Overview

The Agata direct shipping Nickel/Iron project is managed by joint venture company Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (“AMVI”), in which TVIRD holds a 60% interest and is the operator. The remaining shares are held by Minimax Mineral Exploration Corporation (25%) and MRL Nickel Philippines Inc. (15%).

The project is located in a 4,995-hectare Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (“MPSA”) area located in the adjacent municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga and Santiago in Agusan del Norte province, within the Surigao mining region on the island of Mindanao, the Philippines. The Surigao region is a major lateritic nickel producing region providing ore to processing plants in Australia, China, Korea and Japan.

The project mine site is located just 3.5 km from its own deeply protected seaport which provides the opportunity for year-round shipping.

Resources & Reserves

An April 2013 NI 43-101 technical report shows the project to have nickel laterite resources of 33.9 million tonnes grading 1.1% nickel and 22.5% iron in the Measured and Indicated categories and an additional 2.1 million tonnes grading 1.0% nickel and 16.3% iron in the Inferred resource category.

Please click here to see the NI 43-101 technical report dated April 10, 2013 entitled "Independent Report On the Nickel Laterite Resource Agata North, Philippines.”

The above resource formed the basis of a Mineral Reserve estimate for a Feasibility Study completed on the direct shipping operation in August 2013 which shows Proven and Probable Reserves of 9.7 million wet metric tonnes with a grade of 48% Fe with 0.9% Ni.

Please click here to see the NI 43-101 technical report dated August 30, 2013 entitled "Technical Report for the Agata North Nickel Laterite DSO Project, Mindanao, Philippines.”

Operations

Nickel laterite direct shipping ore operations began in October 2014 and AMVI has since shipped a total of 18.30 million wet metric tonnes of nickel laterite through 336 shipments as at September 30, 2021.

AMVI’s Agata operation was the first Philippine mining operation to be awarded the Titanium Award at the Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Ceremony in November 2015 after just one year in operation. The Titanium Award recognized AMVI for exceptional implementation of its approved Environment Protection and Enhancement Program, Social Development and Management Program and its ongoing Occupational Health and Safety Program. The operation was again awarded the same Titanium Award at the 2016 Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Ceremony, the Platinum Award at the 2017 ceremony and, most notably, has received in 2018 and again in 2019 the highest award given by the Presidential Mineral Industry and Environmental Awards Selection Committee – the Presidential Industry Award. TVIRD did not participate in the 2020 awards program.

AMVI is proud to share the following video of its activities that was submitted as an official entry for the 2019 ASEAN Mineral Awards for which it received its first international recognition, earning a coveted first runner-up in the Mineral Distribution Category at the awards ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand. Philippine entries were chosen and screened by the Philippine ASEAN Mineral Awards Committee composed of technical experts from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (“MGBASOMM”). Please view the link https://youtu.be/54f_jlWT3PQ.

Exploration

From October 2014 to April 2015, TVIRD completed a 16,768-metre, 986-hole drill program to validate and increase the existing resources previously disclosed in April 2013. A Philippine Mineral Reporting Code report was completed on the project to support the project's valuation.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

The Agata Limestone project is held by Agata Mining Ventures Inc. (“AMVI”) (in which TVIRD has a 60% interest and is the operator) and is located in the same 4,995-hectare Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (“MPSA”) area as the Agata Nickel Laterite project, both north and south of the existing Nickel / Iron direct shipping operations.  As such, the project shares the same infrastructure as the current Nickel / Iron direct shipping operations and this is therefore expected to contribute to low transport and handling costs.

Exploration

AMVI completed an initial 17-hole drill program between November 2014 and April 2015 aimed at establishing an initial resource estimate at the project. Drill results confirmed the presence of a highly recrystallized limestone with low powdering rate.   

Further evaluation of potential limestone sites has continued and drilling in the area of San Vicente was completed in June 2018 with 10 holes with a meterage of 1,109 meters. Other potential sites have included areas located south of the Payong-payong in Tinigbasan, Tagpangahoy, and Binuangan.

Development

Having satisfied the requirements of the Presidential Decree No.1586 (Establishing an Environmental Impact Statement System) and its Environmental Impact Assessment Review Committee, AMVI received on June 1, 2021, the Environmental Compliance Certificate (“ECC”) for the Agata Limestone project that is valid through to May 31, 2026, assuming the MPSA is extended beyond its current expiry date of May 2024.  Endorsements from the required local government (“LGU”) have been received for the project and the balance of the permitting process is continuing.

