The Bell Mountain property is located within the Fairview Peak caldera, a small Miocene (~19.2 Ma) volcanic center comprised of a thick sequence of rhyolite-dacite flows, flow domes, and pyroclastic rocks. Epithermal low-sulfidation gold-silver mineralization is hosted by calcite and quartz-calcite veins and stockwork associated with pervasive silicification. Veins and hydrothermal alteration are controlled by east northeast trending near-vertical structures and west-northwest cross structures. The precious metal-bearing minerals are electrum, argentite/acanthite, and native silver. To date, four main bodies of gold-silver mineralization (Varga, Spurr, Sphinx and East Ridge) have been defined by drilling. The larger Spurr and Varga zones are situated along the principal NE structural trend (Varga-Spurr fault), the Sphinx zone is controlled by a WNW cross structure (Sphinx fault). The East Ridge zone is controlled by a NE striking structure. The East Ridge Deposit consists of a single east-northeast trending quartz-calcite vein which dips steeply to the south.

The mining operation is assumed to be a conventional open pit mine, with drill and blast rock breakage and truck and loader materials handling.

The mine production schedule was based on an average of 5,000 tons / day delivered to the crusher and then placed on the heap leach pad as crushed mineralized material. The pits will be mined sequentially beginning at the Spurr pit near the crusher and progressing easterly to the Varga, Sphinx and East Ridge pits. The production schedule was constrained to produce a constant feed of mineralized material to the crusher and conveyor (or truck) loading onto the heap leach pad. Some stockpiling of higher grade material may be required to balance the crusher feed rate.

Based on proximity to surface, average grade and the results from preliminary metallurgical test work the recovery methods anticipated to be most appropriate for the Bell Mountain deposits (Spurr, Varga, Sphinx and East Ridge) would be valley leach, in which multiple lifts of mineralized material are placed on a permanent pad. While the mineralized material has a relatively large silver content (25:1 Ag:Au ratio in some materials), a Merrill-Crowe recovery system might be considered. However, given the much higher Au recoveries (~80%) and the very low Ag recoveries (<15%) carbon adsorption of the precious metals from the leach solution would be suggested for this operation. Heap leaching with carbon adsorption is suggested as the best processing option for all of the mineralized material at Bell Mountain.

Blasted rock is fed to a jaw crusher which will reduce the maximum particle size to 4 inches. Following primary crushing, the mineralized material will be fed to a standard cone crusher for secondary crushing. A 3/4” screen is used to recycle larger material back to the cone crusher to ensure that 80% passes a 3/4” crush size. The crushed mineralized material is placed on the pad with trucks in a 20 ft lift. A dozer will be used to rip the travelled surface prior to applying leach solution to the area. Pregnant leach solution (PLS) is recovered from a collection system at the bottom of the pad and collected in a “Preg Pond”. The PLS is then pumped through a series of activated carbon columns which adsorb the gold- and silver-cyanide complexes from the PLS. Once the carbon is loaded with Au and Ag, the carbon is collected, drained and shipped to a toll refiner who will extract the metals. Fresh carbon is placed in the final carbon adsorption column, and the carbon is advanced from one tank to the next until loaded. The solution from the carbon columns will be “barren” of precious metal content, and will be sent to a barren pond. Make up NaCN is added to the barren pond to maintain a constant cyanide concentration, and the barren solution will be recycled back onto the heap.