Independent Geologist’s Report on the EXPLORATION TENEMENTS OF VERTEX LLC IN SAUDI ... · Project...

Project 07-007 ADV Group Ltd Behre Dolbear

Independent Geologist’s Report

on the

EXPLORATION TENEMENTS

OF VERTEX LLC

IN SAUDI ARABIA

Report prepared by Behre Dolbear International Limited

Winchester House, 259-269 Old Marylebone Road,

London, NW1 5RA Telephone +4420 7170 4034 e-mail [email protected]

For

ADV Group Limited

November 2007


TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................................1 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER ...................................................................................9 2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .........................................................................................11 2.1 Location and Climate................................................................................................................11 2.2 Mining Industry in Saudi Arabia ..............................................................................................11 2.3 Regional geology and mineralisation .......................................................................................13 3.0 VERTEX, BARIQ AND CMC PROJECT AREAS.................................................................18 4.0 JABAL SAYID PROJECT.......................................................................................................19 5.0 MAHD ADH DHAHAB - LAHUF AND JABAL RAMRAM PROJECT..............................30 5.1 Lahuf Deposit ...........................................................................................................................30 5.2 Jabal Ramram Prospect ............................................................................................................34 6. THE SHAYBAN MINERAL BELT ........................................................................................35 6.1 Shayban Deposit .......................................................................................................................39 6.2 Wadi Saq and Matober Prospects .............................................................................................42 6.3 Jabal Baydan deposit ................................................................................................................43 6.4 Bahran Gossan..........................................................................................................................47 6.5 Abu Sulukh Prospect ................................................................................................................47 6.6 Al Marasia Prospect..................................................................................................................48 6.7 Wadi al Shatban Prospect .........................................................................................................48 6.8 Wutaileh Prospect.....................................................................................................................49 6.9 Hamar Prospect ........................................................................................................................49 7.0 WADI KAMAL PROJECT......................................................................................................50 7.1 Wadi Kamal Prospect ...............................................................................................................50 8.0 MURAYJIB-BIL’IWY PROJECT...........................................................................................53 8.1 Murayjib Prospect ....................................................................................................................56 8.2 Murayjib South Prospect ..........................................................................................................57 8.3 Bil’iwy Prospect .......................................................................................................................57 8.4 Other Gold Occurrences ...........................................................................................................57 9.0 IDHKIRI – AL QUNNAWAT PROJECT ...............................................................................59 10.0 BARI PROJECT......................................................................................................................61 10.1 Bari Prospect ............................................................................................................................61 11.0 OPINION..................................................................................................................................64 12.0 DECLARATIONS ...................................................................................................................64 APPENDIX A - REFERENCES...............................................................................................67 APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................................69 BARIQ EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR 2007-2008......................69 APPENDIX C - GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS..............................................................72


FIGURES

Figure 1 Simplified geology of the Arabian Shield ...................................................... 14 Figure 2 Regional geological setting ............................................................................ 15 Figure 3 Location plan of the Madh adh Dhahab area .................................................. 19 Figure 4 Simplified Geology of Jabal Sayid deposit ..................................................... 21 Figure 5 Location plan of Shayban, Jabal Shayban and Jabal Baydan areas ................. 36 Figure 6 Geology and mineral prospects in the J. Shayban and J. Baydan area…. ........ 39 Figure 7 Shayban deposit - simplified geology and mineralisation .............................. 41 Figure 8 Location of the Baydan, Bahran and Abu Sulukh Prospects …………….……46 Figure 9 Simplified geology of the Wadi Kamal igneous complex …………………….51 Figure 10 Location of gold prospects in the Murayjib-Bil’iwy licence area ………........ 54 Figure 11 Geology and mineralisation in the Murayjib-Bil’iwy licence area ………...... 56 Figure 12 Location plan - Jabal Idhkiri and Jabal Al Qunnawat Licences...................... 59 Figure 13 Geology and mineralisation in the Bari licence area ……………………... .... 61

TABLES

Table S1 Summary of Vertex / Bariq and CMC tenements................................................ 1 Table S2 Years 1 and 2 proposed expenditure …………………………………….......…2 Table S3 Jabal Sayid –Independent Resource Estimate (H&S, 2007) ………..............…..4 Table S4 Lahuf – 1999 Resource Estimate (Ma’aden)……………………..…………..….5 Table S5 Shayban – 1999 Resource Estimate (Ma’aden)……………………………….. 6 Table 1 Summary of Vertex / Bariq and CMC tenements................................................ 9 Table 2 Years 1 and 2 proposed expenditure …………………………………… ..... …10 Table 3 Ariab Mining Company, Sudan –Indicated Mineral Resources (2005) …..…..16 Table 4 Madh adh Dhahab (Ma’aden, 31/1/2006)……………................................….17 Table 5 Co-ordinates of the Jabal Sayid Licence Area................................................... 19 Table 6 Summary of exploration and development at Jabal Sayid ................................. 22 Table 7 Summary of drilling and underground development at Jabal Sayid................... 23 Table 8 Jabal Sayid - Bariq Diamond drill-hole results (2006-07) ……………..…..…..24 Table 9 Jabal Sayid – Bariq Reverse Circulation drilling results (2007) ………….….…25 Table 10a Jabal Sayid - Mineral resource estimates at 1.5% Cu cut-off ........................ 26 Table 10b Jabal Sayid - Mineral resource estimates at 0.2 % Cu cut-off ....................... 26 Table 11 Jabal Sayid – 2007 Independent Interim Resource Estimate (H&S) …………..26 Table 12 Co-ordinates of the Lahuf and Jabal Ramram Licence Areas ........................... 30 Table 13 Lahuf - 1992 measured and indicated resource estimate ................................ 32 Table 14 Lahuf - 1999 resource estimate...................................................................... 32 Table 15 Co-ordinates of the J. Shayban and J. Baydan Licence Areas………………….35 Table 16 Shayban measured and indicated resources estimates - 1999 .......................... 42 Table 17 Co-ordinates of the Wadi Kamal Licence Area................................................ 50 Table 18 Co-ordinates of the Murayjib-Bil’iwy Licence Area ........................................ 53 Table 19 Co-ordinates of the Jabal Idhkiri – Al Qunnawat Licence Areas ...................... 59 Table 20 Co-ordinates of the Bari Licence Area ............................................................ 60 Table 21 Bari - Selected BRGM drill-hole intersections.............................................. 62 Table 22 List of persons providing information and advice ............................................ 65