AMVI is currently considering two alternatives to proceed, which include:

1. To self-finance the construction and commissioning of the plant and to separately negotiate an offtake agreement; or,

 

2. To negotiate with a potential offtaker to finance the project into production with AMVI retaining majority ownership and operating control while the offtaker would have the exclusive right to market and sell the limestone products.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

The first shipment of gold doré from Balabag was completed on September 30, 2021, in the amount of 855 kg containing 932 ounces of gold (“Au”) and 25,959 ounces of silver (“Ag”) for 1,263 gold equivalent ounces.  A second shipment has followed on October 18, 2021, in the amount of 894 kg containing 641 ounces of Au and 27,552 ounces of Ag for 992 gold equivalent ounces.  Twenty-four-hour operation of the plant was introduced in late August 2021 while the average head grade month-to-date at mid-October has been 1.8 g/t Au and 95.1 g/t Ag and recoveries 93% for Au and 86% for Ag.  Activities at site continue to be concentrated on optimizing the operation and the ramping-up of throughput to 2,000 tpd.

The run of mine (“ROM”) mineralized stockpile, in-pit stockpile and crushed mineralized stockpile currently contains an approximate 100,000 tonnes of mineralized material at mid-October 2021, much of which is low to marginal grade and continues to be mined to expose the higher-grade mineralized resource during waste stripping and bench forming.  The stockpiles have an average grade of 1.3 g/t Au and 47.7 g/t Ag.  It is expected that the average grade of feed will increase as higher-grade mineralized resource is mined.     

TVIRD owns 100% of the Balabag project.  The project covers a 4,779-hectare Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (“MPSA”, MPSA No. 086-1997-IX) located within the Municipality of Bayog, Province of Zamboanga del Sur and Municipalities of Diplahan and Kabasalan, Province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Mindanao, Philippines.  The term of the MPSA was extended on March 19, 2021, by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (“DENR”) for an additional twenty-five (25) year period through to November 20, 2047, following receipt of a passing grade on the Tenements, Social, Health, Environmental, Social (“TSHES”) audit.  The project is situated approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east-northeast of TVIRD’s Canatuan mine.

p>TVI Pacific announced on November 22, 2019, that TVIRD had officially determined to advance its Balabag gold and silver mining project towards commercial production and progressed to the stage at July 26, 2021 of feeding mineralized material from its low-grade ROM mineralized stockpile through the plant on a test basis in preparation for the commencement of continuous milling operations.  Plant commissioning works in July 2021 included the first discharge of tails to Stage 1 of the Tailings Storage Facility (“TSF”).  The TSF is being constructed in stages to accommodate progressively increasing resources as they are defined.  Completion of the TSF continues to be a critical path item.     

The following shows Balabag in its various stages of development:

The production decision followed the closing and first drawdown by TVIRD, announced on October 22 and October 24, 2019, respectively, of a US$28.5 million term loan facility (the “Facility”) with China Banking Corporation.  The Facility was provided specifically to finance construction of infrastructure at the Balabag project while the remaining capex until the end of mine life will be funded by the Balabag operations.  Prior to the first drawdown, TVIRD funded development works with internally generated funds which equate to approximately US $14.5 million, including the cost of Canatuan equipment that has been decommissioned, fully rehabilitated and re-installed at Balabag to reduce overall capital expenditures.

On May 12, 2020, TVI Pacific announced that TVIRD had completed its seventh and final drawdown under the Facility provided by China Banking Corporation to bring the total drawn to date equal to the total of the available Facility at US $28.5 million.  TVI Pacific does not currently have any spending commitments with respect to Balabag.  TVIRD is not funded by new shareholder capital or shareholder loans and TVIRD does not have the contractual right to compel TVI Pacific to provide any funding.  In April, July and October 2021, TVIRD has made its first, second and third repayment against the Facility, each in the amount of US $2.2 million and including to date approximate total interest of US $0.9 million.      

