Gold mineralisation at the Project is classified as relatively low-temperature auriferous deposits that share many characteristics with Carlin-type gold deposits. The interpretation of the sediment-hosted gold prospects within the Project area as Carlin-type is based upon the following criteria:

• The character of the sedimentary host;

• The metal association of gold, arsenic, mercury, thallium, sulphur and antimony;

• The fine-grained nature of the gold, high gold-to-silver ratio and alteration types, including argillisation, decarbonisation, and locally, addition of quartz.

Four important mineralised areas have been defined in the Potaj Cuka Tisnica exploration licence, comprising of the Bigar Hill deposit, the Korkan and Korkan West deposits and the Kraku Pester deposit. All four zones share a similarity of mineralisation style, which has been most clearly defined at the Bigar Hill deposit and are associated with a large hydrothermal system that has been identified within the Project.

Gold mineralisation at Bigar Hill is located principally along two stratigraphic horizons, with lesser amounts present along peripheral steeply dipping fracture zones within the clastic rocks and an andesite sill. A lower zone is localised along the unconformable and brecciated lower contact between the clastic S1 and isolated karst-infill zones above the KLS unit. The most continuous horizons lie at shallow stratigraphic levels along the contact between the S1 and S2 units, forming a middle zone. Above this zone, gold mineralisation occurs within the andesite intrusive unit.

Mineralisation at the Korkan deposit is generally southeast-northwest trending and shares similar characteristics with the Bigar Hill deposit. Unlike Bigar Hill, stratiform gold mineralisation at Korkan occurs primarily along the unconformable and breccia-like lower contact zone of the clastic S1 sequence against the underlying KLS limestone unit, and in karst-infill zones at the upper boundary of the KLS limestone unit.

The Korkan West deposit is the newest discovery within the Project. It lies between the Bigar Hill and Korkan deposits, along a northwest trending structural corridor. The Korkan West deposit shares many characteristics with the Bigar Hill deposit, located approximately 1 km to the southeast, and the Korkan deposit located approximately 1 km to the northeast. Almost all mineralised intervals are manifested as oxide and transitional weathering states. Host rocks for gold mineralisation are: (1) oxidised fine to very coarse-grained (0.1 mm to 2 mm) sandstone belonging to the S1 or S2 units; (2) conglomerate layers containing quartzite clasts and/or not limestone clasts (S1 or S2 units). Mineralisation at S2/S1 contact can commonly be observed.

The Kraku Pester deposit is located in an embayment at the north-western tip of the Potaj Cuka monzonite, consisting of a thermal aureole across a variably disrupted stratigraphic sequence of metamorphosed shale, marls and limestone metamorphosed to calc-silicate phyllite and marble, and tuffaceous rocks. Unlike Bigar Hill, gold mineralisation at Kraku Pester is hosted in brittle fault rocks composed of pyritised fault breccia to cataclasite, with relatively higher gold concentrations being associated with finer-grained cataclasite. Gold deposition is interpreted as being relatively late in the geological-structural evolution, post-dating the emplacement of the monzonite.

The PEA study focused on the potential development of the Timok Project, targeting primarily the oxide portions of the deposit with higher gold recoveries. Three distinct pit areas are designed to mine the three deposits: Bigar Hill, Korkan and Korkan West.

These pits are estimated to provide a total of 18.9 million tonnes (Mt) of feed material grading 1.36 g/t Au over a nine-year mine life. These pits are also estimated to produce 49.7 Mt of waste for a delivered strip ratio of 2.63:1 (waste:feed). The feed material is comprised of 15.4 Mt of oxide and transitional material grading 1.18 g/t delivered to a heap leach pad, plus 3.5 Mt of sulphide material grading 2.17 g/t delivered to a small flotation concentrator facility.

Conventional mining practices will be employed in developing the Timok pits. Drilling will use 200 mm rotary blasthole drills. Loading of mill feed and waste will utilise two 13 m3 production loaders and two 6.7 m3 hydraulic excavators. The haulage fleet will peak at 12 rigid body trucks of 63-t capacity. Normal support equipment including track dozers, graders and water trucks will be part of the mine equipment fleet.

The process flowsheet will involve three-stage crushing to produce a product size of 80% passing 12.5 mm. Crushed material will then be trucked to the heap leach pad and stacked in 8 m lifts. The heap will then be irrigated with dilute cyanide solution and gold leached from the stacked material. Leached solution will flow into the pregnant solution pond from where it will be pumped through carbon contactors, whereby the gold will be adsorbed onto activated carbon.

Periodically, the loaded carbon will be sent to elution where the gold will be stripped from the carbon at high temperature and pressure. The pregnant solution will then be sent to electrowinning whereby gold will be plated onto steel wool cathodes. Steel wool will then be harvested, calcined, mixed with fluxes and smelted to produce doré.

During the mining of oxide and transitional material, fresh, gold-bearing sulphide mineralisation will also be mined. The sulphide material will be treated by bulk sulphide flotation to produce a gold-bearing sulphide concentrate, which can subsequently be sold to smelters/roasters for an agreed payable on gold metal content.