Measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resources for the Tropicana deposit currently total 75.3 million mt at a grade of 2.07 g/mt, with 5 million oz of contained gold identified within a $1,000/oz optimization shell. Gold production during the first five years of operation is forecast at 420,000 to 430,000 oz/y. Underground mining may be viable for exploiting material under the open-pit; however, no underground material was included in the prefeasibility resource.

The Tropicana deposit comprises two known mineralized zones. Both are broadly stratiform, with the favorable host sequences and gold mineralization dipping approximately 30° east to southeast. Mineralization has been mainly tested to a vertical depth of 250 to 300 m.

Based on the current resource estimate, the open-pit mine is expected to produce 56 million mt of plant feed and 356 million mt of waste, for a 6.2:1 waste-to-ore ratio. Mining will be by conventional open-pit drill-and-blast methods, using trucks and excavators. A flowsheet that includes highpressure grinding rolls and ball milling to 80% passing 75 microns followed by a carbon- in-leach circuit is currently recommended. Gold recovery is projected at 92%.

The Tropicana area is characterized by a lack of infrastructure, and project development will require substantial investment in 220 km of access roads, communications, power, water supply (located 50 km from proposed plant site), accommodation village, and air field. Providing approvals are obtained by June 2010, it is anticipated that project commissioning could occur in early 2013.