Project 07-007 ADV Group Ltd Page 1 Behre Dolbear

SUMMARY

ADV Group Limited (“ADV”) commissioned Behre Dolbear to prepare an Independent Geologist’s Report for the Australian Securities Exchange on the assets of the associated companies - Vertex Group WLL (“Vertex”) a company registered in Bahrain, and Bariq Mining Ltd. (“Bariq”) a company registered in Saudi Arabia - which hold or have applied for nine wholly-owned Exploration Licence Application (ELA) areas for gold and base metals located in Saudi Arabia. Vertex has also concluded a joint venture and farm-in agreement with Consolidated Mining Ltd (“CMC”) to form Bariq Mining Ltd (“BML”) in Saudi Arabia. CMC holds an exploration licence (“EL”) over the relatively advanced Jabal Sayid base-metals project, whereby Bariq has acquired an initial 20% interest in the Jabal Sayid project, and, subject to certain conditions, can earn up to a 50% interest. Vertex also has an agreement with CMC whereby Bariq has acquired a 100% interest in CMC’s Jabal Shayban licence. CMC has also agreed to transfer its Jabal Shayban Exploration Licence and Vertex has agreed to transfer its nine wholly owned ELA titles described in this report to Bariq Mining Ltd. Table S-1 provides a summary of these entitlements.

Table S-1: Summary of Vertex, Bariq and CMC tenements

Licence Name Licence Status and

Minimum Expenditure

Approximate

Location

Area sq km

Reconnaissance Licence “Arabian Shield”

Valid for 2 years from April 2005, SR Nil

Precambrian Shield 575,000

Jabal Sayid (CMC JV) EL, SR73,500 23o51’N, 40o56’E 98 Lahuf ELA, SR72,000 23

o29’N, 40

o46’E 96

Shayban Extended ELA, SR75,000 22o35’N, 39

o45’E 99

J. Shayban (CMC JV) EL, SR4,500 22o35’N, 39o45’E 6 Bari ELA, SR70,500 23o21’N, 41o11’E 96 Jabal Ramram ELA, SR71,250 23o28’N, 40o39’E 96 Jabal Baydan ELA, SR72,750 22o31’N, 39o45’E 99 Wadi Kamal EL, SR75,000 24o20’N, 37o47’E 100 Muraijib-Bil’iwy EL, SR75,000 24o52’N, 38o22’E 100 Jabal Idhkiri West ELA, SR65,250 26o02’N, 41o15’E 73 J. Al Qunnawat South ELA, SR54,750 26o03’N, 41o18’E 78 • Note: The renewal expenditure commitment for CMC’s Shayban EL will be at the Year 2 rate of

SR750 per square kilometre, ie SR4,500 per year.

These licences are all for gold, silver and base metal mineralisation, except for Wadi Kamal which is a copper-nickel-platinum prospect. If all of the ELAs listed in Table 1 are granted, the aggregated annual expenditure commitment will be about SR 800,000, or the equivalent of US$215,000 per year for the initial two years. The proposed expenditure by Vertex/Bariq is sufficient to cover these minimum expenditure commitments:


Table S-2: Years 1 and Year 2 proposed expenditures Project Year 1 A$ Year 2 A$ Total A$

Jabal Sayid 1,400,000 150,000 1,550,000

Lahuf 250,000 1,000,000 1,250,000

Jabal Ramran 100,000 500,000 600,000

Bari 200,000 800,000 1,000,000

Jabal Shayban 138,000 200,000 338,000

Jabal Baydan 30,000 100,000 130,000

Wadi Kamal 250,000 750,000 1,000,000

Murayjib-Bil’iwy 250,000 750,000 1,000,000

Idhkiri South 36,000 36,000 72,000

Other projects 25,000 25,000 50,000

Sub-total 2,679,000 4,311,000 6,990,000

Administrative and other costs 710,000 567,000 1,277,000

TOTAL 3,389,000 4,878,000 8,267,000

The Vertex/Bariq exploration programmes have been designed to suit the geological nature of the exploration areas as described by the previous exploration programmes and confirmed by site visits by the technical staff of Vertex/Bariq and by the author. Behre Dolbear considers that the planned exploration programmes are clearly defined and are reasonable in terms of the prospectivity of the licence areas, the stated exploration objectives, and the proposed budgets.

Regional Geology and Mineralisation There has been gold and copper mining in Saudi Arabia for more than 3,000 years and as a result of this past activity there are:

• More than 6,000 known mineral occurrences;

• More than 1,000 ancient copper and gold mining sites;

• But only 5 currently operating metalliferous mines All the known gold occurrences in Saudi Arabia are in the Proterozoic rocks of the Arabian Shield that outcrop over an area of about 1,500 kilometres north-south and about 800 kilometres east-west in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. There are many structural and geological similarities between the Arabian Shield and the Nubian Shield across the Red Sea in Egypt and Sudan. In particular the volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits of the Ariab mineral belt in Sudan and the Samran – Shayban belt in Saudi Arabia form a world-class mineral province that includes 50 million tonnes of massive sulphides with 1-2% Cu in Sudan; and deposits such as Mahd Adh Dhahab (Cradle of Gold), Jabal Shayban and Jabal Sayid in Saudi Arabia. Many of these deposits have developed gold-rich “oxide’ gossans over the massive sulphide deposits. In Saudi Arabia, exploration of the Ariab-Samran-Shayban greenstone belt is only at an early stage. The Vertex / Bariq projects may be considered as two separate groups:

(i) Those deposits located in the Samran – Shayban – Mahd Adh Dhahab – Sayid mineral belt along strike from the Mahd Adh Dhahab gold mine,

(ii) Those deposits located north and east of Yanbu in the Yanbu, Wadi Kamal and Hail mineral belts.


