The Spanish Mountain gold deposit is classified as a sediment-hosted vein (SHV) deposit, as defined by Klipfel (2005).

Gold mineralization occurs as two main types:
• Disseminated within the black, graphitic argillite. This is the most economically significant form. Gold grain size is typically less than 30 µm, and is often, but not always, associated with pyrite. Disseminated gold has also been associated with quartz veins within faults zones in the argillite.
• Within quartz veins in the siltstone/tuff/greywacke sequences. It occurs as free, fine to coarse (visible) gold and can also be associated with sulphides including galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Highest grades have come from coarse gold within quartz veins.

Disseminated gold within the argillite units is by far the most economically important type of mineralization, and occurs in multiple stratigraphic horizons. From drill core, elevated gold content has been noted within fault zones as well as quartz veins within fault zones. However, the influence of fault zones in relation to the gold content of the deposit is not certain.

There is a lack of copper, lead, zinc, arsenic and antimony and other trace metals in the system, and thus the only pathfinder element is gold itself.

Although a lesser component, quartz veins carrying free gold have yielded the highest grade individual samples on the Property. These veins tend to occur in the more competent facies such as siltstone and tuff/greywacke. The veins are discontinuous on surface and exhibit a strong nugget effect. The veins have been followed with confidence for about 40 m on the Main Zone. Gold is often associated with base metals in these veins. In particular, sphalerite and galena and chalcopyrite are commonly associated with free gold. Geochemically, the base metals are insignificant, but mineralogically they are a good indicator of gold mineralization. It is thought that gold and base metals may have been re-mobilized into these veins.

These veins typically cross cut all foliation fabrics and thus appear to have been emplaced late in the tectonic history. From work done by geological mapping and on oriented core data, it is known that the veins generally strike between 010° and 050°, and dip at various angles to the southeast and northwest. Several “blow out” veins, which are 1 to 5 m in thickness, have been identified on the Main Zone.

The Spanish Mountain deposit will be mined using a conventional open pit mining method, using off-highway haul trucks and hydraulic shovels. The waste and mineralized material will be drilled and blasted, using typical grade control methods and blasthole sampling.

The 20,000 t/d process plant flowsheet design uses a conventional process technology. Comminution includes crushing, semi-autogenous grinding with pebble crushing, ball mill grinding, and cyclone classification. Cyclone overflow reports to flotation to produce a sulphide concentrate containing the precious metals. The flotation circuit includes a rougher stage with two open-circuit cleaner stages. A scavenging gravity concentration circuit for the cleaner and recleaner flotation tailings minimizes potential gold losses from the open flotation circuit. Flotation tailings are pumped to the tailings impoundment area for storage. Flotation concentrate is thickened and finely ground before leaching in the CIL circuit. Loaded carbon is transferred from the head CIL tank to an elution circuit. Loaded carbon is acid-washed to remove calcium and other impurities followed by the gold elution process. Gold is recovered from the elution solution by electrowinning. Eluted carbon is regenerated in a kiln prior to screening for the removal of carbon fines. Screened regenerated carbon is subsequently returned to the CIL. CIL tailings will be pumped to cyanide detoxification tank where cyanide levels are chemically reduced to acceptable environmental levels prior to disposal to the TMF, separate from the rougher tailings.