Resources

TVI has filed on SEDAR under the Company’s profile on July 20, 2021, the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled “NI 43-101 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource Update Report on the Balabag Gold-Silver Project”.  The report was prepared by Mr. Jaime C. Zafra, BSGeo. PGeo. FAusIMM, an independent consultant with significant experience in the style of gold and silver deposition in the Philippines and other epithermal gold-silver deposits in Laos, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.  Mr. Zafra is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

In addition to a site visit to examine mineralization in the explored areas and to review the drilling and sampling conducted as well as the assaying of gold and silver procedures, Mr. Zafra has relied on historical exploration data provided by TVIRD and on an earlier NI 43-101 report on resource estimates authored by P.J Lafleur of Geo-Conseil Inc. in 2007 and an updated resource report prepared by C.P. Smyth of Georeference Online Ltd. (“Georeference”) in 2012, both of which are filed on SEDAR under the Company's profile. The 2007 Lafleur and 2012 Georeference technical reports are no longer current and should not be relied upon. A total of 382 diamond drillholes, through to completion of Phase 4 drilling and with a cumulative meterage of 41,161.60 meters, was entered into the Balabag Project database as of December 2020 and has been used to update the resource model as presented in this updated NI 43-101 Technical Report.  This represents a further 109 drillholes that have been added to the Balabag Project database since the NI 43-101 technical report produced by Georeference. 

Together with the diamond drilling, detailed geological mapping and outcrop sampling have confirmed the presence of mineralized bodies within the east-west trending epithermal vein system in Balabag.  Three major quartz vein systems have been identified in the area:  Tinago-Unao-Unao-Yoyon to the north; Miswi in the east; and Lalab to the south.

The mineral resource was estimated using a conventional geostatistical block modeling approach constrained by mineralization wireframes.  Geostatistical analysis, capping, variography and estimation were conducted on the in-situ gold and silver data.

The estimated Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource for the Balabag Gold-Silver Project using a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq is 4.35 million tonnes at 1.79 g/t Au and 43.08 g/t Ag for 2.36 g/t AuEq.  This is equivalent to an approximate 331,000 AuEq oz at metal prices of US$1,500/oz Au and US$20/oz Ag.  The estimated Inferred Resource is 141,000 tonnes at 2.78 g/t Au and 64.11 g/t Ag for 3.63 g/t AuEq, using a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t AuEq

The overall Mineral Resource as of May 15, 2021, is presented in the following table.

Several methods were used to determine the resource category in the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report.  Blocks generated within 25 to 50 meter-drill-spacing were classified as Indicated Resource while blocks within 25 meter-drill-spacing were coded as Measured Resource.  The average drill spacing in the Balabag project is within 25 to 50 meters and the majority of the resource blocks fall within the Measured and Indicated categories.  Inferred blocks were generated in areas with significant gold intercepts, where more drilling is required to better define a resource category.

The Company wishes to clarify also that in making the decision to put Balabag into production, TVIRD, a Philippine corporation that the Company does not control, relied exclusively on technical and economic analysis prepared under Philippine regulations and did not rely on TVI's updated Technical Report of October 18^th, 2019, or any feasibility study classifying mineral reserves prepared in accordance with NI 43-101.  Historically such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure.

Please click here  to see the NI43-101 technical report dated July 19, 2021 entitled "NI 43-101 Exploration Results and Mineral Resource Update Report on the Balabag Gold-Silver Project”

Development

As reported earlier, the first and second shipments of gold doré from Balabag have been completed on September 30, 2021, and October 18, 2021, respectively in the total amount of 1,749 kg containing 1,573 ounces of Au and 53,511 ounces of Ag for 2,255 gold equivalent ounces.  Twenty-four-hour operation of the plant was introduced in late August 2021 while the average head grade month-to-date at mid-October has been 1.8 g/t Au and 95.1 g/t Ag and recoveries 93% for Au and 86% for Ag.  Activities at site continue to be concentrated on optimizing the operation and the ramping-up of throughput to 2,000 tpd.  This follows the announcement on November 22, 2019, that TVIRD had officially determined to advance its Balabag gold and silver mining project towards commercial production, and follows also the receipt in October 2013 of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (“ECC”) and in April 2016 the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility (“DMPF”) as well as the Special Tree-Cutting and Earth Balling Permit from the Forest Management Bureau (“FMB”) of the DENR in May 2018.  

Development work has proceeded under the direction of Mr. Yulo Perez, President of TVIRD, who previously led mine development works and operations at TVIRD's successful Canatuan mine Phases 1 (Gold/Silver) and 2 (Copper/Zinc) as Vice-President of Operations and Chief Operations Officer of TVIRD.  Mr. Perez helped contribute to the receipt by TVIRD of multiple awards from the Philippine government and leading mining industry associations.

GHD Pty Ltd, one of the world’s leading professional services companies operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, transport, property and buildings has been responsible to review the design and provide construction supervision services as they relate to the Balabag TSF.  Plant commissioning works included the first discharge of tails to Stage 1 of the TSF in July 2021.  The TSF is being constructed in stages to accommodate progressively increasing resources as they are defined.  Completion of the TSF continues to be a critical path item.  