Jabal Sayid Project Jabal Sayid, located 350 km north-east of Jeddah, is a copper-rich, volcanic-hosted, sulphide deposit, located in felsic volcanic rocks that include extrusive, intrusive and fragmental rhyolites formed around a core of intrusive rhyolite. The mineralisation is thought to have originally formed a massive pyrite lens about 1,000m in length and up to 50m thick that is underlain in the No.1, No.2 and No.4 deposits by a pervasive stockwork of sulphide bearing veins. Subsequently the deposit, along with the enclosing host rocks, was broken into four sections (No. 1 – 4 deposits) by WNW – ESE trending faults. No. 1 is at the western end and outcrops as a prominent northwest – southeast trending gossan that was discovered by BRGM in 1965. The copper-zinc sulphide body is bordered by a bed of chert or jasper and several thin (< 5m) beds of limestone that form the hanging wall. The deposit is a 40m thick sulphide lens that extends down-dip to the south-east to a depth of at least 550m. Oxidation is reported to extend to a depth of 70m. No. 2, discovered in 1970, outcrops as a less prominent gossan that is separated from No.1 by the East Valley Fault that has a 300m horizontal displacement. At depth it forms a steeply dipping, north-west to south-east trending tabular body. No. 3, the most northerly of the deposits, does not outcrop, but some chlorite-sericite hydrothermal alteration with some minor sulphide mineralisation, observed at the surface, led to its discovery in 1972 at a depth of 200m below surface. Little data exists for the No. 3 deposit which has been described as small, deep and sub-economic. No.4 is the largest of the Jabal Sayid deposits and has the most economic potential. It consists of a vertical stockwork of pyrite and chalcopyrite veinlets associated with disseminated sulphides in a sub-volcanic dome of porphyritic rhyolite. About 300m below the surface the deposit is stratigraphically overlain by a 22m thick jasper horizon and a 10m thick lens of massive pyrite and pyrrhotite that exhibits obvious clastic textures. The deposit extends over a vertical interval of 600m and is open at depth. Since 1965, 47.3 kilometres of drilling, 5.5 kilometres of surface trenching and 3.9 kilometres of underground development have been completed. Exploration methods included litho-geochemistry as well as multi-disciplinary geophysical surveys in the area of known mineralisation. Core drilling was mostly done at NQ size with deeper holes reducing to BQ size. Better than 95% core recovery was generally achieved. All the drill holes were surveyed and most holes maintained their azimuth, but many suffered from significant flattening. During the 1980s, a 5m x 5m decline was developed by the BRGM to access the Nos 1, 2 and 4 deposits and substantial underground drilling (81 drill holes totalling 10,869 metres) and sampling (20 drives totalling 1,363m) was undertaken. Extensive metallurgical test work, including pilot-plant scale, closed-cycle and flotation tests, was undertaken on samples from No 4 deposit. Some preliminary flotation test work was also done on samples from No. 1 deposit. A Pre-Feasibility Study undertaken by the BRGM in 1984 considered underground mining at a rate of 1 million tonnes per year over a 20 year mine-life, mainly from the No 4 deposit, using a 1.5% Cu cut-off. At the copper price at that time this concept appeared to be only marginally economic.


In the 1990s, Cominco Engineering carried out a scoping study based on open-pit mining of an Inferred Resource of about 100 million tonnes using a 0.5% Cu cut-off to a depth of 400m. Between 2002 and 2004, Ma’aden undertook a comprehensive data compilation and review, together with some exploratory drilling. Ma’aden relinquished all its base metal projects in 2004. Bariq are currently carrying out confirmatory drilling and have completed 21 core and 17 RC percussion drill holes at Nos 1, 2 and 4 deposits (14/06/07). Bariq are also cataloguing, re-logging and where appropriate re-sampling for assay, the large amount of old drill core stored on site. The samples are being analysed at a reputable laboratory in Jeddah and check samples are being sent to ALS in Australia. Hellman and Schofield Pty Ltd (“H&S”), a specialist Independent Resource Consultancy prepared a geostatistical model of the deposit and an interim resource estimate based upon the available data in March 2007. H&S found the quality and amount of the data justified using an Ordinary Kriging method of resource modelling with a search radius generally of the order of 30m, with resource reporting for each of the lodes constrained by the 0.2% Cu shape. The results of this modelling are presented in table S-3 below, using a density of 3.4 t/m3 for Lode No.1 and 2.8 t/m3 for Lodes No.2 and No.4, as shown in Table S-3:-

Table S-3: Jabal Sayid –Independent Resource Estimate (H&S, 2007)

Lode Category Tonnes Copper

%

Cu Metal t Zinc % Zn Metal t

Indicated

1,847,900

1.61

29,700

1.44

26,600

No.1

Inferred 4,644,400 1.53 71,100 1.29 59,900

Indicated 3,271,100 2.23 73,000 No.2

Inferred 3,328,500 1.67 55.500

Indicated 9,832,200 2.03 199,900 No.4

Inferred 23,262,400 1.71 398,800

Total Tonnes Copper% Cu metal t

Indicated 14,951,200 2.02 302,556

Inferred 31,235,300 1.68 525,432

Total 46,186,500 1.79 827,988

Thus the total resource estimate for the Jabal Sayid deposit is 46.2Mt at 1.79% Copper (using a 0.2%Cu cut-off). Bariq have focused their work during 2007 on the near-surface, gold-silver ‘oxide’ potential that may be developed by shallow open-pit mining. In 1981 Riofinex concluded there was considerable potential for further discoveries at Jabal Sayid including:

• Down-dip of Nos 1, 2 and 4 deposits;

• The relatively unexplored “South-east Zone”; and

• The “Eastern Valley Fault zone” between No.4 and No.2 deposits.

Lahuf and Jabal Ramram Projects

These two contiguous licence applications include areas of known mineralisation that offer significant potential for the discovery of epithermal vein-type gold-sulphide deposits similar to that mined at Mahd Adh Dhahab, that since reopening in 1983 has produced 2 million oz of gold at an average grade of 29.1 g/t Au.


The volcanic host rocks trend SW – NE and dip gently (40o) north-west and appear to be the western continuation of the stratigraphic sequence that hosts the Mahd Adh Dhahab mine. The mineralisation consists of gold, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena, both oxide and sulphide, within quartz breccia zones, within sheeted quartz vein stockworks at least 700m in length and several hundred metres in width. At Lahuf, Petromin Mahd Adh Dhahab (1991-1993) carried out trenching and drilled 20 core holes into the “Central Breccia” zone of quartz vein stockwork where significant gold values occur in 2m to 10m wide quartz veins within the stockwork zone. In 1999, Ma’aden carried out an additional 17 hole drilling programme within the Central and Eastern Breccia zones. The estimated mineral resources based on these two drilling programmes amounted to 1.7 million tonnes at 2.6 g/t Au equivalent to 142,000 ounces of contained gold, as shown in table S-4:

Table S-4: Lahuf – 1999 Resource Estimate (Ma’aden)

Zone Mineralisation Measured Indicated Inferred

Tonnes Au g/t Tonnes Au g/t Tonnes Au g/t

Western Oxide 8,300 5.92 145,600 1.08 98,000 1.25

Oxide 113,700 2.82 485,800 1.32 265,900 1.74 Central

Sulphide 93,300 3.77 108,500 1.56 50,700 2.01

Oxide 61,700 9.66 185,600 5.65 81,100 3.03 Eastern

Sulphide - - 2,400 0.75 8,200 19.27

TOTAL 276,900 4.76 930,900 2.17 503,800 2.16

Lahuf is an advanced exploration project with potential for development of an open pit mining operation. Jabal Ramram is located adjacent to Lahuf. The host rocks are stratigraphically equivalent to those that host the Mahd Adh Dhahab mine. Jabal Ramram has been described as an old volcanic crater or caldera that is reported to contain sporadic disseminated Cu-Pb-Ag mineralisation in quartz veins. In the late 1980’s DGMR carried out reconnaissance geological mapping and geochemical sampling programs. Mineralisation was detected at five localities and some of these fracture-controlled quartz-veins contained disseminated malachite, pyrite and chalcopyrite mineralisation. Jabal Ramram is an early-stage exploration project with potential for discovery of epithermal-type gold-sulphide vein mineralisation similar to that located along strike to the east at Lahuf and Mahd Adh Dhahab.

