Overview

Mine Type	Underground
Stage	Permitting
Commodities	Zinc Lead Silver
Mining Method	Longhole open stoping Longitudinal retreat Uppers Retreat
Backfill type	...
Mine Life	...
Snapshot	Prairie Creek Project large and high-grade deposit, with mineralization demonstrating significant potential for expansion. Compelling economics demonstrated in PEA based on 2,400 tpd over 20-year mine life. Achievements to end 2023: - Strategic purchase of Wolverine Mine mill and power plant mitigates financing and construction risk. - Construction of Phase 1 of All-Season Access Road (“ASR”) complete, and permitting commenced for final Phase 2. - Full new mining permits received for 2,400tpd mine expansion. - Transport Corridor Benefits Agreement signed with Acho Dene Koe First Nation. - Environmental Agreement signed with Naha Dehe Dene Band and the Liidlii Kue First Nation Band. On June 24, 2024, the Federal Government announced an investment of up to $25 million to build an ASR from Liard Highway 7 to the Prairie Creek Mine site. A 170-kilometre ASR will take two years to build.

Deposit type

• Breccia pipe / Stockwork
• Vein / narrow vein
• Mississippi Valley Type
• Stratabound

Summary:

Four main styles of base metal mineralization have been identified on the Property:
• Hydrothermal Quartz Veins (MQV);
• Stockwork (STK);
• Stratabound (SMS); and
• Mississippi Valley type (MVT).

MQV Mineralization
Vein-type mineralization developed within the cherty dolomites of the Ordovician-Silurian age Upper Whittaker Formation and shaly dolomites of the lower Road River Formation, along the axial plane of the Prairie Creek Anticline (PCA).

MQV type mineralization comprises massive to disseminated galena and sphalerite with lesser pyrite and tetrahedrite-tennantite in a quartz-carbonate-dolomite matrix. Secondary oxidation is variably developed, yielding mainly cerussite (lead oxide) and smithsonite (zinc oxide); tetrahedrite-tennantite has undergone only minor oxidation. Silver is present in solid solution with tetrahedrite-tennantite and to a lesser extent with galena. Veins dip steeply to the east; widths generally vary between less than 0.1 m up to 5 m, with an average horizontal thickness of approximately 2.7 m.

The MQV is the most extensively developed of the known mineral zones. Underground development and diamond drilling have demonstrated the continuity of the MQV over a horizontal strike length of 2.3 km. The MQV trends approximately north-south and dips between vertical and 40º east (average dip is 65º east). It remains open to the north and may continue for a further 4 km to the Rico showing. Diamond drilling has indicated continuity to a depth of at least 450 masl.

Mineralization is best developed in the more competent (brittle) units of the Lower Road River and Whittaker Formations; graphitic shale in the mid and upper parts of the Road River Formation is less competent and contained veins are poorly developed. For example, at the end of 930 mL the MQV can be seen to dissipate into the middle-Road River shales. As well, the vein does not appear to be well developed in the shales of the Cadillac Formation lying stratigraphically above the Road River Formation.

STK Mineralization
Towards the end of 930 mL at Crosscut 30, a series of narrow (average 0.3 m wide), massive sphalerite-galena-tennantite veins are developed at about 40º to the average trend of the MQV. These sub-vertical veins range in thickness from 0.1 to 0.5 m, have no apparent alteration halo, and are separated from each other by unmineralized dolomite. The veins are locally offset and cut off by fault planes and are difficult to correlate at the present level of information. This style of mineralization is referred to as STK, although it does not represent a true stockwork but rather a series of splays off the MQV. To date, STK-style mineralization has only been located in the immediate area surrounding the exposure in the 930 mL workings and through diamond drilling. There is also evidence that the STK may be exposed on surface towards the northern end of the main zone but is partially obscured by alluvium.

SMS Mineralization
SMS mineralization was discovered by NZC in 1992 while testing the depth extent of the MQV.

Mineralization is generally fine-grained, banded to semi-massive, and comprises massive fine-grained sphalerite, coarsegrained galena and disseminated to massive pyrite. Silver is contained in solid solution within both galena and sphalerite and the SMS mineralization contains no tennantite- tetrahedrite, very little copper, half as much galena, but substantially more iron sulphide/pyrite than typical vein mineralization. Fragments of SMS mineralization occur in vein mineralization indicating that the SMS predates the veins.

The majority of SMS mineralization occurs within the Mottled Dolomite unit of the Whittaker Formation, which the mineralization totally replaces without any significant alteration. SMS sulphides are developed close to both the vein system and the axis of the PCA and are presumably older than the vein mineralization. An apparent thickness of up to 28 m of SMS mineralization has been intersected in MQV drillholes, approximately 200 m below 883 mL.

MVT Mineralization
MVT mineralization found on the Property is comprised of colloform rims of sphalerite, brassy pyrite-marcasite and minor galena, with or without later dolomite infilling. The mineralization appears to occur discontinuously within coarse biohermal reefs of the Root River Formation, and always at approximately the same stratigraphic horizon. It appears to be classic MVT mineralization insofar as it occurs in open cavity-type settings.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

Commodity	Product	Units	Daily	Avg. Annual	LOM
Zinc	Concentrate	kt	....		2,283
Zinc	Payable metal	M lbs		122	2,481
Zinc	Metal in concentrate	M lbs			2,919
Lead	Concentrate	kt	....		1,626
Lead	Payable metal	M lbs		101	2,043
Lead	Metal in concentrate	M lbs			2,151
Silver	Payable metal	koz		2,551	51,866
Silver	Metal in concentrate	koz			62,127
Zinc Equivalent	Payable metal	M lbs		261	5,306

Operational metrics

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Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Jan 31, 2025
.......................	.......................		Oct 15, 2021
.......................	.......................		Oct 15, 2021
.......................	.......................		Jan 31, 2025

Workforce

Total Workforce	Year
......	2021