The Balabag plant is operating, as evidenced in the following photos, with a focus upon optimizing the operation and the ramping-up of throughput to 2,000 tpd.

Exploration

TVIRD commenced its own drilling program at Balabag in November 2005 and has continued exploration through to the current date.  A total of 382 drill holes with a total meterage of 41,161.60 meters as of December 31, 2020, inclusive of the Phase 4 drilling program, has been used to update the resource model as presented in the updated NI 43-101 Technical Report filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR on July 20, 2021. 

The Balabag Project Phase 5A drilling program was completed on May 16, 2021 and included a total of 16 drillholes with overall meterage of 2,155.45 meters drilled at the Lalab, Miswi, Tinago, Oracoy and Daguman areas.  Nine (9) drillholes were completed to test the extension of known main veins in the Balabag Hill, two (2) holes were drilled at the Oracoy area, located immediately southwest of the Tinago vein and a further five (5) drillholes were drilled at Daguman area, located north of Balabag Hill.

Five drillholes in the Tinago area returned gold assays above 1 g/t Au, showing mineralized vein continuity directly to the west and southern portion of the deposit.  Vein extension to the west of Tinago was confirmed with drillholes BLDH-21-380, BLDH-21-386, BLDH-21-387 and BLDH-21-388.  A significant average gold grade of 2.84 g/t Au with total meterage of 4.70 meters was intersected with BLDH-21-387, starting at depth of 119.90 meters.  Drillhole BLDH-21-389 which was drilled at the South Tinago area yielded notable assays at shallow depth of 7.90 meters and 15.13 meters, yielding 4.32 g/t Au and 2.50 g/t Au, respectively.  A narrow intercept of 0.45 meters with average grade of 1.29 g/t was recorded at depth of 99.45 meters.  High gold intercepts were also reported from BLDH-21-385 which is situated in Lalab.  Core samples collected from 196.80 meters to 201.80 meters produced an average of 6.71 g/t Au and 147.25 g/t Ag while another 3.95-meter intercept with 1.25 g/t Au and 2.70 g/t Ag was intersected at depth of 207.30 meters.  At the Miswi area, BLDH-21-381 produced an assay of 5.40 g/t Au and 25.97 g/t Ag at 74.35 meters to 77.80 meters.  BLDH-21-384 intersected a 7-meter thick vein intercept, yielding an average of 5.59 g/t Au and 112.77 g/t Ag at depth of 71.35 meters.

In the Oracoy area, BLDH-21-382 returned an average grade of 4.54 g/t Au and 10.63 g/t Ag from a depth of 47.90 meters to 49.50 meters.  This intercept indicates potential extension of the Balabag deposit to the southwest portion of Tinago and west of Lalab.

At the Daguman area, drill core intercept with a total meterage of 1.75 meters, averaging 2.06 g/t Au and 0.56 g/t Ag was reported at depth of 40.35 meters.

The results of the Phase 5A drilling program provide more geological information that supports the downdip extension of the Lalab vein system and the potential extension of veins to the east at Miswi and to the west at Tinago.  New target resource potential was identified at the southern portion of Tinago and the Oracoy area.

Drilling results from the Daguman area also indicate the occurrence of shallow, oxidized enriched gold mineralization further to the northern portion of the Balabag Hill.         

Phase 5B drilling is currently proceeding with (5) drill rigs that was expected to include twenty-seven (27) holes with an estimated meterage of 4,155 meters.  To date, 28 drillholes have been completed (including redrills) for a total meterage of 3,780 meters.  The focus of Phase 5B is to test and prove the potential deeper orebodies at Lalab, Miswi and West and South Tinago.  The Phase 5B drilling program together with assays and reporting is currently expected to be completed in Q4 2021.

Test pitting and trenching have also been performed to provide additional data.  Test pitting has been conducted to determine if gold values define a vertical zonation along projected vein zones.  The test pits were also used to correlate the intensity of weathering and oxide minerals with gold values at identified projected vein zones.

Test pitting was initiated after several surface samples returned anomalous gold values.  The test pits have 1 meter by 1 meter dimension and the maximum depth was 3 meters.  Samples are collected by creating a channel (10 cm wide and 10 cm deep) on two opposite walls of the test pit.  Samples are collected for every meter downwards.

Trenching along the projected strike of the Tinago, Lalab and Miswi veins was implemented to probe vein continuity.  The trenches were spaced approximately 50 meters apart and oriented almost perpendicular (NW to SE) to the general trend of the veins.  A total of 33 trenches with a total length of 1,066 meters were excavated.  Channel samples were taken along the trench at 1 meter intervals.