The Shayban Mineral Belt Vertex/Bariq has acquired a significant land position in the highly prospective Shayban mineral belt where it holds or has applied for three exploration licence areas. There are many known mineral occurrences within the licence areas including Shayban, Wadi Saq, Matobar, Umm Sani, Shagiah North, Wadi Jidrah, Jabal Baydan, Bahran, Wadi Shugiah, Maxifa, Al Marasia, Brumah, Jibalah, Wadi Al Shatban, Wutaileh and Hamer. Exploration commenced in the 1950s by DGMR and USGS. Some occurrences have been drilled, in other cases exploration has been limited to mapping and surface sampling the ancient workings.


The rocks in the Shayban area comprise a series of weakly metamorphosed felsic to intermediate volcano-clastic rocks with subordinate chert and limestone/marble horizons. These rocks are intruded by a younger suite of quartz-diorites and an even younger suite of adamellite, granodiorite and syenite intrusives. Geological mapping of the Shayban area has shown that mineralisation is stratabound within the Shayban formation which trends NE – SW and dips 50o-80o NW. Shayban is a gold-copper-zinc deposit situated in the lower part of the Shayban formation within proximal felsic lava and tuff. The primary mineralisation appears to consist of ten or more separate but parallel horizons that are conformable with the host rocks. Between 1963 and 1965, the BRGM drilled 36 core holes. This led to a re-assessment of the deposit as a gold prospect 500m in length, 50m in width, with a downdip extension of 100m. In 1999, Ma’aden drilled a further 58 holes and estimated the resources to a depth of 100m below surface using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off at 1.8 million tonnes at 2.76 g/t Au, 23.11 g/t Ag and 0.46 %Cu, which is equivalent to 159,500 ounces of contained gold, 1,312,000 ounces of contained silver and 8,300 tonnes of contained copper as follows:

Table S-5 Shayban – 1999 Resource Estimate (Ma’aden)

Zone Measured Indicated Tonnes Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Tonnes Au g/t Ag g/t Cu %

Oxide 266,300 2.56 31.1 0.43 156,100 3.79 30.4 0.39

Sulphide 738,900 2.78 20.5 0.52 648,500 2.58 31.1 0.42

TOTAL 1,005,200 2.72 23.3 0.50 804,600 2.81 22.9 0.41

Some preliminary metallurgical test work undertaken on BRGM drill core samples showed that most of the samples gave better than 90% gold extraction with low (0.86 kg/t) cyanide consumption and normal lime consumption rates, but some core samples with visible copper gave lower (72 – 83%) extraction and higher cyanide consumption rates. Subject to mine planning limits, the Shayban deposit appears to have the potential for the development of a small open-pit mine utilising cyanide-leach extraction. The Jabal Baydan deposit is located 7 km south of the Shayban deposit in rocks that are stratigraphically equivalent to the host rocks at Shayban and Jabal Sayid. Ancient copper workings extend over an area of 200m x 50m within a prominent gossan zone that is 1,250m in length and 70m wide. This was first discovered in the 1930’s and has been explored intermittently since the 1950s. In 1983-85, 11 percussion and 2 diamond core drillholes tested two IP anomalies along a strike length of about 480m. In 1996, 24 core drillholes further explored the Baydan deposit. The mineralisation occurs as a 300m long, 100m wide, 5m thick lens of massive sulphides within black graphite shale, in a sequence of felsic quartz eye tuff, overlain by epiclastic rocks and a thick quartz-diorite sill. Based on the drilling to date a resource of 0.5-0.7 million tonnes at 16-17% Zn and 1.5-2.5 g/t Au has been estimated for the deposit. The prospect is an early stage exploration project with the potential for discovery of a gold / base-metal sulphide deposit.


Wadi Kamal Project The Wadi Kamal exploration licence provides for exploration of precious metals, base-metals, platinum group elements (PGEs) and ferro-alloys. The Wadi Kamal EL covers the southern part of a layered igneous complex that outcrops over an area about 50 km N-S and 10 km E-W. The layered complex includes serpentinised dunite, layered gabbro, an ultramafic-mafic layered unit and anorthosite. In the southern part of the complex, PGE’s and gold values are associated with gossans derived from pyrrhotite / pyrite / chalcopyrite / pentlandite mineralisation. The individual gossan outcrops are only a few square metres in area but form a discontinuous line of outcrop, over a distance of 10 km from north to south, within the amphibolite-dunite zone. Between 1972 and 1979 the BRGM examined the Wadi Kamal complex and drilled 11 diamond core holes, two of which are located within Bariq’s EL. The best result was in drill hole KMS-1 with 17m of 0.53% Ni and 0.21% Cu. In 1986 a sample of copper enriched gossan near drill hole KMS-1 assayed 7.2 g/t Pt, 0.82 g/t Pd, 6.2 g/t Au, 10.6% Cu and 3% Ni. If these values represent a consistently mineralised sulphide layer then Wadi Kamal is highly prospective. Wadi Kamal is an early-stage exploration project with potential for the discovery of a large layered Ni-Cu-Pt-Au deposit.

