The mining of the direct shipping ore zones at Kalia will be conducted by standard open pit, drill, blast and haul techniques. Testwork is planned to verify this.

Based on the geological assessments and exploration drill hole results, an open pit mining operation will be required to supply the material to the processing plant. The early drill hole logs indicate that the direct shipping ore zones are present to depths of up to 30m, before changing to a lower grade ferruginous quartzite / haematite material. Large quantities of ferruginous quartzite exist below the surface haematite, drilling and assay programme.

To meet the 50mtpa output requirement it is expected that at least two operating mining faces will be required.

The exploration drill holes indicate that the oxidized zone is characterized by a competent surface layer of between 5 to 20m thick. The material in the 20 to 50 m zone appears more friable and weathered.

Initial measurement of the overburden indicates a zone of approximately 2.5m that will be pre-stripped to open the oxidized ore zone. Stripped over burden and any other waste material will be used as fill for the haul roads to the primary crushing locations and to level road access to and from the mining area.

Further drilling and associated testwork will define the mine design parameters expected for the open pit operations in this area.

Overburden

Approximately 50 million tonnes of overburden is expected to be generated from the mining operations. The pre-stripped overburden will primarily be used as infill for road and construction pad development. Any excess material will be stockpiled as waste dumps and rehabilitated according to the approved environmental plans. The top soil component will be stockpiled and used as rehabilitation top soil after mine closure or to rehabilitate mined out areas.