The Richmond-Julia Creek project mineralisation is located within marine sediments of the Early Cretaceous Toolebuc Formation, a stratigraphic unit that occurs throughout the Eromanga Basin in central-northern Queensland.

The Eromanga Basin is a sub-basin of the Great Artesian Basin and consists of a number of thick sequences of non-marine and marine sedimentary units. The Toolebuc is part of the Rolling Downs Group of the Eromanga Basin that covers a wide but relatively shallow structural depression in eastern Australia, covering 1.5 million km2. The basin was developed as a major downward warpon a basement of Proterozoic to Palaeozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks during the Jurassic to Cretaceous Periods.

The Toolebuc Formation is a flat lying early Cretaceous (Albian ~ 100My) sediment that consists predominantly of black carbonaceous and bituminous shale and minor siltstone, with limestone lenses and coquinites (mixed limestone and clays). It is composed of two distinct units representing two different facies: an upper coarse limestone-rich-clay-oil shale unit (coquina) and a lower fine-grained carbonate-clay-oil shale unit.

The Toolebuc Formation outcrops only at the margins of the Eromanga and Carpentaria basins, except at Julia Creek where it is draped over an interpreted original basement high and has been structurally brought to the surface. Where the unit outcrops it forms low, rubbly, subtle topographic highs which have been the source of road building materials in many areas.

The limestone within the Toolebuc Formation has an abundant fossil assemblage which has been extensively studied. Two main faunal assemblages have been recognised, corresponding to the upper coquina facies (shelly limestone and clay) and a lower fine-grained carbonate shale facies. The organic matter in the fresh shale is predominantly lamellar and referred to by Hutton et al (1980) as ‘lamosite’ (lamellar oil shale). The organic compounds are described as Alginite B in order to distinguish them from the more generally recognised Alginite A, in which clear evidence of algal morphology can be observed. Alginite B comprises elongate anastomosing films derived from benthonic algae that are attributable to the Cyanophyceae genera of blue-green algae (Ozimic, 1986).

High magnification scanning electron microscopy reveals the oil shale contains abundant micro fossils, dominated by small planktonic foraminifera and coccoliths (algal plates) believed to be derived from Cyanophta / blue- green algae. Average grain size of the lower oil shale calcareous nanofossils and clays are less than 5-7 microns. The blue-green algae are interpreted to have formed extensive algal mats on the sea floor. The preservation of dead algal matter can be related to an oxidising-reducing boundary probably situated immediately below the base of the living algal mat layer and keeping pace with its upward growth. The clays and kerogen are derived from planktonic algae and blue- green benthonic algae with the calcite representing the inorganic component of the organisms.

Lilyvale is largely a sub-horizontal deposit between 7730000N and 7739000N; and from 680500E to 696700E. It has a roughly WNW-ESE strike. The Indicated resource is roughly 6km x 6km in areal extent. Deposit thickness is defined by V2O5 cut-off; at a 0.30% cutoff Lilyvale averages about 10m in thickness.

A mining contractor will be engaged to conduct the mining activities with technical and managerial oversight provided by RVT. Mining will utilise conventional open cut methods which shall be 100% free dig of the ore and waste. No drill and blast is required due to the shallow nature of the oxide pit extending typically to an average depth of between 15 and 25m, and to a maximum depth of 31m.

Pre-strip of waste overburden shall be carried out by 200 tonne excavators and 180 tonne trucks, with the waste typically backfilled behind the advancing pit.

Ore mining at the base of the pit shall be undertaken by a 360 tonne excavator into a mobile in-pit sizer/lump breaker, with the ore picked up by a 100 tonne Front End Loader (FEL) and loaded in 180 tonne trucks to the surface concentrator.

Total movement from the LOM pit is 951.7Mt of rock at a strip ratio of 1.07.

Open pit mine designs have been completed, including a Life of Mine (LOM) pit and starter pit designs. The build-up of the mining costs is based on an initial pre-strip of the ore allowing the free dig mining of the ore body using a bucket excavator similar to PC3600 feeding a mobile in-pit sizer/lump breaker which loads CAT 789 haul packs using CAT992 FELs or similar. The pre-strip material will be cleared using EX1900 or similar excavators direct loaded into CAT 789 Haul packs hauled to an initial course waste dump. Once the pit has been established and the set out of the work allows coarse waste will be backfilled. The mined ore will be hauled to a ROM stockpile and loaded into the FEL loaded feed hopper of the screening plant. The mining fleet included standard ancillary machinery - grader, dozer and water cart.

A two-step process has been determined to concentrate the V2O5 to a commercial grade product. In the first stage, the pentoxide will be upgraded from a mined grade of 0.49% V2O5 to a shipping grade of approximately 1.82% V2O5 concentrate. The second stage involves extraction via refining to produce V2O5 flake.

The first stage (concentration) is to be based on site. Ore mined from the pit shall be transported to the concentrator and dumped into a hopper and an ABON sizer to break up any clods of material. From the hoppers, the ore will drop through vibrating screens and water added to make a slurry for ease of screening of 90% passing 150 microns. The ore is sent to flotation tanks, where froth from the final tank is sent to the tailings thickener and slurry concentrate to the concentrate thickener, with underflow generating 55% solids. The thickened concentrate will then be filtered via vacuum filters and to produce a filter cake ready for storage on a radial stacker prior t ........