Murayjib-Bil’iwy Project The Murayjib-Bil’iwy exploration licence for precious and base-metals, covers an area of ancient gold mines including the workings at Murayjib, Murayjib South, Bil’iwy, Umm Hashayim, Ifshaygh and Umm Hufrah. The workings are aligned in a north-south direction over an area of 20 km in length and 5 km in width that appears to correlate with the lower contact of a thick basalt or diorite unit. On a regional scale the stratigraphy consists of mafic tuffaceous sediments overlain by a thick sequence of coarse sandstones and conglomerates that have been folded into a shallow north-south trending syncline. The Murayjib prospect consist of an extensive area of ancient gold mining developed on vertical to steeply dipping WNW – ESE trending sheeted quartz vein system over an area about 800m east-west and 300m north-south. The veins are narrow (usually 10 to 30cm) but are persistent along strike. At least 50 veins have been trenched along their outcrop by the ancient workings. In 1937, 6 cored holes were drilled, of which DDH2 intersected 0.3m at 180 g/t Au and DDH5 intersected 1.5m at 9.6 g/t Au. The very extensive ancient workings and their relatively easy access make Murayjib an attractive exploration project The Bil’iwy prospect is an area of ancient gold workings about 1 km south o Murayjib, that consists of a large number of quartz veins up to 1m in width, within an area of intense ferruginous hydrothermal alteration that has been pitted, trenched and drilled over an area of 1,500m by 500m. The quartz is mostly free of sulphide minerals but the hydrothermally altered zone on the southern side is very ferruginous with some thin steeply-dipping gossanous bands. The substantial ancient workings, quartz veins and intense alteration make Bil’iwy an attractive exploration target. The Murayjib-Bil’iwy area is an attractive exploration target for a large, bulk gold deposit amenable to open-pit mining.


Hail Project The Hail project comprises two adjacent exploration licence applications, Jabal Idhkiri West and Jabal Al Qunnawat South, located about 650 km north-northeast of Jeddah, that cover a gold and base-metal geochemical anomaly extending over a distance of 14 km along a WNW-ESE trend. The Hail area is an early stage gold exploration project. At Jabal Idhkiri to the west there are 34 separate ancient workings along a 1,200m long by 100m wide zone of en echelon quartz veins intruded into granodiorite and Murdama group sediments. In 1985, Riofinex mapped the workings and collected 33 grab samples from quartz veins and/or altered host rock. The samples averaged 3.2 g/t Au, with the best value being 25.3 g/t gold from a sample of quartz vein in granodiorite. The Jabal Al Qunnawat South prospect to the east consists of numerous quartz veins within altered volcanic rocks that have been intruded by granodiorite to the south. Stream sampling in the vicinity of the ancient workings showed anomalous gold, silver and base metal values over a distance of 8 km. In 1965 Riofinex collected vein and wall-rock samples that returned assay values up to 46.6 g/t Au.

Bari Project The Bari exploration licence application is located about 38 km south-east of the Mahd Adh Dhahab gold mine. Bari is an ancient gold and copper mining area where the BRGM recorded 132 separate ancient workings within a 4km x 2km area including ancient copper-smelter slag dumps that are reported to contain up to 3,000 tonnes of slag. Outcrop is sparse but there are extensive areas of quartz float on the ridges and several small quartz vein outcrops can be seen. A large quartz-diorite intrusion hosts the series of east-west trending quartz veins that contain the Cu, Au, Ag, Zn and Pb mineralisation. The veins appear to be located in a broad altered contact zone where the quartz-diorite has been intruded by the Bari biotite granite. In 1965 the BRGM drilled 32 percussion holes and 4 core drill-holes. The exceptional results (84m at 6.8 g/t Au and 39.0m at 7.3 g/t Au) from holes P-10 and P-06 in the Trench 13 area were investigated by a further 6 drill holes that failed to substantiate these results. It was therefore concluded that the P-06 and P-10 drill holes must either have been contaminated or drilled down the dip of one of the veins or along a previously unrecognised N-S trending mineralised structure. Bari is an early stage exploration project. It is a large shear-hosted, quartz vein system that offers potential for the discovery of a bulk, low-grade deposit amenable to open pit mining. This summary has been prepared from the complete Independent Geologist’s Report prepared by Behre Dolbear and should be read in conjunction with that report. All statements made in that report apply equally to this summary.


1.0 INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER

ADV Group Ltd (“ADV”) has commissioned Behre Dolbear to prepare an Independent Geologist’s Report for the Australian Securities Exchange on the assets of the associated companies Vertex Group WLL (“Vertex”), a company registered in Bahrain, and Bariq Mining Ltd (“Bariq”), a company registered in Saudi Arabia, which hold or have applied for nine wholly-owned Exploration Licence Application (“ELA”) areas for gold and base-metals located in Saudi Arabia. Vertex has also concluded a joint-venture and farm-in agreement with Consolidated Mining Company Ltd (“CMC”) that holds an Exploration Licence (“EL”) over the relatively advanced Jabal Sayid base-metals project, whereby Bariq has acquired an initial 20% interest in the Jabal Sayid project, and, subject to certain conditions, can earn up to a 50% interest. Vertex also has an agreement with CMC whereby Bariq has acquired a 100% interest in CMC’s Shayban Licence. CMC has also agreed to transfer its Shayban Exploration Licence, and Vertex has agreed to transfer its nine wholly owned ELA titles, all of which are described in this report, to Bariq Mining Ltd. Table 1 provides a summary of the entitlements held or applied for by Vertex and CMC. The minimum expenditures shown are annual minimum expenditures required by the Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources (“DMMR”) for each of Years 1 and 2. Some of the licence application areas may be reduced in area or altered in shape in order to meet local administrative concerns or constraints such as future infrastructure or building developments.

Table 1 Summary of Vertex/Bariq and CMC Tenements

Licence Name Licence Status and

Minimum

Expenditure

Approximate

Location

Area

sq km

Reconnaissance Licence “Arabian Shield”

Jabal Sayid (CMC JV)

Lahuf

Jabal Shayban Extended

J. Shayban (CMC JV)

Bari

Jabal Ramram

Jabal Baydan

Wadi Kamal

Murayjib-Bil’iwy

Jabal Idhkiri West

J. Al Qunnawat South

Valid for 2 years from April 2005, SR Nil

EL, SR73,500

ELA, SR72,000

ELA, SR75,000

EL*SR4,500

ELA, SR70,500

ELA, SR71,250

ELA, SR72,750

EL, SR75,000

EL, SR75,000

ELA, SR65,250

ELA, SR54,750

Precambrian Shield

23º51’N, 40º56’E

23º29’N, 40º46’E

22º35’N, 39º45’E

22º35’N, 39º45’E

23º21’N, 41º11’E

23º28’N, 40º39’E

22º31’N, 39º45’E

24º20’N, 37º47’E

24º52’N, 38º22’E

26º02’N, 41º15’E

26º03’N, 41º18’E

575,000

98

96

99

6

96

96

99

100

100

73

78

* Note : The renewal expenditure commitment for CMC’s Shayban EL will be at the Year 2 rate of SR750 per square kilometre, ie SR4500 per year.


