The geology of the property consists of metamorphosed Devonian sedimentary rock overlain by a volcanic and sedimentary sequence of Permian age and remnant scraps of probable Jurassic volcaniclastic units, intruded by Jurassic plutons ranging from diorite to granite in composition and including rhyolitic phases mainly as dikes. Petrographic study suggests simple, single-pulse injections of the intrusions, with late-stage generation/expulsion of felsic phases and contemporaneous concentration of metal-rich fluids.

Mineralization at ATO is probably related to the Jurassic intrusive magmatic rocks as sources of heat, metals, and fluids. The main ATO system is associated with a stratigraphic unit that appears to be localized in a graben or collapse feature that is possibly but not certainly Jurassic in age; any stratigraphy could potentially be prospective for this style of mineralisation. The ATO mineralisation appears to have occurred as a protracted single-stage process in separately upward-flaring pipe-shaped bodies, with temperatures ranging from ~300-350°C at depth to possibly ambient temperature in surficial sinter.

Metal zonation: In a broad sense, metal zoning shows a clear, classic pattern of intrusion-centred copper (plus or minus molybdenum, tungsten, gold, and other elements) outward to country-rock hosted lead, zinc, and silver (plus or minus gold, arsenic, antimony, mercury, and other elements). It is presumed that this lateral zonation also oc ........

The mining method selected for the Project is a conventional open pit operation with rigid body mining trucks, hydraulic excavators, and wheel loaders. The Project consists of two (2) separated mining areas: the ATO and the Mungu Pits. Only open pit mining is considered in this Report; however, the Mungu Pit is open at depth and only a small portion can be mined economically. Therefore, there is an opportunity for the Mungu Pit to be expanded to an underground mine once the open pit reserves are depleted.

The oxide ore will be transported by truck from the pit to the leach pad, and the transition and fresh ore will be transported by truck to either a stockpile or the mill. Waste material will be deposited in waste stockpiles. Ore sent to the mill is a combination of transition and fresh material; however, there is no need for a particular blend of these ores. Marginal ore (above the marginal COG, but below the mining COG) will be mined and processed throughout the LOM to supplement leach pad and mill feeds. The mine will operate year-round, seven (7) days a week, twenty-four (24) hours a day (two 12-hour shifts). 35 days of downtime are considered due to weather delays as well as holidays, for a total of 330 operating days a year.

The mine plan was based on a production rate of 1.2 Mtpa of oxide ore at the leach pad and 2.20 Mtpa of transition and fresh ore at the mill. Mine planning was performed using Hexagon MinePlan Schedule Optimiser (MPSO) module ........

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The Phase 2 Concentrator will consist of collecting the crushed ore beneath the ore storage building, conveying to the concentrator, milling, flotation, and dewatering unit operations to produce saleable concentrates of lead, zinc, and pyrite. Tailings will be disposed of in the new Tailings Storage Facility (TSF).

Lead Concentrate Flotation
Grinding product is combined with process water and reagents and mixed thoroughly. The slurry is conditioned and fed to the lead rougher flotation cells. The circuit consists of six (6) tank cells. The lead rougher flotation concentrate is pumped to the lead regrind circuit to liberate the base metal sulphide minerals present to allow for cleaning and separation. The regrind circuit consists of a tower mill operating in open circuit with a scalping cyclone. The overflow material at a P80 of 17 µm combines with lead rougher regrind mill discharge and is sent to the first lead cleaner flotation stage. Lead rougher flotation tailings a ........