Alteration associated with the Pan deposits is typical of Carlin-style gold systems, and includes silicification, argillization, decalcification, and oxidation. Breccia bodies may be silicified (jasperoid) or argillized and can contain variably altered fragments, including silicified, clay altered, and/or decalcified fragments. The Pilot Shale-Devil’s Gate Limestone contact may be argillized and/or decalcified.

Mineralization at Pan occurs in strongly oxidized rock. Oxidation is prevalent throughout each of the zones with strong development of iron oxides (hematite and limonite). Liesegang banding is formed in the Pilot Shale in association with oxidation. Sulfide minerals have rarely been described in drill logs at Pan, and are not associated with the gold mineralization.

The bulk of the mineralized area contains elevated barite levels, typically above 0.2%. Hydrothermal barite veins are present in the southeast portion of the property in association with the old Cue Ball Barite Mine, briefly worked in the 1970s.

Gold deposits at the Pan Project generally occur as elongate pods in association with structures and solution or hydrothermal breccia bodies hosted by the Pilot Shale and, to a lesser extent, the Devil’s Gate Limestone. Gold deposits also occur as more tabular bodies hosted by altered and mineralized sedimentary horizons. Mineralization occurs along a north-south trend approximately 5,000 feet long and 500 to 1,000 feet wide. Cross sections typical of the North and South Pan zones are shown on Figure 7-4 and Figure 7 5.

North Pan mineralization is predominantly hosted in breccias developed in the moderately folded Pilot Shale along the Branham fault and other structures to the west. Gold mineralization has been identified to depths up to 650 feet, but remains open at depth and to the north under volcanic cover.

The Central Pan zone contains mostly sub-horizontal, tabular mineralization hosted along the Pilot Shale- Devil’s Gate Limestone contact. Mineralization in the Black Stallion and Syncline areas is dominantly hosted in folded and faulted Pilot Shale, but also occurs in Devil’s Gate Limestone. This area of mineralization has potential for expansion with additional drilling.

In South Pan, there are two important ore zones; the South Pan Main zone and the Wendy zone (Figure 7-5). The South Pan Main zone is associated with solution/collapse breccia along or adjacent to the Branham fault zone. It is 100 feet to perhaps 300 feet wide in plan view. The zone is strongly argillized breccias of host rock shale or limestone which have lost most or all of their primary texture. Sporadic or irregular silicification is also present. Mineralization is irregularly distributed in patterns suggestive of en echelon pods.

The Wendy zone is stratiform and straddles the contact between the Pilot Shale and the Devil’s Gate Limestone in the domain to the east of the Branham fault zone. This zone can be up to 300 feet wide perpendicular to bedding and extends down-dip from the surface to as deep as drilling has penetrated the zone at about 700 feet deep. Mineralization generally extends further into the Pilot shale than the Devil’s Gate Limestone, and may be slightly better grade in the Pilot shale as well. The zone is not tabular, but pinches and swells along strike and down-dip. The mineralization is largely associated with moderate to strong argillic alteration but pods of strong silicification are present associated with layer parallel solution/collapse breccias or possibly sandy, more permeable beds. At present, large amounts of altered limestone ore have been mined and occur in the South Pan highwall. Once the trace of the Pilot Shale-Devil’s Gate Limestone contact intercepts the Branham fault, the contact plunges down to the north below the surface. Drilling along this plunging contact has intercepted mineralization well to the north of the current South Pan pit.

Currently, conventional open pit mining methods are implemented at Pan. A contract miner is conducting the mining activities. Ore and waste is drilled and blasted, then loaded into 100-t payload haul trucks with 14-15 LCY bucket capacity wheel loaders. The loading and haulage fleet is supported by track dozers, motor graders, and water trucks. Waste is hauled to waste rock storage facilities near each pit. Ore is currently hauled and placed directly on the heap leach pad.

All mine production equipment is provided by the mining contractor. Equipment on site includes CAT 992G/K loaders and CAT 777 off highway haul trucks. The contractor utilizes two Atlas Copco DM45 drills for blasthole drilling. Presently, there are six haul trucks at the mine, two more will be needed in 2017, and another two will be needed in 2018.

The Pan Project uses a heap leach process to extract gold and silver from ore. The heap leach process extracts gold and silver by placing ore on an impermeable pad and applying a diluted cyanide solution that dissolves a portion of the contained gold and silver, which are then recovered in metallurgical processes.

Current mining operations use a blending process of North pit rock ore and South pit clay ores to alleviate previous permeability issues arising from the placement of high clay content ore on the heap leach pad. An approximate 60% rock ore to 40% clay ore ratio, using ore from both North pit and South pit, is being blended on the heap leach pad to ensure adequate permeability.

The existing leach pad is designed to be a multi-lift pad that will accommodate ore stacked to an ultimate height of 160 ft. Individual lifts are designed to be 15 to 25 ft. The initial pad was designed to hold 9.2 Mt of stacked ore.

Fiore Gold is in the process of construction of an additional 2.2 million square feet of leach pad. This will allow continued stacking and processing of ore for several years. The pad construction was substantially completed as of December 22nd and will be placed in service during January of 2018.

A carbon ADR circuit is used at the Pan Mine to recover the gold from the PLS. The ADR plant recovers and converts the gold to marketable doré bars. The Pan ADR plant was completed in 2015 and is currently in use.

The high-grade pregnant solution contains a maximum gold metal concentration of 0.004 oz/t of solution. The pregnant solution is pumped from the Pregnant Pond to the ADR plant for recovery of the gold from the solution. The PLS flow rate is 3,000 gpm. The carbon adsorption, stripping, and acid washing vessels process 2.0 t of carbon per vessel.

Adsorption of the gold onto activated granular coconut carbon is conducted in a six-stage carbon column circuit. Carbon is advanced through each of the six 4.0 t carbon adsorption columns and contacted with the pregnant solution to maximize the carbon loading; 35 oz Au+Ag per t of carbon. With the gold removed from solution, the now barren solution is pumped back to the heap at 3,000 gpm.

The loaded carbon is transferred from the last adsorption column to an acid wash vessel and rinsed with a weak acid solution to remove calcium carbonate scale. The carbon is then transferred to a 2.0 t stripping vessel to begin the elution process. Elution is conducted at 100 psi and 250°F. Sodium hydroxide will be added to the stripping solution to aid stripping and provide electrolyte for the subsequent electrowinning stage.

At the end of the elution cycle, the stripped carbon is transferred to a kiln where the carbon is regenerated at approximately 1,200°F. The reactivated carbon is then transferred back into the last adsorption column completing the carbon adsorption/desorption cycle.

Recovery of the rich gold eluate solution is conducted in a single electrowinning cell. The rich eluate is heated in a heat exchanger to 185°F and then transferred to the electrowinning cells. The precious metal ions transfer from the solution to the stainless-steel wool cathode at a 1,000-amp induced current between the electrowinning anodes and cathodes with a 9 kW rectifier. The lean eluate solution is then returned to the stripping vessel completing the elution cycle.

The precious metal laden steel wool is cleaned and the resultant sludge is transferred to the mercury retort. Mercury is volatilized at 700°F and then condensed and placed into flasks for storage or transport to market.

The sludge is then transferred to the furnace for smelting. Fluxes are added to collect any additional impurities and the furnace heated to 2,370°F. The liquid gold is then poured into a mold where it cools and separates from the slag. The slag is removed from the gold doré bullion, and is then shipped to the market at 80 to 93% Au/Ag purity.