Mapping and sampling of former small-scale miners’ underground workings has also been conducted by TVIRD in Tinago, Unao-Unao, Lalab and Miswi.  This exploration program was initiated to measure the correct attitudes of the veins, verify their width and strike continuity as well as to collect vein samples.  Samples were taken perpendicular to dip, and therefore reflect true widths.  Channel spacing on vein is 1.5 meters.  A total of 89 small-scale mine tunnels were rehabilitated, mapped, and sampled.  Small-scale miners were evicted from Balabag following the issuance and implementation of a cease and desist order in October 2012 by the Philippine Environmental Management Bureau and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau against illegal mining activities in the region.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control:

All drill core samples were prepared and analyzed at TVIRD’s Balabag Mine Laboratory, an independent laboratory that is currently undergoing the ISO certification process.  TVIRD has appointed an Analytical Chemist to ensure that sampling procedures are strictly followed in accordance with industry standards and to implement and monitor the laboratory’s internal QA/QC program.  Assaying was done by fire assay method wherein gold is analyzed by fire assay with an Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (“AAS”) finish on 50 gram samples while silver is analyzed using a triple Acid digest (HN03, HCl, and HCl0 4) AAS finish on a 1 gram sample.  Any sample assaying greater than 5 g/t Ag was re-run by fire assay method with gravimetric finish.

In addition to the Certified Reference Materials (“CRM”) or standards inserted by the Balabag Fire Assay Laboratory during the analysis of samples, the TVIRD geology department has continued to insert CRMs or standards, duplicates and blank samples into the sample stream at a frequency of one in twenty to monitor quality control.  The CRMs are purchased from OREAS, an Australian-based company recognized as the world leader in certified reference materials for the global mining industries.

The results of QA/QC samples did not show any significant bias of analysis or contamination during sample preparation and laboratory analysis.  

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

Overview

On September 20, 2021, TVIRD completed the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding equity in Greenstone Resources Corporation (“GRC”), the owner and operator of the Siana Gold Project (“Siana”) and the Mapawa Project (“Mapawa”), both of which are located in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.  Prior to the acquisition by TVIRD, GRC was the Philippines affiliate of Red 5 Limited (“Red 5”) (ASX: RED), a Perth, Western Australian-based gold company, the shares of which are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The assets of GRC include:

1. The Siana Project, as covered by Philippines MPSA No. 184-2002-XIII covering 3,289 hectares, which includes the following project infrastructure:

• A modern 1.1mtpa Outotec mill, gravity and CIL mill facility commissioned in 2012 at a capital cost of U.S. $54 million that includes a single stage SAG mill and 6 CIL tanks;
• Grid power with backup 8MW diesel fired power station; and,
• Administration building, warehouse, mess hall, camp facilities and accommodation, engineering building and maintenance facilities.

2. Mapawa Project, as covered by MPSA No. 280-2009-XIII covering 1,482 hectares.

3. The Ferrer Claim, as covered by the Application for Mineral Production Sharing Agreement No. A000046 and comprising of one Block of 595 hectares.

4. Established government approvals and relationships with key stakeholders.

Siana is located in Tubod, Surigao del Norte, approximately 35 kilometers from Surigao City and near to Lake Mainit, while Mapawa is located 20 kilometers north of Siana and has the potential to be developed as a satellite source of ore feed for the Siana processing plant.

Siana produced nearly one million ounces of gold prior to its acquisition in 2003 by Red 5's Philippine affiliated company, GRC.  GRC commenced exploration work on Siana in 2004, completed a project feasibility study in 2009 and received all necessary permits to construct and operate by 2009.  Construction at the mine site commenced in 2010 and the inaugural gold pour was achieved by GRC in February 2012.  TVIRD understands that, to date, Siana has produced 149,203 ounces of gold and 199,669 ounces of silver, in addition to nearly one million ounces of gold prior to its acquisition in 2003 by GRC.

Uncertainty surrounding the mining policy in the Philippines and difficulty obtaining environmental permit approvals led Red 5 to suspend mining and processing activities at Siana and to place the site on temporary standby in April 2017.  Ongoing activities through suspension have included dewatering of the open pit, infrastructure maintenance and monitoring of geotechnical issues.

Red 5 has advised TVIRD that GRC has spent over U.S. $200 million, to date, in its efforts to develop Siana.  TVIRD has also been advised that all of the mining and processing facilities and required permits are in place for re-commencement of operations.  Siana has the only modern gold plant in the region with the potential to establish Siana as a processing center for other nearby prospects/gold deposits.

