PROPERTY GEOLOGY
Diamond drilling during the 2018 field season confirmed the Nullagine sub-basin subdivision of the Hardey Formation by Blake (2001). Mineralisation is restricted to a ~200 m sequence of poorlystratified, poorly-sorted, polymictic, pebble-to-boulder ferruginous conglomerate sequence (P4), which is restricted to an area within a few kilometres of Nullagine (Figure 7.4). The underlying sequence (P3) is of similar composition, but generally finer and including sandstone beds and minor tuffs. The overlying sequence was not separated by Blake and resembles the lower sequence (P3). These beds are characterised by a more regular sediment input and range between sandstone to pebble-conglomerates with a number of extensive tuff horizons.

PROPERTY MINERALISATION
Gold mineralisation within the Beatons Creek conglomerates occurs as fine grains, larger flakes, and rounded particles up to several millimetres across, but rarely exceeding 2 mm. Coarse and fine gold is spatially related to higher concentrations of pyrite, and there seems to be a correlation with gold and the ‘buckshot pyrite’ clast size. Coarse gold particles are regularly visible, and fine gold can readily be panned from crushed matrix material with large pyrite concentrations.

Mineralisation is restricted to fluvial type channel conglomerates or marine lag reworked conglomerates and readily recognisable from outcrop and drill core. The wider Beatons Mineralised ........

The gold-bearing conglomerates (mineralised reefs) at the Beatons Creek Project are generally flat lying and have an average thickness of about 1.5m. The mineralised reefs vary in thickness and grade continuity across the mining area. The terrain is undulating with the mineralised reefs daylighting on the flanks of ridges.

Small scale surface and underground mining has been undertaken on the Beatons Creek Project site as early as the late 1800s and more recently some alluvial mining operations have worked the area.

The potential mine development utilises conventional open pit mining methods involving hydraulic excavators, in backhoe configuration, loading trucks. It is assumed that drilling and blasting will be required for the mining of most of the oxide waste and all the fresh mineralised reefs and waste. Dozers are planned to be used to rip oxide waste to assist excavator productivity, push-up mineralised material and push waste to adjacent valley-fill areas.

Plant feed will be trucked to a Mine Ore Pad (MOP) from which it can be road-hauled to the nearby Golden Eagle Mill.

The conceptual mine plan involves the excavation of three types of material:

- Waste material: barren or very low-grade material (<0.5 g/t) that will be hauled to waste dumps outside of the open pit areas or backfilled into excavated open pit voids. Testwork has indicated that 45% of the waste proposed to be mined has been assessed as pot ........

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All mineralised material is hauled to the MOP from where it is road hauled 15 km to the Golden Eagle Mill.

The Golden Eagle Mill was designed for a feed rate of 1.5 Mt/a. Historically, the processing plant has operated well in excess of this rate. However, if the physical properties of the material treated are different from the material previously treated, the processing plant treatment rate may be affected.

The processing plant consists of the following unit operations:
• Single stage crushing with a jaw crusher historically capable of processing approximately 400 t/h followed by a crushed ore stockpile.
• Single stage grinding to 150 µm utilising a SAG mill. The SAG mill is 6.7 m diameter by 5.65 m EGL with a 4,000 kW motor.
• Gravity gold recovery by a centrifugal concentrator and intensive cyanidation leach reactor.
• Leaching in two Leach tanks (two by 890 m3 ) followed by carbon adsorption in 7 carbon-inleach tanks (four by 89 ........