The Riley deposit is a ferruginous laterite derived from weathering of the underlying Wilson River Ultramafic Complex of western Tasmania. The deposits are sedimentary in nature, most likely derived by the erosion of a once thicker veneer of ferruginous laterite covering Serpentine Ridge. There are three significant iron laterite deposits at Riley Creek, namely Areas A, C and D, covering a combined area of approximately 3km2.

The deposits consist of unconsolidated ferruginous lateritic gravel (pisolites) and cemented laterite. The ore is comprised of a combination of hematite and maghemite. The deposit has an average combined thickness of 1.5m, with some areas reaching up to 4m. The laterite deposits are thickest on the ridges, with Areas A and C the most significant of the three deposits. The resource is estimated to be 2.0M tonnes at an average density of 2.5 t/m3.

The in-situ iron grade of the lateritic gravel ranges from 36% to 64% Fe, and the cemented laterite 46% to 61% Fe.

A complete section through the laterite deposits consists of a surficial layer of lateritic gravel (RLG), underlain by a zone of cemented lateritic gravel (RLC)), then ferruginous clay (RCLY) with a variable amount of dispersed ferruginous gravel, minor lenses of lateritic gravel and locally lenses of quartz-rich sand, then greenish and cream clays and finally serpentinite basement. In some locations ferruginous gravel directly overlies clay or, around the margins o ........

The ore at the Riley deposit is at surface and hence there is no strip ratio. The ore is free dig and will be extracted by excavator in a series of sequential mining panels. Each mining panel will be 25m wide, stretching the length of the resource.

Post completion of forestry activities, the land will be cleared of any remaining trees and debris. An initial mining panel will be cleared with all vegetation windrowed at the base of the cleared area. As mining progresses, the next parallel 25m wide panel will be cleared ready for mining.

The vegetation cleared from the next adjacent mining panel will then be pushed into the previously mined area allowing rehabilitation to commence. Material rejected from the screening plant will be placed back into the previously mined panels negating the need for a rock storage facility.

The depth of excavation is expected to average 1.5 metres, with some pockets up to 4m, so a conventional open pit design is not required.

The mining fleet will consist of 1 x 45t production excavator servicing five 40t trucks.

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