The Lefa gold mine lies within the Siguiri Basin, part of the Paleoproterozoic Birimian terrain of the West African Craton. Host lithologies are typically Paleoproterozoic (2.2-2.1 Ga) volcanosedimentary greenstone belts, metamorphosed to greenschist facies (or higher) and intruded by felsic plutons. Deformation is associated with a system of NE-SW trending crustal-scale ductile shear zones, related to the Eburnean orogeny, a protracted series of orogenic events spanning 2.2-2.0 Ga. These deformation zones are considered fundamental to the development of gold mineralisation.

Localised finely-laminated white and pale yellow limestones occur towards the north of the licence. Three post-Birimian sedimentary packages occur within the Lefa area, namely:
- Neoproterozoic fluvial and shallow marine sandstones;
- Eocene paleo-valley fill loosely consolidated sandstones; and
- post Post-Eocene transported colluvium.

Intrusive lithologies within the basin consist of basic to intermediate sheet intrusives and the Maléa intrusion. Two sets of dykes are identified, corresponding to a swarm which exhibits trends of circa 105-285° and 055-235°. In addition to the dykes, the basin is also intruded by numerous dolerite sills ranging from a few metres to tens of metres in thickness.

Mineralisation at Lefa is hosted within the “Lefa Corridor”, which lies within the Siguiri Basin. This is a zone which is some 10 km wide, underlain by an upper clay rich formation and a lower coarser arkosic layer, with gold occurrences more common in the latter. Apart from younger dolerites and sandstones, there is virtually no fresh outcrop. Often, the stratigraphy is affected by folding which is observed within the pits. Host lithologies for the mineralisation are typically a mixture of sandstones to finer grained mudstones and claystones. Bedding is moderately to steeply dipping and deformation is dominated by discrete faults. The entire stratigraphy has been intruded by massive dolerite dykes and sills, which typically form prominent hills and bluffs. These intrusions are typically thin (<1 m to >10 m) and tend to be fresh dolerites.

Mineralisation typically occurs in more permeable, altered, coarser grained sediments, within and adjacent to structures and fracture zones. Mineralisation is localised by a combination of lithological and structural controls, and as such, the dip and strike of mineralised zones, and to a lesser extent the style of mineralisation, varies considerably between individual deposits. Gold is often associated with stockwork and sheeted quartz-carbonate sulphide veining, stockworks of albite-carbonate-sulphide veinlets, or as sulphide rich haematitic breccias.

Pyrite is the dominant sulphide species. Gold is largely developed within fractures in pyrite grains, associated with quartz carbonate veining (± sulphides), and albite-carbonate-sulphide veinlets. The degree of sulphidation and silicification can vary. Traces of other sulphides, principally chalcopyrite, galena, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, bornite, tennantite, linneite and mackinauwite are present as vein, fracture fill and localised disseminations. Gold grains are rarely larger than 50 µm and is non-refractory. The typical alteration assemblage is albite, quartz, carbonate, pyrite, chlorite, and graphite. Albitisation is known to develop on the contact of faults in the coarser grained sediments but not in finer sediments, due to the reduced permeability.

Deformation and metamorphism appear to have been substantially more subdued within the Lefa Corridor when compared with other West African Birimian terrains. Within the Corridor, the basement stratigraphy is typically sub-horizontal, and fault offsets are rare. Primary mineral assemblages reflect low-grade regional metamorphism and are characterised by broad monoclinal folding.

Extensive weathering and lateritisation has occurred across the project area. Both transported and residual laterites, which can be up to 15 m thick can host gold mineralisation. The base of oxidation extends to over 100 m below surface and may be locally deeper in zones of fracturing and brecciation. The width and grade of primary mineralised zones appear to be little different from their equivalents within the saprolite profile.

The Lefa gold mine operates a typical modern open pit operation with drilling and blasting followed by load and haul allowing for selective mining of the ore. The material lithologies are divided into four main categories Saprolite, Laterite, Transition and Fresh. Saprolite and Laterite are also referred to in combination as oxide material. SMD has taken over the ownership and operation of the mining fleet as well as undertaking the mine planning, scheduling, grade control, surveying and quality control.

The current fleet capacity is sufficient, with only rebuilding and some replacement capital necessary over the remaining period of the Base Case LoMp to Q1 2030.

Current mining operations at Lefa are focused on various open pits. Total planned mining production, as per the Base Case schedule, from 2021 onwards is approximately 36 Mtpa going down to 28 Mtpa from 2025 to 2028 after which it tapers down to the end of the LoM in 2031.

The Company has commenced studies relating to underground mining beneath the main Lero-Karta open pit.

Open Pit Geotechnical Considerations
The Lefa gold mining complex in Guinea is formed of a number of open pits of varying degrees of maturity. The largest open pit is the Lero-Karta-Camp de Base operation which is the main source of ore and mines both oxide and fresh material. The Fayalala, Banko, Kankarta and Firifirini open pits also mine oxide and transition/fresh material while the remaining open pits mine oxide only. The oxide pits vary in size but are generally small.

A characteristic of the sandstone and siltstone protoliths is that relics of the rock fabric, bedding and jointing are typically retained in the regolith. The saprolite and transitional zone rocks may thus have anisotropic strength. In very weak siltstone and sandstone saprolite the very low shear strength of the intact material approaches that of the relic defects and it may be appropriate to assume isotropic mass-strength. In general, the fresh rock within the pits can be considered Fair to Good with slope design and performance controlled by structural related instability rather than rock mass failure.

Development of structural, lithological, rock mass and hydrogeological models will enable a more robust geotechnical model to be developed. Whilst large scale geotechnical data collection is not necessary at every pit, a more thorough understanding of the saprolite strength and the effects of transient pore pressure are required to ensure robust slope designs are implemented.

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The Lefa process plant treats non-refractory oxidised saprolite and transitional and fresh saprock hosted gold ore through a conventional carbon-in-pulp (“CIP”) circuit, producing doré on site.

The plant is a second hand facility that was relocated from Indonesia. It commenced production at Lefa in 2007. The plant was expected to have a capacity of 6 Mtpa for an ore blend consisting of 25% Oxide and 75% Fresh rock, or up to 7.2 Mtpa for a more typical ore blend of 40% Oxide and 60% Fresh rock.

Cyanidation
The cyanidation circuit consists of 12 tanks. The tanks are all of the same diameter; however, they decrease in height down the train, giving volumes ranging from 4200 m3 in the first tank to 3000 m3 in the last. The circuit has a residence time of 24 hours at 6 Mtpa. The circuit is operated in CIP format, with the first six tanks for leaching and the last six for adsorption, although in order to improve carbon gold loadings carbon can be directed into tank ........