Large scale mining projects follow a defined process from exploration to mining. Exploration begins regionally to generate targets, then progresses to more localized surveys, mapping, sampling and geophysics to define drill targets. Drilling aims to discover mineral deposits, with successful targets undergoing resource definition and feasibility studies. If studies demonstrate viability, mining and production can begin for decades, providing revenue and jobs. Large scale mines are regulated and planned to operate sustainably, in contrast to artisanal mining which can lack oversight and rehabilitation.

1. Large Scale Mining and the Project Cycle
MCRB ASM Workshop
9 – 10 March 2019

2. PAGE 1
1. Introduction
• IIMDA / Valentis / GL
• Myanmar Mineral Exploration and Mining
2. The Pathway from Exploration to Mining
3. The Exploration Process and Timeframe
• Target Generation and Mapping
• Regional Surveys - Geochemical and Geophysical
4. Concession Reduction
5. Mineral Resource Discovery and Definition
• Trenching and drilling
• Modelling and Mine Planning
6. Large Scale Mining
• The Mining timeframe – prospecting to feasibility
• Large Scale Mining
• Large versus small scale mining – comparison
7. Closing
PRESENTATION OUTLINE

3. PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION – IIMDA and VALENTIS
Valentis
Valentis is an Australian and Myanmar led exploration,
mining services and advisory group in Myanmar.
Established in 2014, Valentis has grown to over 60 full
time employees. The company offers turn-key project
services in mineral exploration, geophysics, mine
development, geotechnical and environmental
management at an international standard.
Through our strategic partnerships and joint ventures,
Valentis combines international expertise with on-
ground execution capability.
Geoffrey Lowe
Mr. Lowe is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years
of experience in Mineral Exploration and Mining in
Australia, Myanmar and Spain.
Mr. Lowe is the CEO of Valentis Services, a Director of
IIMDA and a member of the Australasian Institute of
Mining and Metallurgy.
International Investors for Mineral Development
Association (IIMDA)
The IIMDA is is an association representing Myanmar
companies and their international joint-venture partners,
including PanAust, Freeport, MPRG, Unity Energy and
Resources, Asia Pacific Mining, MSP CAT and Eugene
Quah & Associates. The majority of companies are
registered in Australia, the United States, Canada and the
United Kingdom.
IIMDA investment in Myanmar is projected to be
between $50 million and $100 million in coming years,
providing employment for up to 3000 people.
Exploration research may lead to mining projects in the
future but will not involve any land disturbance or
impacts during the exploration phase.
IIMDA is committed to applying and promoting
international good practice standards in their Myanmar
operations.

4. PAGE 3
MYANMAR MINERAL EXPLORATION and MINING
• The Myanmar Mineral Exploration and Mining Industry is undergoing an
exciting new phase. The promotion of foreign investment by the Government,
and the new Mining Law and Rules has resulted in renewed international and
national interest in the Myanmar Mining industry
• Myanmar contains globally significant mineral deposits including -
Bawdwin (lead – silver – zinc – copper): In development
Letpaduang (copper) - mining
Mawchi (tin - tungsten) – exploration / pre-development
• These deposits have the potential to produce metal for decades to come,
resulting in long term revenue and employment for communities, and long
term revenue for the Government
• It is important in this new phase that there is a strong understanding of
sustainable large scale mining by the Myanmar Government at all levels
• It is also important that Myanmar companies are educated about how to
undertake mining successfully and sustainably, and with high regard to the
environment and the regional communities in which they operate

5. PAGE 4
THE PATHWAY FROM EXPLORATION TO MINING
• There is a clear path from mineral exploration to mining, however It is
important to understand that exploration and mining are 2 separate subjects
and should not be confused.
• This presentation will outline the methods used in modern ‘western’
exploration leading to large scale mining and also look at some of the
similarities and difference of large scale mining and ASM
• Exploration for large mineral deposits is high risk and very expensive but
with potentially high rewards
• Large mineral deposits are very rare in the earth’s crust, and therefore
extremely difficult to discover
• Once a mineral deposit is discovered, it has to be studied to see if it is viable
to develop and extract in order to make money for the mine owner, the
owners company shareholders, and the Government
• A lot of time and money has been spent searching for mineral deposits
around the globe in the last 150 years without success
• A lot of mineral deposits have been discovered around the globe which have
never been mined, due to uneconomic value, land, cultural, regulatory or
environmental issues