These licences are all for gold, silver and base-metal mineralisation, except for the Wadi Kamal copper-nickel-platinum prospect. If all of the ELAs listed in Table 1 are granted, the aggregate annual expenditure commitment will be about SR800,000, or the equivalent of US$215,000 per year, for the initial two years. Vertex has advised that progressive partial relinquishment of tenement holdings throughout the period of tenure may provide a means to reduce the higher minimum expenditure commitments after the first two years. In aggregate terms, the proposed Year 1 and Year 2 expenditures by Vertex / Bariq are sufficient to cover all the minimum expenditure commitments required by DMMR, as follows:

Table 2 Years 1 and 2 proposed expenditures

Project Year 1 A$ Year 2 A$ Total A$

Jabal Sayid 1,400,000 150,000 1,550,000 Lahuf 250,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 Jabal Ramran 100,000 500,000 600,000 Bari 200,000 800,000 1,000,000 Jabal Shayban 138,000 200,000 338,000 Jabal Baydan 30,000 100,000 130,000 Wadi Kamal 250,000 750,000 1,000,000 Murayjib-Bil’iwy 250,000 750,000 1,000,000 Idhkiri South 36,000 36,000 72,000 Other projects 25,000 25,000 50,000

Sub-total 2,679,000 4,311,000 6,990,000

Administrative and other costs 710,000 567,000 1,277,000 TOTAL 3,389,000 4,878,000 8,267,000


2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

2.1 Location and Climate

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a land mass of 1.96 million square kilometres and a population of 26.4 million. The biggest cities are the inland capital of Riyadh with 4.7 million people, and the coastal city of Jeddah, the main commercial centre, with 3.4 million people. Jeddah has good port facilities, direct flights to Riyadh and several other cities, and international flights to Europe and Asia. The average diurnal temperature ranges from 5 to 25°C in January and 25 to 50°C in July, with a mean average annual temperature of 30°C. As a result of the low humidity these high temperatures are bearable. The area receives only sporadic rainfall, with annual precipitation less than 50 mm, which often occurs as short intense rainstorms that cause flash flooding along the wadis.

2.2 Mining Industry in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is one of the 25 largest economies in the world, with a per capita GDP of US$13,000. The investment environment in the Kingdom reflects a tradition of liberal, open market private enterprise policies and the new Foreign Investment Law allows 100% foreign ownership of projects and real estate. The new Mining Act also allows 100% foreign ownership of mineral tenements. The Kingdom has an impressive record of political and economic stability and has a modern world-class infrastructure. The Kingdom is endowed with important mineral resources such as bauxite, limestone, gypsum, phosphate, gold, copper, zinc and iron-ore. The Kingdom has a long track record of development of mining operations and several international mining companies have established a presence in Saudi Arabia, including Australian, Canadian and American companies. There has been gold and copper mining in Saudi Arabia for more than 3,000 years, with discovery of hundreds of mineral occurrences. The main periods of gold and copper mining were around 3,000 BC, 1000 BC, the early Islamic period between 750 and 1258 AD, and the modern period since 1936. As a result of this past activity there are :-

• more than 6000 known mineral occurrences

• more than 1000 ancient copper and gold mining sites

• but only 5 currently operating metalliferous mines.

In recent years, the Saudi mining industry has been dominated by the industrial minerals and construction materials sector and in 2004, prior to implementation of the new mining code, out of a total of 1179 mining leases, only six were for base-metals and precious metals. All but one of these six were held by the government-owned “Saudi Arabian Mining Company” more commonly known as Ma’aden, or its sister company “Saudi Company for Precious Metals” (SCPM). Prior to introduction of the new mining code,


Ma’aden held the exclusive right to mine precious metals and operated five gold mines producing between 250,000 and 300,000 ounces per year. Ma’aden was formed by Royal Decree in 1997 as a state-owned joint stock company to serve as a catalyst for private sector investment in the mining sector and assumed the mineral titles formerly held by the General Petroleum and Minerals Organization (Petromin). Ma’aden is also planning to develop the phosphate to fertilizer and the bauxite to aluminium sectors, with the associated construction of a new 1600 kilometre minerals railway network to transport phosphate and bauxite to the new minerals processing hub being constructed at Ras as Zawr on the Gulf coast. A new Mining Investment Code was ratified by Royal Decree on 4th October 2004, becoming effective from 18th January 2005, with the key objectives of:

• attracting investment into the mining sector; • streamlining procedures for mining projects; • creation of job opportunities for Saudi nationals; • transfer of mining technology to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and • increasing the relative importance of mining in the national economy.

Under the new Mining Investment Code, all mineral commodities are open to all parties, including 100% foreign-owned companies. The main types of Licences available under the new mineral investment code are:

• Reconnaissance Licence, • Exploration Licence, and • Mining Licence,

There are four other categories of licences for Material Collection, Raw Materials Quarry, Small Mine and Buildings Material Quarry. Reconnaissance Licences are non-exclusive licences, of unlimited area, that are valid for two years with no minimum expenditure. They permit the collection of samples, geophysical and other prospecting, and unrestricted access to all non-confidential DMMR data. Exploration Licences are exclusive licences, of up to 100 square kilometres and are valid for a period of five years. They may be renewed or extended for a period not exceeding five years. They permit any pre-commercial exploration within the licence area. The minimum annual expenditure requirements for ELs are:

• Years 1 and 2 SR750 per square kilometre, • Years 3 and 4 SR3000 per square kilometre, • Years 5 and 6 SR4500 per square kilometre, • Years 7 and 8 SR5600 per square kilometre, • Years 9 and 10 SR7500 per square kilometre,

The holder of an EL has the right to convert to a Mining Licence provided the licensee has demonstrated the discovery of an exploitable mineral deposit.


Mining Licences of up to 50 square kilometres in area allow exploitation of a mineral discovery by the holder, for a renewable term of 30 years. The holder of an exploration licence is required to deliver to the DMMR copies of all technical reports and samples, in addition to half-yearly and final reports. The reporting requirements for a mining licence include:

• preparation of a feasibility study before the start of operations, • completion of an environmental and rehabilitation plan, • maintaining books of account and production records, and • submission of annual progress reports.

All licences issued by DMMR are transferable for a transfer fee of SR 5000 for each licence. Public record tenement plans for all types of licence, are accessible to all parties via the DMMR. Under the new Mining Investment Code, minerals are the exclusive property of the State, but no royalties are payable. Surface rental is not payable for an exploration licence, but is payable at the annual rate of SR10,000 per square kilometre for a mining licence. For mining operations, all imported equipment is exempt from customs duty and the liability for income tax is currently at the rate of 20% of annual net income. For any mining development, Vertex / Bariq may be able to access project funding for 50% of project costs up to SR500 million from the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Finance, for pre-operating expenses, for start-up working capital, and for fixed assets apart from used plant. The SIDF funding is interest-free for a term of 5 to 15 years, and is available to Saudis and non-Saudis alike. A minimum 25% project equity funding is required for SIDF funding eligibility.

