Vertex Minerals

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Reward Gold Mine

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Taylor Rock Project – WA

Hill End & Hargraves – NSW

PRIDE OF ELVIRE PROJECT – WA

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Vertex Minerals Limited

The current area of interest within the Reward deposit is 720 m long and has a vertical extent of 200 m.  The area is characterized by a narrow multiple high grade parallel ore lenses, demonstrating a dip that ranges from vertical to 75 degrees.

Considering the current underground and surface infrastructures at the Reward mine, along with the ore body geometry, a conventional mechanised longhole open stoping method is being used for ore extraction.  This method  provides improved safety and efficiency for the extraction.  To facilitate the preparation of the area for longhole stoping.

Access to the ore body will be maintained through the 640RL Adit.  The proposed extraction levels are designed to align with the existing development intervals, with a floor-to-floor level interval ranging from 10m to 20m.  All new development will adopt a <2.5mH x <2.5mW drive profile.  The development work will be conducted using the Single Boom Jumbos.

The primary ventilation and the secondary means of egress will be facilitated through the Reward shaft, which has already linked to all existing levels.  Below the 640RL, additional ventilation infrastructures has been installed to  connect with the primary ventilation circuit. Working areas will receive secondary ventilation through the deployment of axial fans.

The new development will adopt a 2.5m x 2.5m drive profile, allowing access to both upper and extended lower levels up to resource boundaries.  The new development includes a minimum turning radius of 20m and gradients ranging from 1:7 to -1:7.  

The main eastern incline will provide access to most upper levels, while the central incline from the 640RL will connect to the 660RL and 675RL.

The typical production level layout will include level access, sump, level stockpile, and ore drive.  The strike of ore drives follows a south - north direction, aligning with the orientation of narrow ore lenses.  The production level interval is predominantly based on the existing level development, ranging between 10m and 20m (floor to floor).  The newly created levels have implemented with a 15m floor-to-floor level interval.

The proposed strategy employs a bottom-up stoping sequence, initiating mining activities from the lowermost levels at 615RL and progressively advancing upward in the northern end.  Due to a single access design strategy, concurrent activities will be limited in these mining levels.  However, multiple stoping fronts will become available once the upper-level developments are established, offering independent stoping fronts.

The selection of this stoping methodology and sequence maximises resource extraction and is the main reason that stoping has not  commenced until Month 12 in the LOM schedule.  Significant rehabilitation has needed to be undertaken in the declines to get to the lower levels.

The selection of processing method follows the historical processing plant design which reported gold recoveries in excess of 95%, utilising a simple crush, grind, coarse and fine gravity separation circuit.

A review of historical test work indicated that the gold can be classified as predominantly free gold and liberates well at a target P

 grind size of 670 µm . The ore is hard but fails in a columnar and shear fashion and will be moderately abrasive.

Reward Gold Mine ore sorts perfectly, with 79% mass reduction & 337.20% increase in grade in the 8mm to 50mm range.

Benefits of the Gravity only plant and the Ore Sorter on Reward Ore

• Only requires 2 operators- thus much lower operating costs

• Full monitoring, including  density, flows, mass and sampling

• Sorter doubles grade , reduces throughput by 50%, plant only needs to operate 50%

• Provides backfill to the underground workings

The Reward deposit, trial mined in 2010, is accessed through the Amalgamated Adit at the 640RL.  The primary horizontal development profile is approximately 2.4mH x 2.4mW.  The 640RL Level continues on the strike of the lodes for approximately 1.1km and intersects the area of the Reward mineral resource.

Three separate declines originating from the 640RL were established to access the lower section of the ore body, currently stopping at 610RL.  Above the 640RL, ore body access is facilitated through the Reward raise bored shaft, where level development occurs at distinct intervals ranging from 10m to 20m along the ore body's strike.  Mining has already taken place on some sections of the ore body at these levels.  Most of the existing underground development infrastructure is in reasonable condition and strategically positioned to offer a cost-effective means of accessing the existing Reward ore body.

Both remote and conventional bogging methods will be employed to extract blasted ore from the stopes, directing it to the level stockpile.  

The preferred LHD unit is the Aramine L350D  loader fitted with and aftermarket RCT tele-remote control system.

Stope extraction will follow a bottom-up sequence retreating along the strike, commencing from the extremities of each level.  The proposed method assumes the immediate filling of all stopes with waste rock after extraction.  The backfill waste will be sourced from either underground waste development or the Ore Sorter waste stockpile.  To ensure stability, a minimum of 5m rib pillar was located between the stopes. 

The production drilling will be conducted using a Muki Production Rig. Stopes will be initiated through a conventional slot, predominantly utilising a single lift

Haulage will be undertaken by two Bird underground trucks

Vertex presently owns a Bird SDT10 - DL6AC 10 tonne truck, which is operational and on site.  This is has been fully refurbished and is a quite rugged machine manufactured in South Africa.  A second Bird will augment the  existing truck.