6. PAGE 5
THE PATHWAY FROM EXPLORATION TO MINING
• This diagram presents an example of the risk and
expense in mineral exploration
• As an example, this company defined 58 target
areas of interest on their exploration concession
• They decided that 21 of the targets were worth
spending money to test with drilling
• Of the 21 targets drilled, only 4 targets returned
economic results for the minerals of interest (e.g.
gold, copper) from the drilling. These targets were
advanced to a second round of drilling
• Of these 4 targets, 1 of them was discovered to be a
mineral deposit which contained enough minerals
to have a feasibility study completed on it - to then
determine if it was a viable deposit to mine and
extract the minerals
• The process of exploring 58 targets through to
completing a mining feasibility study on one target
will cost over US$10M, and take from 5 to 12 years
to complete

7. PAGE 6
THE PATHWAY FROM EXPLORATION TO MINING
• Exploration has a cycle with a number of decision
points in the cycle
• The objective of each stage of the cycle is to test
targets as cheaply as possible with the right methods,
and decide if the target requires more exploration.
• Targets must increase in value and decrease in risk at
every stage
• Exploration Geologists have several scientific tools
that can be used throughout exploration cycle, based
on technical merit and a risk versus reward
proposition
• The exploration tools used depend on the physical
and chemical properties of the mineral commodity,
the project type and the target depth.
1. Generate a target
2. Test the target cheaply in the field
Does the risk and cost warrant further work – is it a
“DISCOVERY”
3. Do more detailed exploration on the target (expensive)
Evaluate the results –
do we invest more time and money?
4. Mineral Resource definition
YESNO
YESNO
5. Mining Feasibility Study - Mine

8. PAGE 7
EXPLORATION CONCESSION REDUCTION
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
This diagram refer to the large Sepon copper-gold mine discovered in Laos in 1994. Exploration
companies start with large concessions and progressively release areas identified as having no
minerals, after each successive exploration program

9. PAGE 8
THE EXPLORATION GEOLOGIST’S TOOLBOX
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
GEOPHYSICS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING

10. PAGE 9
TARGET GENERATION
• Identify target commodities (gold, copper, tin) and
deposit style
• Review of potential host terrains: regional
geology, structure, age
• Historical data review and desktop studies
• Regional maps at various scales (data sourced
from geological surveys or previous company
work)
• Use regional data sets
www.goldonresources.com

11. PAGE 10
DRAINAGE SAMPLING and GEOLOGICAL MAPPING

12. PAGE 11
DRAINAGE SAMPLING – LABORATORY RESULTS

13. PAGE 12
ROCK and SOIL SAMPLING
• The geologists study the rock outcrops
and boulders to determine if gold or
other minerals are present in the area
• Rock and soil are sampled and assayed
in the laboratory

14. PAGE 13
GEOPHYSICS
• There are many different geophysics methods
• All methods are designed to map the physical properties of the rocks
beneath the surface
• The data is combined with the mapping, stream, soil and rock
sampling to define targets for drilling

15. PAGE 14
EXPLORATION CONCESSION REDUCTION
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
Once the stream, rock and soil sampling, and the geophysics has been completed at regional to semi-
regional scale, the concession area can be reduced further to only cover the main targets which will
have trenching and drilling completed

16. PAGE 15
TRENCHING
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
• Trenching exposes shallow rocks under soil cover and indications of
basement mineralization
• The ground is dug by hand and the exposed rock is mapped and
sampled by the geologist
• Once mapping is finished the trench will be completely filled back in

17. PAGE 16
DRILLING
Drilling is the primary tool for mineral deposit discovery, deposit definition and Mineral Resource Estimation, and is the
most expensive stage in the Exploration cycle before Feasibility Studies
• Typical drilling costs currently: $120-$250/m for diamond drilling; $60-$100/m for RC drilling
• Drilling is high risk – many targets are not defined as mineral deposits once they have been drilled
• Previous slide – 58 targets – 21 drilled – 4 advance drilled – 1 mineral deposit
Reverse Circulation (RC) Drilling Diamond (DD) Drilling

18. PAGE 17
EXPLORATION CONCESSION REDUCTION
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
Once trenching and drilling has been completed at target scale, the concession area can be reduced
further to only cover the main 1 to 3 targets where advanced drilling and feasibility studies may be
undertaken

19. PAGE 18
MODELLING and MINE PLANNING
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
Modelling of the mineral deposit and mining feasibility studies are completed once there is a firm understanding of
the mineral ‘orebody’ and a high probability it can be mined viably. The work in the feasibility study also includes
an EIA, a SIA, and detailed evaluation of the mining method and mine closure planning.
1
2
3 4

20. PAGE 19
EXPLORATION CONCESSION REDUCTION
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
At this point the exploration concession area can be reduced to the most promising section of ground
surrounding a mining concession, which will contain the proposed mining operation. This diagram
shows that the exploration concession has been reduced in area by 75% and the mining concession of
28 square km covers only 0.6% of the original area of 5,000 square km.

21. PAGE 20
GENERAL TIMEFRAME FROM PROSPECTING TO MINE FEASIBILITY
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING

22. PAGE 21
THE PATHWAY FROM EXPLORATION TO MINING PROJECT LIFECYCLE
TIME
RISK
GENERATION &
GRASSROOTS
EXPLORATION
DRILLING &
RESOURCE
DEFINITION
FEASIBILITY
STUDIES
MINE
CONSTRUCTION
MINE IN
PRODUCTION
CLOSURE &
REHABILITATION
PEA
PFS
DFS
BROWNFIELDS EXTENSION
VALUE
MINERAL RESOURCES,
MINERAL RESERVES
EXPLORATION MINE DEVELOPMENT MINING MINE CLOSURE
2 to 8 years / US$3M to $30M cost 3 to 7 years / US$100M to $1B cost 2 to 20 years / US$100M to $5B revenue +5 yrs / +US$50m cost

23. PAGE 22
LARGE SCALE MINING
GEOPHYSICS
GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS
DRILLING
HISTORICAL DATA
REMOTE SENSING
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
PITTING AND TRENCHING
• Large scale mines exist on every continent in the world
and provide a significant source of revenue for
Governments and communities through corporate and
personal taxes, levies, royalties, employment, business
contracts, social enterprises and charities.
• Large scale mining is heavily regulated in most
jurisdictions. Regulation provides a benchmark on
which authorities can judge the mining operations,
particularly on the environmental, employment, safety
and social aspects of the operations.
• It is not common for large scale mines to be fully
rehabilitated back to the original state of the land pre-
mining. However significant advances in modern
environmental rehabilitation methods now means that
companies can undertake much improved
rehabilitation, which results in post-mining land use by
communities.

24. PAGE 23
23
MINE REHABILITATION EXAMPLES

25. PAGE 24
Large Scale versus Small Scale Mining
Localised mining impact but well planned with a
closure plan completed before mining commences
Large local workforce and indirect employment,
with associated community benefits and revenue
High revenue to Government
Improved post-mining land use - forestry,
agriculture, social facilities
LARGE SCALE
Localised mining impact but often poorly planned
Small workforce with limited benefits to
communities
Inconsistent revenue to Government
No improved land use, and often associated with
long term environmental damage
ARTISINAL and SMALL SCALE
Environmental and Social Impact Assessments
must be completed and approved pre-mining
Must conform to Union and State laws and
regulations and be held accountable
Governed by Union and State laws and
regulations, but less accountability by some
owners, and illegal miners
EIA and SIA often not completed or maintained

26. PAGE 25
Large-scale vs artisanal and small-scale mining
LSM /ASM

27. PAGE 26
CLOSING
• The project cycle from regional exploration to large scale mining is long and expensive.
• Exploration on large concession areas is critical for the continued discovery of large deposits which can
be mined responsibly and sustainably.
• Concessions are reduced in size at regular time intervals to allow for other companies to explore or
other land users to continue their ventures.
• Regional exploration does not involve any large scale land disturbance or impacts, and does not affect
other land users
• Project / Target exploration involves limited land disturbance with trenching and drilling, however this
is fully rehabilitated if the exploration program does not successfully discover an orebody which can be
mined.
• Large scale mines are well planned for the life of the mine to ensure responsible and sustainable mining
practices.
• Large scale mines provide high levels of revenue, employment, community benefits and social
development.
• Exploration and Mining Companies in the IIMDA are committed to applying and promoting international
good practice standards in their Myanmar operations.