The mineralisation observed at surface and in the drill core along the trend of the Alpala deposit is considered as a classic porphyry Cu-Au system and exploration has been guided with this as the primary target. Exploration is also assessing the potential for surrounding economic porphyry deposits within a 1 to 2 km radius of the Alpala deposit, as well as the potential for discovery of epithermal and skarn deposits peripheral to these porphyry systems throughout the Cascabel Project area.

These mineralised systems are hosted within a linear belt (Andean Porphyry Belt) that extends from southern Chile right through to Ecuador and Colombia to Panama. The Andean Porphyry Belt is host to the largest concentrations of Cu in the world, including numerous deposits that are in active mining operations.

Major host rock types of the Alpala deposit consist of gabbroic and basaltic basement rocks, overlain by Cretaceous siltstones and minor sandstones that are unconformably overlain by a sequence of Tertiary volcanosedimentary and andesitic lavas. The volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences that host the deposit were previously mapped as the Macuchi Unit (Vallejo., 2007), a volcanic arc of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline composition which was formed on oceanic crust during the Eocene.

Drilling has defined a northwest trending, steeply northeast dipping corridor known as the Greater Alpala Trend. This trend is centred upon a syn-mineralisation causal qua ........

The mine plan uses the block cave mining method which is considered to be the appropriate method due to the size, grade, ground conditions and depth of the Alpala deposit. High level studies have highlighted some areas of the deposit that may be mined using other bulk underground methods, such as sublevel caving, but that these are small and not material to the plan at this early stage of study.

The mine plan considered in this Pre-Feasibility directly relates to the first 30 years of production. In this plan, the highest value material is targeted. Column heights are up to 700 m and a relatively even draw across each footprint ensures even cave propagation.

This approach is in line with SolGold’s corporate strategy which is to maximise extraction of the Alpala deposit while still optimising the economics of the project. Targeting the high value material in the first phase ensures and optimises the project economics. Mining the lower value second phase later maximises extraction without compromising the economics of the project.

The main lateral mine access needs to be suitable for personnel and material movement and also accommodate the Material Handling System (MHS). A secondary function of the development will be to provide ventilation flow.

The lateral access design for Cascabel includes twin declines running parallel to each other developed from a boxcut at the surface. The declines are 50 m from centreline to centreline and b ........

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