Three major mineralisation styles are present: auriferous, pyrite-rich greisenous zones such as those at Dargues Reef, Exeter Farm and Scotsmans Gully; gold–base metal-rich veins/lodes, including those adjacent to the Majors Creek village; and those deposits which have both greisen- and vein-type mineralisation, including those in the Snobs mine area, which takes in Snobs Reef (Snobs Lode–Stewart & Mertons–United Miners zone) and The Creek prospect.

Underground development would commence with development of the decline. Underground mining of ore material would be undertaken using a sublevel open stoping mining method.

During mining operations, a number of development drives would be established at intervals within the ore zone. A series of holes would then be drilled from each drive and would then be sequentially loaded with explosives and the ore material blasted. The fragmented material would then be removed from the stope or open void using an underground loader, operated remotely where required, and loaded into haul trucks for transportation to the ROM pad. Between stopes, pillars (vertical) and sills (horizontal) unmined material is left to provide support and prevent ground collapse.

In order to ensure stability of sections of the proposed underground mine once mining operations have been completed in those sections, mined-out stopes would be backfilled using waste rock material sourced preferentially from concurrent underground development, with additional waste rock material transported from the surface, as required.

Ore material will be processed within the processing plant to produce a combination of gold dorè, a gold and silver bearing sulphide concentrate and tailings material.

Ore material will be fed into a ROM bin from where it will pass to a three-stage crushing and screening circuit. Product screen undersize material (nominal <12 mm) will be transferred to an enclosed fine ore bin. Material from the fine ore bin will be reclaimed using one or more feeders. Reclaimed material will be directed to a primary ball mill for grinding.

The ground ore will be directed to a rougher flotation circuit where rougher flotation concentrate and tail streams are separated by the addition of flotation reagents and low pressure air. The rougher concentrate will be directed to the re-grind circuit whilst the rougher tail will be dewatered via a thickener prior to transfer to the tailings storage facility.

Rougher concentrate will be ground within a re-grind ball milling circui ........