The Iron Ridge is a northwest trending Archaean aged granite greenstone terrain of the Yilgarn Craton. It is a marked physiographic feature, 3-5km wide, 40km long, within which there is good exposure of metabasalts showing mainly doleritic and minor basaltic and gabbroic textures. Such exposures occur between ridges defined by weathered, steeply dipping beds of banded iron-formation which form less than 10% of the thickness of the sequence.

The Iron Ridge Project contains one main BIF horizon which exhibits significant iron enrichment in two locations (Wilgie Mia and Little Wilgie Mia). The mineralisation comprises a mixture of banded hematite (specular and earthy, goethite and shaly limonite iron ore. It has been documented that the primary ore mineral is martite. The ore lenses have formed by remobilization of iron and replacement of jaspilites (BIF) during deep-seated thermal metamorphism. Subsequent supergene oxidation, leaching and hydration of the iron ore has resulted in the formation of goethite and the concentration of secondary hematite (occasionally in the form of red ochre).

Three parallel to sub-parallel ranges of BIF occur on the tenement. The Main BIF (mapped as hematite) is approximately 50m wide, with much thinner (several metres) BIF ridges to the south (designated Little BIF 1 and 2 respectively). Little BIF 1 and 2 are defined by discontinuous goethitic outcrops at a lower elevation than the Main BIF.

All major equipment has been assumed to be supplied by the contractors as per their scope of work.

The Resource model which formed the basis for estimation of the Ore Reserve was used in an open pit optimisation process using industry-standard Whittle software to produce a range of pit shells using operating costs and other inputs derived from all the mentioned studies. Mining and processing costs input to the pit optimisation were built up using commercial quotations received from experienced contractors. The resultant optimal pit shells were then used as a basis for detailed pit and stage designs.

The mining method selected is open cut with conventional drilling and blasting and commonly used excavator and truck fleets. The open pit mine will be developed using a two-stage pit design, which was completed to a Feasibility study standard. Ramps are designed at 1 in 9 gradient, 24m wide except for lower pit levels where the ramps are designed at 12m wide.

The Ore Reserves are the Indicated resources above the nominated Fe cut-off grade and within the final pit design.

Inferred Resources comprise less than 3% of the total Mineral Resources contained within the final pit design. Inferred Resources are excluded from Ore Reserves estimates. The project does not rely on Inferred resources to produce a positive economic outcome.

The mine will consist of a single open pit operation using conventional excavator-truck mining fleet, adopting 10m benches and mining these benches in 3 flitches. Ore and waste will be hauled to the ROM pad and waste dump respectively by a fleet of 100 tonne haul trucks. Drill and blast will be conducted using a top hammer drill rig and ANFO or heavy ANFO explosives.

The processing of ore is a simple task given its high Fe and low impurity in-situ values. No beneficiation is required and there is no waste stream generated during the process.

The designed processing plant is mobile and modular and consists of a two-stage crushing circuit (primary and secondary crushing) and a multi-deck screen to separate the lump and fines product into distinct stockpiles for road transport to the port of Geraldton, where the ore will be stockpiled in an existing iron ore handling facility, before being loaded via an existing ship loader into ocean-going vessels for delivery to the customers - mainly Asian steelmakers.