The Sierra Madre Occidental geologic province is richly endowed with precious metal deposits (Staude and Barton, 2001), most of which are considered related to porphyry Cu-(Au), and epithermal systems. Gold mineralization at Trinidad has been described as vein and hydrothermal and tectonic breccia-hosted low sulfidation epithermal style mineralization (Robertson and Thoman, 1994).

Potentially economic mineralization identified by Marlin Gold and Eldorado (Robertson and Thomson, 1994; Exploraciones Eldorado, 1995) at Taunus is consistent with intensely silicified tectonic and quartz-matrix hydrothermal breccia, with chlorite and hematite, and occasional adularia. Quartz-textures are described as massive, fine-grained and cherty, drusy coatings, colloform banding and cockscomb. Amethyst also occurs in the Taunus area. Distal alteration is described as quartz veinlets in both andesite and quartz-feldspar porphyritic rocks, and weak propylitic alteration in the andesite rocks. Carbonate minerals are not reported, but may occur outside of areas affected by sulfide weathering.

The breccia zones are hosted within a quartz-feldspar porphyry unit, and its contact with adjacent andesite rocks. This lithologic contact is described as both structural, and intrusive in nature.

Gold occurs in vugs and less commonly in a goethite replacement of pyrite or encapsulated withinthe quartz matrix.

The rock matrix is largely silicified and cut by quartz veinlets commonly with disseminated or aggregate specular hematite.

Three types of alteration were observed in the groundmass: 1) quartz-sericite-pyrite (now hematite), 2) hydrothermal biotite flooding and 3) hydrothermal specular hematite.

Results from the petrographic analysis are consistent with megascopic observations by Marlin Gold’s geologists who have described the HS zone as a matrix supported breccia where the matrix is composed of a red/orange hematitic rock flour/clay. Clasts are described as subangular multi-phase silica often displaying colliform banding of calcedonic quartz, goethite and a dark grey green mineral interpreted to be chlorite/biotite. Qualitatively the higher grades appear to be associated with the presence of fine laminations chlorite/biotite.

Visible gold is rare and has only been observed in a few core samples with assay grades over 30 g/t. When observed it has been very fine grained gold in open vugs or associated with vuggy hematite.

The Taunus deposit is a complex deposit composed of a number in individual zones. Ten individual solids were modeled in the Taunus area based on geology and grade. The two main zones are the Eldorado Zone and the HS Zone.

The final pit was determined to be approximately 225 m deep, 900 m from north to south, 550 m from east to west with a total volume of 27 Mm3. Above a cut-off grade of 0.17 g/t Au, the total feed is estimated at 7.8 Mt at a grade of 1.12 g/t Au with a strip ratio of 7.2:1 (waste:feed) and 281 koz of gold contained insitu before recovery. The production schedule calls for a 5 year mine life with annual gold delivery to the heap of 30 koz Au, 40 koz Au, 60 koz Au, 60 koz Au and finally 90 koz Au with an average LoM total production rate of 37 kt/d.

The mine fleet will likely consist of 100 t capacity (Caterpillar 777 or equivalent) rigid body haul trucks supported by either front end loaders or hydraulic excavators. Blasting will be included in the default mine assumptions but some areas may be amenable to free-dig operations.

Recovery of gold from the Trinidad project will be performed by heap leaching. Mined heap material will be transported by truck and stockpiled at the crusher facility. The heap material will be crushed, agglomerated, and transported to the leach pad with grasshopper conveyors, radial stacked and then leached with a weak cyanide solution to extract the contained gold values. Gold will be recovered from the pregnant leach solution (PLS) in an ADR plant by adsorbing the extracted gold onto activated carbon followed by desorption into an upgraded and purified gold-bearing solution, electrowinning and smelting to recover the extracted gold as a final product.