2.3 Regional geology and mineralisation

All the known gold occurrences in Saudi Arabia are in the Proterozoic rocks of the Arabian Shield that forms the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. The rocks of the Arabian Shield are between 1000 million and 600 million years old and outcrop over an area about 1500 kilometres north-south and about 800 kilometres east-west. Outcrop is mostly good to excellent. The overlying Phanerozoic rocks, which host the vast Saudi oil reserves, flank the Arabian Shield on the north, east and south.


Figure 1 Simplified geology of the Arabian Shield

Many geological and structural similarities are seen between the Arabian Shield and the Nubian Shield across the Red Sea in Egypt and Sudan. In particular, the volcanic hosted massive sulphide deposits of the Ariab mineral belt in Sudan and the Samran – Shayban mineral belt in Saudi Arabia form a world-class mineral province. Figure 2 illustrates this geological relationship.


Figure 2 Regional geological setting


The Ariab-Samran-Shayban greenstone belt extends for a distance of almost 1000 km from the Nile valley in Sudan north-eastwards across the Red Sea to Mahd adh Dhahab in Saudi Arabia. The greenstone belt has an average width of about 50 km. During the last 20 years, exploration by the Ariab Mining Company in Sudan has resulted in the discovery of more than twenty outcropping volcanogenic gold-copper-zinc-silver-barite deposits containing, in total, at least 50 million tonnes of massive sulphides (mainly cupriferous pyrite). Many of these have developed gold-rich oxide “gossans” to depths of 20-50 meters over the massive sulphide deposits. Since mining began in 1991, more than two million ounces of gold have been recovered from 16 mined deposits with the average grade estimated to be about 10 grams/tonne. There are many other near-surface deposits still to be explored. Production is drawn from several pits and trucked to a central processing plant with an annual throughput of almost 1 million tonnes of ore yielding 100,000 ounces per year.

Table 3 Ariab Mining Company, Sudan –Indicated Mineral Resources (2005 )

Deposit Resources (t) Grade g/t Gold Content (t)

Hadul Auteb 281,000 41.8 11.8

Oderuk 240,000 14.0 3.3

Hassai 611,000 7.9 4.8

Talaideruk 166,000 15.1 2.5

Baderuk 128,000 22.2 2.8

Hassai North 43.000 10.2 0.4

Komoeb N & S 735.000 6.6 4.9

H Veins 407.000 3.3 1.6

Ganeit 100.000 6.9 0.7

Total 2,711,000 12.0 32.8

In Saudi Arabia, exploration of the Ariab-Samran-Shayban greenstone belt is only at an early stage. There are many ancient gold and copper workings developed on the outcrop of volcanogenic gold-sulphide deposits such as Jabal Shayban and Jabal Sayid. At the northern end of the greenstone belt, is Mahd adh Dhahab (Cradle of Gold), one of the oldest mining sites in Saudi Arabia. Carbon dating of slag from the ancient mining operations indicated two separate periods of activity. The earliest activity was 3000 years ago during the reign of King Solomon (961 to 922 BC), whilst the later one coincided with the expansion of Islamic culture about 1000 years ago during the Abbasial Caliphate (750 to 1258 AD). The mine was re-developed by the Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate (SAMS) in 1938 and from then until it closed in 1954 it produced a total of 765,768 oz of gold and 1,000,000 oz of silver at an average grade of 26.5 g/t Au and 34.6 g/t Ag (Hopwood, 1979). The mine was reopened by the state-owned company Ma’aden in 1983 and since then has produced about 2.1 million oz of gold at an average grade of 20.1 g/t Au. In 1997, a zinc flotation plant was commissioned to treat the tailings to produce a 58 % Zn concentrate that is exported for refining.


Table 4 Madh adh Dhahab Mine (Ma’aden, 31/1/2006)

Production Tonnes Grade Contained Gold SAMS (1938-54) 0.899 Mt 26.5 g/t 23.81 tonnes Ma’aden (1983-2006) 3.263 Mt 20.13 g/t 65.68 tonnes Remaining Potential 1.927 Mt 20.67 g/t 39.84 tonnes Total size of deposit 6.089 Mt 21.24 g/t 129.33 tonnes The host rocks and geological settings of these gold and base-metal occurrences include mafic to felsic volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks; interbedded graphitic black shales, cherts and limestones; all intruded by diorites, granodiorites, quartz-veins and shear zones. Tectonically, these rocks and structures belong to a series of oceanic terrains that appear to have been obducted onto an older craton.

During the past 60 years, exploration for gold and base-metals in Saudi Arabia has mainly been carried out by the following organisations :-

• Saudi Arabian Mining Syndicate Ltd (SAMS), a joint venture between the Saudi government and American Smelting and Refining Company, from 1936 to 1954.

• The Directorate General of Mineral Resources (DGMR) that was established in 1962, and became the Deputy Ministry of Mineral Resources (DMMR) in 1994.

• United States Geological Survey (USGS), for more than 25 years from 1963.

• Bureau de Researche Geologique et Miniere (BRGM), from 1965 to 1995.

• Rio Tinto Finance and Exploration Ltd (Riofinex), from 1976 to 1986.

• Watts, Griffis and McQuat Limited (WGM), from 1992 to 1994.

• Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden), a public company wholly-owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, since its formation in 1997.

Apart from the partly government-owned SAMS joint venture and Ma’aden, all these organisations were engaged as contractors to the Saudi government and copies of most of the reports prepared by these parties are available in the libraries of the DMMR and SGS, for review and / or purchase. Under a contract with DGMR, the Canadian geological consultants, WGM, reviewed the entire work of DGMR, its missions, contractors and licensees, through a study of all available library material from the 1930’s up to 1989, which involved a 30-man team who prepared 33 separate reports that form the optimum starting point for ongoing mineral exploration in Saudi Arabia. Many of these historical estimates of tonnages and grades of gold mineralisation do not conform to the JORC Code and in some cases, the tonnages and grades reported may have been amended as a result of later work. Accordingly, under the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (Paragraph 18) - the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, there may have been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource and that it is not certain that further exploration will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource.


3.0 VERTEX, BARIQ AND CMC PROJECT AREAS

The Vertex / Bariq projects may be considered as two separate groups:

A) Those deposits located in the Samran – Shayban - Mahd adh Dhahab - Sayid

mineral belt along strike from the Madh adh Dhahab gold mine. B) Those deposits located north and east of Yanbu in the Yanbu, Wadi Kamel and Hail mineral belts.

