Romero is located on the south side of the Central Cordillera of Hispaniola and is hosted by the Cretaceous-age Tireo Formation volcanic rocks and limestones, which formed in an island arc environment. The deposit geology is a relatively flat lying sequence of intercalated subaqueous, intermediate to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks and limestones on the west side of thick rhyolite flows or domes. Mineralization is relatively stratabound and flat lying and is mainly hosted by a dacite breccia tuff.

Mineralization outcrops in a number of places were eroded by rivers and streams, and continuity under barren cap rock has been demonstrated by drilling. Hydrothermal alteration and gold mineralization can be traced for over 2,200 m from Romero to Romero South and beyond to the south.

The thickness of the altered dacite tuff breccia horizon is up to about 65 m at Romero South and up to more than 200 m (open) at Hondo Valle and Romero. The mineralized horizon is capped by limestone or dacite to andesite lavas.

Mineralization is intermediate sulphidation epithermal in style. The mineralization is associated with quartz-pyrite, quartz-illite-pyrite and illite-chlorite-pyrite alteration. Alteration is generally strongest in the upper part of the mineralized zone and decreases in intensity with depth. Gold mineralization is associated with disseminated to semi-massive sulphides, sulphide veinlets and quartz-sulphides. The sulphides comprise pyri ........

Two mining methods are proposed for the Romero deposit, sub-level long hole (LH) stoping and mechanized cut and fill (MCF). A combination of paste backfill and develop waste rock fill will be used in mining sequence. LH stoping will be used in areas of complete ground strength and generally thick Mineral Resources. MCF will be utilized in the areas of pour ground conditions and/or thin Mineral Resources which does not warrant LH stoping.

Long hole (LH) stoping provides high productivity at low cost from a small number working faces. All stopes will be fixed with a mixture of paste fill and/or development waste.

Geotechnical design have determined stope sizes of 30 m along strike, with widths up to 15 m wide and sub-level intervals of 20 m. Stope extraction sequencing is planned to be in a primary-secondary fashion with the lower stopes leading the stopes above. Primary and secondary stopes are sized equally at 15 m wide. After the primary stopes are mined, they will be filled with cemented paste backfill of adequate strength to allow exposure of 20 m high x 30 m long fill wall adjacent to the secondary stopes that will be mined alongside. Two lifts of primary stopes will be mined before the first secondary stopes are started to allow the drilling drifts to be reused as mucking drifts for the next sub-level above and to minimize the stoping span.

LH stopes will be developed by driving a central ore drift up to a mineralization thickness to a m ........

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