RESOURCES

Red 5 has previously published underground and open pit mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates for Siana and mineral resource estimates for Mapawa.  These estimates, detailed below, were prepared using the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the "JORC Code" or "JORC 2012").  No estimates for either Siana or Mapawa have been prepared using the 2014 definition standards published by the Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM 2014 Standard") and no technical report supporting this estimate has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101.  A "qualified person" (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify any of these mineral resource or mineral reserve estimates as current.  As a result, the Company is treating the following estimates as historical in nature and not current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and they should not be relied upon.  There are certain differences between the JORC Code and the CIM 2014 Standard described further below. 

Red 5 announced on February 23, 2016 that Mining One Pty Ltd had completed a JORC 2012 underground mineral resource and reserves estimate using a 2.4 g/t gold cut-off that has been subsequently reviewed annually by Red 5 and most recently confirmed in their Annual Report at June 30, 2020.  Further to the ASX announcement released by Red 5 on January 11, 2016, the database for the Siana resource estimate included 109 holes and approximately 47,300 meters in addition to 79 historic holes drilled by Suricon between 1980 and 1990 for approximately 10,600 meters.  The database also includes a further 10,417 grade control channel samples conducted by GRC prior to April 2013.

The Red 5 2020 Annual Report at June 30, 2020 reports the JORC 2012 underground mineral resource and reserves estimate to be:

In the Red 5 Annual Report at June 30, 2020, and due to what Red 5 has reported as pending construction of additional tailings storage capacity, no updated JORC 2012 reserve estimate is reported for the Siana open pit as at that date. As such, Red 5 has reported the open pit mineral resource and reserve estimate at June 30, 2020 to be:

In summary, and further to the above tables as included in the Red 5 2020 Annual Report, the Siana open pit and underground mine have at June 30, 2020, a combined Indicated JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate of 4.3Mt @ 4.6 g/t Au and 6.8 g/t Ag and combined Inferred JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate of 0.5Mt @ 8.9 g/t Au and 10.6 g/t Ag.  TVI is not treating this as a current mineral resource under NI 43-101 as a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current, and the estimates should not be relied upon. 

Mining One Pty Ltd, with offices in Australia, China, Indonesia and Canada, has extensive experience in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Africa, South America and China and with underground and open pit mines across a broad range of commodities. They are involved in planning, supervision, project management, studies, geology, contracts, financing and corporate assistance and advice and their clients have included, among others, BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore. Alcoa, Anglo American, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Barrick.

Siana Open Pit and Underground Feasibility Study Results

Red 5, together with GRC, has engaged various mining engineering firms since 2009 to complete numerous Feasibility Studies that have been publicly disclosed.  These studies were prepared using the JORC Code.  Qualified persons have not done sufficient work under NI 43-101 to verify the results of these studies or render them current and complete under NI 43-101, and therefore details of these reports are not included here.    

TVIRD is presently assessing GRC's mine development and production plan for Siana in order to develop its own plan in furtherance of a potential recommencement of operations.

Mining History at the Mapawa Gold Project:

GRC also holds a 100% interest in Mapawa under MPSA No. 280-2009-XIII covering 1,482 hectares and located as well in Surigao del Norte, Philippines.  Mapawa is located 20 kilometers north of Siana and has the potential to be developed as a satellite source of ore feed for the Siana processing plant.  Red 5 reported in the 2016 Annual Report that Mapawa hosts a known gold porphyry system with a number of significant gold occurrences throughout the project area and thereby considered the area to have significant potential. 

Red 5 announced on June 14, 2016 that an inaugural JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate had been completed for Mapawa by Optiro Pty. Ltd., an independent group of Australian geological consultants who reported the following on a dry tonne basis based on a 0.7g/t gold cut-off and taking into account historic mining depletion:

Red 5 reported that the Mapawa JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate was calculated based on a total of 78 diamond core drill-holes totaling 13,798 meters of drilling, comprising 5,628 meters of historical drilling completed by Suricon and 8,170 meters of additional diamond drilling completed by GRC. 

Opitro Pty. Ltd. Is an advisory services firm with extensive geological, mining engineering, metallurgical and financial expertise that provides strategic, independent advice to mining and exploration companies, their advisors and investors. Their consultants are recognized competent persons under JORC and other international standards and have published numerous reports supporting listings on the ASX, TSX, LSE, NYSE and various other stock exchanges around the world.

