The deposit is classic low-sulfidation, quartz-calcite-adularia veins and stockwork host gold-silver mineralization in association with late-stage andesite dike swarms. The deposit is along a west-northwest striking normal fault on the eastern flank of the volcanic complex.

Marlin has been in production since late 2005, operating as both an open pit and underground mine. Open pit operations ceased in early 2012 as the final, higher-grade portion of the open pit was mined, and the mine is now an underground operation only.

Underground operations employ mechanized cut-and-fill and long hole stoping mining, with underground loading equipment feeding haul trucks that transport the ore to the surface via ramps. Production from underground operations is now roughly 3,200 ore tonnes per day.

Ore is processed in a conventional crushing, grinding and milling circuit. Marlin also has a tailing storage facility, a waste rock storage area and various ancillary installations. Since 2012, a Filter Plant was commissioned to dry the tailings from the mill. The dry tailings are being used to backfill the pit.

Marlin’s cyanide circuit consists of a gravity concentrator and intensive cyanidation reactor, grinding thickener, pregnant solution storage tank, cyanide mixing tank, cyanide storage tank, process water storage tank, six leach tanks, five CCD tanks, cyanide recovery thickener and interconnection pipes. The ground ore is processed in tanks by an agitated leach in a cyanide solution. The resulting product is passed through a CCD system. Gold and silver are recovered from solution by a zinc precipitation/Merrill-Crowe system.