Vatukoula Gold Mines

Vatukoula

Description

The Vatukoula Gold Mine is an underground mine with an operational history of over 70 years. The Company holds a 100% equity interest in the Mine.

Areas of operations - Fiji

The Mine is located in Fiji, an island group in the South Pacific Ocean. Fiji comprises two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with many smaller surrounding Islands. The Mine is located in the northern part of the island of Viti Levu within the Tavua Basin, situated within the Tavua volcano. The Mine is located in the Vatukoula village, a 90 minute drive from Nadi International Airport.

About the Mine

The Mine is a long established underground gold mine. There are a total of nine shafts in the Mine, but only four are being used other than for ventilation; the Smith & Phillip Shaft for hoisting ore, the Cayzer Shaft for men and materials and a Decline Shaft for access for the rubber tyred mine fleet.

Mine Infrastructure

Infrastructure at the Vatukoula Gold Mine includes assay labs, an independent power station, workshops and administrative offices.

Processing Plant - At the Mine site there is a seven hundred thousand tonne per annum processing facility, which includes crushing, grinding, flotation, roaster, CIP and tailings dams.

Undergound Mining fleet - Equipment at the Mine includes several Toro loaders, Toro load-haul-dump vehicles, support trucks and other associated equipment.

Reserves and resources

The Competent Person's Report assigned mineral reserves and resources to the Vatukoula Mine as follows:

Mine geology and Mineralisation

The Mine is hosted within basaltic rocks of the Tavua Volcano, except for the R1 area which is hosted in the younger Turtle Pool Formation. Mineralization is hosted within quartz carbonate veins and is typically seen as flatmakes, steep shears and shatter zones. Flatmakes are shallow to moderate dipping mineralised fractures, steep shears have a dip of greater than 45 degrees and shatter zones are zones of intersection between one or more flatmakes with two or more major faults or faulted dykes. The main ore bodies are the Prince/Dolphin flatmake, Matanagata flatmake, 2000N flatmake and 166N flatmake. In addition to flatmake mineralization there is the R1 area and Steep Structures that relate to the flatmakes.

Mining Methodology

The mining operations use conventional labour intensive stoping methods together with trackless ground handling and haulage followed by skip hoisting via the vertical shafts. Stoping will be a mixture of Long Wall Breast, Shrinkage and Cut and Fill.

Exploration

As part of the development at Vatukoula the Company is carrying out substantial near-mine and development exploration. This will initially focus on mineralisation along strike and down dip of existing ore bodies; once this has been completed exploration will begin on other targets close to current operations. There is also exploration potential at two localities around the caldera, the Nasomo magnetic target and the Waikatakata area. The Competent Person Report indicates significant further upside with regard to potential additional resources.

Leases and other rights

The Mine operates within three mining leases which cover a total area of 1,254.91 hectares with the associated Special Site Rights (which respectively confer certain access rights, rights to draw water and the right to maintain tailings) and Special Prospecting Licences (which give rights to explore areas outside of the mining leases).

Operating history of the Vatukoula Gold Mine

The Vatukoula Mine first commenced production in 1933 and has produced some seven million ounces of gold and over two million ounces of silver from the treatment of around 22,500,000 tonnes of ore. The table below shows historic production from the Mine for the period 1996 to 2006 - when production was halted.