 

As noted above, TVI is not treating the estimates reported for Siana and Mapawa as current mineral resources as a qualified person acting in compliance with NI 43-101 reporting requirements has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current resources, has not verified this information and these estimates should not be relied upon  The historical estimates are believed to be based on reasonable assumptions, and neither the Company nor the qualified person responsible for the scientific and technical content of the summary provided here has any reason to contest their relevance and reliability. 

TVIRD currently does not plan to conduct any work to verify the historical estimates other than using them to guide its exploration, resource modeling and possible development work. 

TVIRD is presently assessing the GRC resource model, mine development and production plan for Siana in order to develop its own plan in furtherance of a potential recommencement of operations.  TVIRD is evaluating steps that would be required to upgrade or verify the foregoing historical estimates as current under NI 43-101 standards, which would include a review of past drill results and Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures applied as well as possibly resource modeling with the involvement of a qualified person.  

Additional information related to Siana and Mapawa may be found on the TVIRD website at https://tvird.com.ph/.

HISTORICAL OPERATIONS

Siana is located in Tubod, Surigao del Norte, approximately 35 kilometers from Surigao City, and is covered by MPSA No. 184-2002-XIII that extends over 3,289 hectares of land near Lake Mainit.  The MPSA was granted on December 11, 2002 and registered with the Philippine Mines and Geoscience Bureau ("MGB") on December 27, 2002 for a term of 25 years.  Siana is located along the Surigao Valley Fault, a major mineral structure, which is a part of the major Philippine Fault or Rift Zone.  The Rift Zone constitutes multiple epithermal gold and porphyry-type copper-gold mineral deposits.

Mining operations have been conducted at Siana since the early 1900's, with major commercial underground mining conducted by the Philippine company, Suricon Consolidated Mining Company ("Suricon"), from 1938 to 1960 followed by open pit mining from 1980 to 1991.

Siana had produced nearly one million ounces of gold prior to its acquisition in 2003 by Red 5's Philippine affiliated company, GRC.  GRC acquired 100% of Siana in 2003, commenced exploration work on Siana in 2004, completed a project feasibility study in 2009 and received all necessary permits to construct and operate by 2009.

Construction at the mine site commenced in 2010 and the inaugural gold pour was achieved in February 2012. 

Siana was subsequently placed voluntarily by GRC on care and maintenance in April 2013, when a superficial crack was noted in the external wall of one of the tailings dams ("TSF4").  There was, however, no tailings spill and the incident was therefore considered environmentally benign.  In order to mitigate any potential environmental risk, the MGB imposed a cease-and-desist order ("CDO") in June 2013, which could not be rescinded until completion of structural repairs and improvements to tailings storage facilities.  GRC completed the works in January 2015 and the MGB subsequently lifted the CDO in January 2015, thereby allowing commercial operations to resume in February 2015.

Uncertainty surrounding the mining policy in the Philippines and difficulty obtaining environmental permit approvals led Red 5 to again suspend mining and processing activities at Siana and to place the site on temporary standby in April 2017.  Red 5 stated in an ASX announcement on April 18, 2017 that it believed the suspension to be the best way to preserve "the significant inherent value of the large in-situ gold inventory and high-quality infrastructure" at the site and that the decision was made because of the operational impact "which the current uncertainty regarding regulatory and government mining policy in the Philippines has had on the group's operations."  Ongoing activities through suspension have included dewatering of the open pit, infrastructure maintenance and monitoring of geotechnical issues.

TVIRD understands that, to date, Siana has produced 149,203 ounces of gold and 199,669 ounces of silver, in addition to nearly one million ounces of gold prior to its acquisition in 2003 by GRC. 

During its brief operating period, GRC has mined the Siana deposit by open pit methods with a plan that included a transition to underground mining following completion of open pit mining.

Underground mine development has commenced with 445m of development completed, three portals developed and the establishment of several critical surface infrastructures for the mining operations.

Material mined from the Siana open pit has been processed onsite at the Siana CIL gold processing plant that has a design capacity of 1.1 mtpa.  TVIRD understands that processing recoveries reported have been between 75 to 85% for gold and 40 to 45% for silver.  The plant comprises single stage crushing, SAG milling, gravity concentration and high intensity cyanidation, leaching and adsorption (CIL), followed by carbon elution and electrowinning to produce combined gold and silver doré.  Tailings from the cyanide leach area are treated in a detoxification circuit to minimize cyanide concentration prior to discharge to the TSF.  Red 5 has advised TVIRD that GRC has spent over U.S. $200 million, to date, in its efforts to develop Siana.   

