The Okvau Deposit is largely hosted in a Cretaceous diorite intrusion emplaced within an upper Triassic metasedimentary host rock package. Gold mineralisation is contained in a north-east trending fracture set in a narrow off-shoot or apophyses from a larger diorite intrusion however extends beyond the diorite contact into the metasediments.

The Okvau deposit is interpreted as an “intrusion-related gold system”. It is hosted mostly in Cretaceous age diorite and, to a lesser extent, in surrounding hornfels (metamorphosed, fine-grained clastic sediments). Gold mineralization is hosted within a complex array of sulphide veins, which strike northeast to east-west, and dip at shallow to moderately steep angles, to the south and southeast. Mineralisation is structurally controlled and mostly confined to the diorite. The highest grade intersections generally occur at the diorite-hornfels contact.

Gold mineralisation is concentrated along a network of brittle/ductile shears and arsenopyrite-rich sulphide veins. The mineralized shears typically comprise 10 to 50 metre wide core of strongly altered, fractured, and/or sheared rock locally with a weak planar fabric, surrounded by 0.5 to 2 metre wide less intensely altered halos which retain relict diorite texture. Variably deformed pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite and/or pyrite-rich layers up to 10 metres wide also commonly occur in the core of the shears.

The greater width of the alteration haloes around the she ........

The Okvau Deposit will be mined via conventional open pit mining methods from a single pit which will be mined in stages to maintain a relatively constant mining rate whilst providing adequate ore for processing at consistent ore grades. Mining will be undertaken by drilling and blasting ore and waste with load and haul using mining contractors. The proposed core mining fleet is made up of 120 tonne class excavators and 91 tonne class mine haul trucks.

The final pit design was prepared to enable practical and efficient access to each bench and took into consideration the geotechnical design criteria. The final pit design has approximate dimensions of 650 metres by 600 metres to a maximum depth of 350 metres.

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