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The following is a glossary of terms that appear in the discussion of the Company's business. "adit" A passage driven horizontally into a mountainside providing access to a mineral deposit from the surface of the working of a mine. "Au" Gold. "Australasian Code" The Australasian Code for Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. "autoclav" The equipment used in an oxidation process in which high temperatures and pressures are applied to convert refractory sulphide mineralization into amenable oxide ore. "autogenous grinding" The grinding of ore without the use of media such as steel balls or rods. "back fill" Waste material used to fill and support the void created by mining an ore body. "banded iron formation" A rock formation that shows pronounced banding of iron rich minerals and fine grained quartz. Where mineralized the formation contains sulfide and carbonate mineral. "CIL" A Carbon in leach. CIL is a recovery process in which a slurry of gold ore, carbon granules and cyanide are mixed together. The cyanide dissolves the gold which is then adsorbed on the carbon. The carbon is subsequently separated from the slurry, and the gold removed from the carbon. "classified tailings" Tailings material (sub-economic ground residue from mineral processing operations) which has been processed to remove fine grained solids to promote free drainage of water. Commonly used as underground fill material. "continue" A corporation formed under laws other than the federal laws of Canada may apply to be "continued" under the federal Canada Business Corporations Act (the "CBCA") by applying for a certificate of continuance from the Corporations Directorate. Upon issuance of the certificate, such corporation becomes a corporation to which the CBCA applies as if the corporation had been incorporated under the CBCA. "crushing plant" A plant in which run-of-mine ore is physically reduced in size by mechanical crushing in order to improve the liberation of the gold particles for downstream recovery. "currency" All figures in United States dollars unless otherwise noted. "cut and fill" A method of stoping in which ore is removed in slices, or lifts, and then the excavation is filled with rock or other waste material known as back fill, before the subsequent slice is mined. "cyanidation" The process of extracting gold or silver through dissolution in a weak solution of sodium cyanide. "decline" An underground passageway connecting one or more levels in a mine, providing adequate traction for heavy, self-propelled equipment. Such underground openings are often driven in a downward spiral, much the same as a spiral staircase. "diamond drill" A type of rotary drill in which the cutting is done by abrasion rather than percussion. The cutting bit is set with diamonds and is attached to the end of long hollow rods through which water is pumped to the cutting face. The drill cuts a core of rock which is recovered in long cylindrical sections, an inch or more in diameter. "dilution" Waste material not separated from ore mined which was below the calculated economic cut-off grade of the deposit. Dilution results in increased tonnage mined and reduced overall grade of the ore. "dip" The angle which a geological structure forms with a horizontal surface, measured perpendicular to the strike of the structure. "doré" Unrefined gold and silver in bullion form. "flotation" A process by which some mineral particles are induced to become attached to bubbles and float, and other particles to sink, so that the valuable minerals are concentrated and separated from the host rock. "gangue" Minerals that are sub-economic to recover as ore. "grade" The weight of precious metals in each tonne of ore. "g/t" Grams of gold per metric tonne. "ha" Hectare. "heap leaching" The process of stacking ore in a heap on an impermeable pad and percolating through the ore a solution containing a leaching agent such as cyanide. The gold which leaches from the ore into the solution is recovered from the solution by carbon absorption or precipitation. The solution, after additions of the leaching agent, is then recycled to the heap to effect further leaching. "host rock" The body of rock in which mineralization of economic interest occurs. "HQ" Diamond drilling. "leach" Gold being dissolved in cyanide solution in heap leaching or in tanks in a processing plant (agitated leach, carbon in pulp, carbon in leach). "long hole open stope" A method of mining involving the drilling of holes typically up to 30 meters long into an ore body and then blasting a slice of rock which falls into an open space. The broken ore is extracted and the resulting open chamber is not filled with supporting material. "microns" 0.000001 meters "mill" A plant where ore is crushed and ground to expose metals or minerals of economic value, which then undergo physical and/or chemical treatment to extract the valuable metals or minerals. "millimeters" 0.001 meters "Mine" An excavation in the earth for the purpose of extracting minerals. The excavation may be an open pit on the surface or underground workings. "mineral reserve" That part of a measured or indicated mineral resource which could be economically mined, demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study that includes adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified. A mineral reserve includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined. Mineral reserves are those parts of mineral resources which, after the application of all mining factors, result in an estimated tonnage and grade which, in the opinion of the qualified person(s) making the estimates, is the basis of an economically viable project after taking account of all relevant processing, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environment, socio-economic and government factor. Mineral reserves are inclusive of diluting material that will be mined in conjunction with the mineral reserves and delivered to the treatment plant or equivalent facility. The term "mineral reserve" need not necessarily signify that extraction facilities are in place or operative or that all governmental approvals have been received. It does signify that there are reasonable expectations of such approvals. Mineral reserves are subdivided into proven mineral reserves and probable mineral reserves. Mineral reserves fall under the following categories:
A "Mineral Resource" is a concentration or occurrence of natural, solid, inorganic or fossilized organic material in or on the Earth's crust in such form and quantity and of such a grade or quality that it has reasonable prospects for economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a mineral resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources fall under the following categories:
Rock containing minerals or metals of potential economic interest. "metallurgy" The science of extracting metals from ores by mechanical and chemical processes and preparing them for use. "open-pit mine" An excavation for removing minerals which is open to the surface. "ounce" or "oz" Troy ounce, equal to approximately 31.103 grams. "ore" A natural aggregate of one or more minerals which, at a specified time and place, may be mined and sold at a profit, or from which some part may be profitably separated. "oxide ore" Mineralized rock in which some of the original minerals, usually sulphide, have been oxidized. Oxidation tends to make the ore more porous and permits a more complete permeation of cyanide solutions so that minute particles of gold in the interior of the minerals will be readily dissolved. "oz/t" Troy ounces per short ton. "ramp" An inclined underground tunnel which provides access for mining or a connection between levels of a mine. "RC" Reverse Circulation. "recovery" A term, generally stated as a percentage, used in process metallurgy to indicate the proportion of valuable material obtained in the processing of an ore. "refractory material" Gold mineralized material in which the gold is not amenable to recovery by conventional cyanidation without any pre-treatment. The refractory nature can be either silica or sulphide encapsulation of the gold or the presence of naturally occurring carbon which reduces gold recovery. "run of mine" Pertains to the ore which has been mined but not crushed. "shaft" A vertical or sub-vertical passageway to an underground mine for moving personnel, equipment, supplies and material, including ore and waste rock. "short ton" Equal to 2,000 pounds, equivalent to 0.893 long tons or 907.185 kilograms. "shrinkage stoping" A method of stoping which utilises part of the broken ore as a working platform and as support for the walls. "stope" An underground excavation from which ore is being extracted. "strike" Azimuth of a plane surface aligned at right angles to the dip of the plane used to describe the orientation of stratigraphic units or structures. "sulphide ore" Ore containing a significant quantity of unoxidized sulfides. "tailings" The material that remains after all metals or minerals of economic interest have been removed from ore during milling. "tonne" A metric tonne, 1000 kilograms or 2,204.6 pounds. "waste" Barren rock in a mine, or mineralized material that is too low in grade to be mined and milled at a profit. "winze" A vertical or inclined shaft sunk from a point inside a mine.
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