Siana has the only modern gold plant in the region with the potential to establish Siana as a processing centre for other nearby prospects/gold deposits.

TVIRD intends to review historical processing operations with the objective of testing and optimizing future performance.

Overview

Canatuan is owned 100% by TVIRD. The project is a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit located in the Province of Zamboanga del Norte on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines.

From 2004 to mid-2008 TVIRD produced gold and silver doré from an overlying gossan (oxidized) portion of the deposit. As this upper portion of the orebody was mined out, the underlying primary sulphide portion of the deposit containing copper and zinc was exposed.

By November 2008, TVIRD had completed construction of a sulphide production plant to process the underlying sulphide orebody containing copper and zinc and commenced commercial production of copper concentrate in March 2009. From March 2009 to February 2014, TVIRD completed 39 shipments of copper concentrate for a total volume of 199,778 dmt and 7 shipments of zinc concentrate for a total volume of 30,548 dmt. Milling operations concluded in January 2014.

Current Status

The Canatuan processing plant has been decommissioned and equipment reconditioned for use in the Balabag Project. Among the prospects TVIRD is exploring are possible new discoveries from exploration drill targets outside of the pit area, possible production of pyrite concentrates, re-processing of tails and harnessing possible economic deposits from outside the current MPSA – Malusok and SE Malusok – which are located at a short trucking distance from the Canatuan mine pit. TVIRD’s application for expansion of its current MPSA to include these deposits in areas adjacent to its current contract area had been approved by the MGB.

Rehabilitation

Following the end of mining and processing operations in January 2014, decommissioning and rehabilitation activities within the disturbed areas commenced. Approximately 183 hectares are subject to the closure programs as identified in the approved Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP).

Year 2014 was considered a Transition Period prior to implementation of the final mine closure plan. Activities during this period were limited to equipment decommissioning, care and maintenance of the areas that had undergone prior progressive rehabilitation and preparation of the area for implementation of the FMRDP.

An Active Closure Phase followed in Year 2015 and continued through mid-2018. The program was designed to focus on structural improvements for drainage, erosion control and slope stability as well as soil conditioning and preparation and planting of cash crops and diverse forest species. To date, 168 hectares, representing 92% of the total disturbed area, is rehabilitated. TVIRD has also planted close to 600,000 trees, including contributions to the National Greening Program.

A Passive Closure Phase was scheduled for the remaining half of 2018 and is expected to continue through 2020. The activities are designed to focus on care and maintenance of the rehabilitation programs completed during progressive rehabilitation during the operations phase and those activities completed during the Active Closure Phase.

Both Third Party and internal environmental monitoring programs were planned to continue throughout the mine closure period. The internal monitoring program involves regular data collection for meteorology, water quality, stream hydrology and instrumentation data collection for the Tailings Storage Facility. Third Party monitoring programs completed during the Active Closure Phase include flora and fauna monitoring, air quality monitoring, and aquatic habitat monitoring.

Additional Exploration Potential

TVI has an extensive 352 square kilometer (136 square mile) package of tenement applications surrounding the Canatuan mine that make up the Greater Canatuan Tenement Area (GCTA). Volcanogenic sulphide deposits, like Canatuan, rarely occur in isolation. TVIRD believes that similar Canatuan-style deposits exist within the GCTA and that there is a potential for discovering extension developments.

MPSA processing and approval are on hold due to the ongoing moratorium on new mineral permit applications imposed by the Secretary of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in compliance with Executive Order No. 79, Series of 2012. In March 2013, the DENR lifted the moratorium on application for exploration permits but retained the moratorium on MPSAs and financial or technical assistance agreements despite the signing of the much awaited Executive Order by the President of the Philippines. In November 2014, the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) relaxed the current mining policy, allowing companies faced with depleting reserves to expand their contract areas.

In July 2018, the DENR lifted the Moratorium on the acceptance, processing and/or approval of Exploration Permit applications. The order took effect on August 10, 2018.

For more information, please visit TVIRD’s website at www.tvird.com.ph.

TVIRD holds several other Mining Tenements that it has prioritized based on the following criteria:

ü  Tenement Status

ü  Favorable Geology

ü  Exploration Status

ü  LGU and Community Support

ü  Environmental Sensitivity

ü  Presence of Infrastructures

Various activities have been planned and include:

• Scout and definition drilling
• Ground verification of anomalies / Grid Soil Sampling
• Geological Mapping
• Tunnel Mapping and Sampling

The additional Mining Tenements are summarized in the following table: