Inferred

1,594

1.10

0.01

0.03

0.10

56

159

2

1,594

TOTAL

4,595

1.81

0.05

2.22

0.37

267

2,183

328

17,189

Some of the totals above may not add due to rounding

Gadir Underground Mine - Ore Reserves

 

 

 

Tonnage

 

(Mt)

In-situ grades

Contained metal

Gold

grade

(g/t)

Copper

grade

(%)

Silver

grade

(g/t)

Gold

 

(koz)

Copper

 

(t)

Silver

 

(koz)

Proven

0.47

2.32

0.04

3.38

35

173

51

Probable

0.19

2.20

0.01

0.74

14

18

5

TOTAL ORE RESERVE

0.66

2.28

0.03

2.60

49

191

56

 

Proved and Probable Ore Reserves estimate is based on that portion of the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of the deposit within the scheduled mine designs that may be economically extracted, considering all "Modifying Factors" in accordance with the JORC (2012) Code.

 

Ugur Open Pit

 

A statement complying with JORC has not been prepared as the mine is nearing depletion. Mining Plus have carried out a residual material study to estimate the remaining mineable mineralisation. The amount of remaining mineable material is given in the table below. Exploration continues in the vicinity of the Ugur mine and copper has been identified both under and adjacent to the Ugur open pit.

 

 

MINEABLE MATERIAL (gold cut-off grade of > = 0.3 g/t

 

 

 

Tonnage

 

Mt

In-situ grades

Contained metal

Gold

Grade

(g/t)

Silver

Grade

(g/t)

Gold

 

(koz)

Silver

 

(koz)

Mineable

Material

 

0.28

 

0.8

 

3.59

 

7.15

 

32.3

MINEABLE MATERIAL (gold cut-off grade of > = 0.2 g/t

Mineable

Material

 

0.38

 

0.65

 

3.33

 

7.94

 

40.7

 

Competent Person Statement

The information in the announcement that relates to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Mr Julian Aldridge, who is a full-time employee of Mining Plus UK Ltd, and is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London, a Chartered Geologist, and a  Member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

 

Julian Aldridge has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Julian Aldridge consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

Julian Aldridge has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the AIM rules. Julian Aldridge has reviewed the Mineral Resources included in this announcement.

 

The information in the announcement that relates to Ore Reserves for the Gedabek Open Pit is based on information compiled by Mr John Battista, who is a full-time employee of Mining Plus UK Ltd, and is a Member and Chartered Professional (Mining) of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM CP(Min)).

 

John Battista has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. John Battista consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

John Battista has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the AIM rules. John Battista has reviewed the Ore Reserves included in this announcement.

 

The information in the announcement that relates to Ore Reserves for the Gadir Underground Mine is based on information compiled by Mr Aidar Kairbekov, who is a full-time employee of Mining Plus UK Ltd, and is a Professional Member of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM).

 

Aidar Kairbekov has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Aidar Kairbekov consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

 

Aidar Kairbekov has sufficient experience, relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that he is undertaking, to qualify as a "competent person" as defined by the AIM rules. Aidar Kairbekov has reviewed the Ore Reserves included in this announcement.

 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

 

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information please visit www.angloasianmining.com or contact:

 

Reza Vaziri

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Tel: +994 12 596 3350

Bill Morgan

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Tel: +994 502 910 400

Stephen Westhead

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Tel: +994 502 916 894

Ewan Leggat

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Nominated Adviser and Broker

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470

Soltan Tagiev

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP

Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470

Megan Ray

Blytheweigh Financial

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3224

 

Notes:

Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company has a 1,962 square kilometre portfolio, assembled from analysis of historic Soviet geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement modelled on the Azeri oil industry.

 

The Company's main operating location is the Gedabek contract area ("Gedabek") which is a 300 square kilometre area in the Lesser Caucasus mountains in western Azerbaijan. The Company developed Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper/silver mine at Gedabek which commenced gold production in May 2009.  Mining at Gedabek was initially from its main open pit which is an open cast mine with a series of interconnected pits. The Company also operates the high grade Gadir underground mine which is co-located at the Gedabek site. The Company has a second underground mine, Gosha, which is 50 kilometres from Gedabek. Ore mined at Gosha is processed at Anglo Asian's Gedabek plant.

 

The Company produced 81,399 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2019. Gedabek is a polymetallic ore deposit that has gold together with significant concentrations of copper in the main open pit mine, and an oxide gold-rich zone at Ugur. The Company therefore employs a series of flexible processing routes to optimise metal recoveries and efficiencies.  The Company produces gold doré through agitation and heap leaching operations, copper concentrate from its Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant and also a copper and precious metal concentrate from its flotation plant.

 

The Company has a production target for the year to 31 December 2020 of 65,000 ounces to 67,000 ounces of gold and 2,200 tonnes to 2,400 tonnes of copper which is currently being revised. This total production target expressed as gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") at budgeted prices is between 75,000 GEOs and 80,000 GEOS.

 

Anglo Asian is also actively seeking to exploit its first mover advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional projects, as well as looking for properties in other jurisdictions in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and copper metal production company. It has recently announced that it will enter into a joint venture with Conroy Gold and Natural resources PLC to explore and develop various gold properties in The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

 

GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The following definitions are extracted from the JORC Code, 2012 Edition

Cut-off grade

The lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit. May be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification.

Indicated Mineral Resource

An 'Indicated Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes, and is sufficient to assume geological and grade (or quality) continuity between points of observation where data and samples are gathered. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to a Probable Ore Reserve.

Inferred Mineral Resource

An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to an Ore Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.

JORC

JORC stands for Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC). The Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code) is widely accepted as the definitive standard for the reporting of a company's resources and reserves. The latest JORC Code is the 2012 Edition. 

Measured Mineral Resource

A 'Measured Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes, and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade (or quality) continuity between points of observation where data and samples are gathered. A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource. It may be converted to a Proved Ore Reserve or under certain circumstances to a Probable Ore Reserve

Mineral Reserves or Ore Reserves

 

An 'Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses, which may occur when the material is mined or extracted and is defined by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility level as appropriate that include application of Modifying Factors. Such studies demonstrate that, at the time of reporting, extraction could reasonably be justified.

Mineral Resource

A 'Mineral Resource' is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

Modifying Factors

'Modifying Factors' are considerations used to convert Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves. These include, but are not restricted to, mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors.

Probable Ore Reserve

A 'Probable Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. The confidence in the Modifying Factors applying to a Probable Ore Reserve is lower than that applying to a Proved Ore Reserve.

Proved Ore Reserve

A 'Proved Ore Reserve' is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A Proved Ore Reserve implies a high degree of confidence in the Modifying Factors.

 

Abbreviation

Definition of term

Ag

Chemical symbol for silver

Au

Chemical symbol for gold

g/t

Gramme per tonne

M

Meters

Oz

Ounces

t

Tonnes

 

 

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