Mahd adh Dhahab – Jabal Sayid Mineral Belt The Proterozoic Samran-Shayban Belt of the Arabian Shield is a well-developed 500 km long volcanic and volcano-sedimentary belt that strikes northeast-southwest. Its northern part includes the two deposits of Jabal Sayid and Mahd adh Dhahab and the central part includes the deposits at Jabal Shayban and Jabal Baydan. The southern-most extension, across the Red Sea in Sudan, is the Ariab-Arbaat Belt with several gold and base-metal mines (Fig. 2) that produce several tonnes of gold per year (Pouit and others, 1984). Vertex’s Jabal Sayid and Lahuf – Jabal Ramram projects, along with the earlier stage Bari project, are located in the Mahd adh Dhahab region, 350 kilometres north-east of Jeddah, and are located a few kilometres along strike from, and within the same host volcanics as the Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine (23° 30' N / 40° 52' E) currently operated by Ma’aden. The various Vertex / Bariq projects within this north-east trending mineral belt are described in this report sequentially from north-east to south-west. Their location is shown in Figure 3 on the following page. The area consists of strongly deformed, upper Proterozoic rocks that form a typical "greenstone belt" assemblage. The oldest are ultramafic rocks that have been described (Frisch and Al Shanti, 1997) as the basal sequence of an "ophiolite complex" that on a

regional scale dips at a low angle (30°) to the south. These are overlain by a sequence of intermediate to felsic, volcanic and volcano-clastic rocks that, in places, include pyritic black shales and siliceous jasper horizons that are associated with the sulphide mineralisation. The mineralisation includes both quartz vein stockwork Cu - Au - Ag deposits such as Madh adh Dhahab and Lahuf, and volcanic hosted sulphide Cu-Zn-Au-Ag deposits such as Jabal Sayid. The major regional stratigraphic sequence is:

3. Intermediate Member volcano-sedimentary conglomerates and tuffs 2. Halaban Member andesitic and rhyolitic pyroclastics 1. Ultramafic Suite serpentinite, spillitic basalt, andesite

This volcanic sequence has been intruded by various granites and diorites that have deformed the volcano-clastic sequence into a series of NE-SW trending regional scale fold structures. Some of the granites contain accessory minerals such as zirconium, thorium, uranium, niobium, tantalum and fluorite (Hackett, D. 1986).


Figure 3 Location plan of the Madh adh Dhahab area

4.0 JABAL SAYID PROJECT (Bariq 20% to 50%) CMC holds the Jabal Sayid Exploration Licence covering 95 km2 and Vertex has signed an agreement with CMC that assigns 20% of this project to Bariq. Bariq must spend US$1 million and complete a pre-feasibility study in Year 1 in order to earn an additional 5% (ie, to 25%) with the right to earn a further 25% by completion of a definitive feasibility study. The Exploration Licence provides for exploration of precious and base-metals over a 5-year period and may be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. Bariq is the manager of the Jabal Sayid Project. The co-ordinates of the licence area are shown in table 5. Table 5 Co-ordinates of the Jabal Sayid Exploration Licence Area (98 km

2 ) CORNER No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 40° 54' 52” 23° 54' 25”

2 41° 00' 00” 23° 54' 25”

3 41° 00' 00” 23° 48' 41”

4 40° 54' 52” 23° 48' 41”


Jabal Sayid Deposit (23° 51’ N / 40° 56’ 30” E)

Location and access

Jabal Sayid is located 350 km northeast of Jeddah from where it can be accessed by proceeding northwards on Highway 15 for 220 km to Al Akhar, then east for 120 km on the sealed highway to Mahd adh Dhahab, an operating gold mine with a resident population of about 1500 people. From Mahd adh Dhahab continue northwards on the sealed highway towards Al Madinah for 41 km, then on a rough track for 1 km to the Jabal Sayid camp. The deposit is located 1 km north of the camp and a network of tracks provides access to all parts of the deposit. The journey from Jeddah takes about 4 hours by car. Jabal Sayid is on the high desert plateau at an altitude of 1000m above sea-level. About 50% of the area consists of flat sand-covered plains drained by wide, shallow wadis. The remainder consists of steep rocky ridges that rise up to 100m above the plain.

Geology Gold, silver and base-metals have been mined in the Jabal Sayid district since pre-historic times (Hopwood, 1979, p.88). The mineralised gossans that occur in the Jabal Sayid area were first investigated by the BRGM in 1965 (Bowden & Smith, 1981). Jabal Sayid is a copper-rich volcanic-hosted sulphide deposit, located in felsic volcanic rocks that include extrusive, intrusive and fragmental rhyolites. The host rocks trend NE-SW and dip almost vertically. They have been interpreted as forming the northern limb of a localised NW-SE trending anticline that is formed around a core of intrusive rhyolite, associated with parallel NW-SE trending axial plane shears and faults. The overlying sedimentary sequence to the east also appears to have been folded into a similar faulted antiform structure, broadly related to the folding within the underlying rhyolitic sequence. The mineralisation occurs as stockworks of sulphide-bearing veinlets that are capped by lenses of massive pyrite, chert, jasper and carbonate (limestone) within a black shale unit containing pyrite and graphite.


Figure 4 Simplified Geology of Jabal Sayid deposit

Geology of the mineral deposits The main outcropping gossan (No.1 deposit ) consists of a 30m high, 500m long and 200m wide outcrop of massive chert-limonite gossan which gives way at depths of 30 -

60m to massive sulphides that dip steeply (80 - 90°) to the southeast. At the north-east end, the No.1 gossan is offset about 300m to the east by the "Eastern Valley Fault" to

form the No. 2 deposit which also dips steeply (70- 80°) to the south-east. The small No.3 deposit and the large No.4 deposit are located just north-east of No.2, but their structural relationships are complex and the detailed geology of the eastern part of the deposit has not yet been fully resolved. The mineralisation originally formed a massive pyrite lens about 1000m in length and up to 50m thick that is underlain in the No.1, No.2 and No.4 deposits, by a pervasive stockwork of sulphide bearing veins. Subsequently the deposit, along with the enclosing host rocks, was folded into a steep anticline and broken into four sections (Nos. 1 - 4 deposits) by WNW-ESE trending faults: No. 1 is at the western end and outcrops as a prominent northeast-southwest trending gossan that was first discovered by BRGM in 1965. To the northwest, the copper-zinc sulphide body is bordered by a bed of chert or jasper, and several thin (< 5m) beds of


limestone that form the hanging wall (Allan, 1966). The deposit is a 40 metres thick sulphide lens that extends down-dip to the south-east to a depth of at least 550 metres. Oxidation is reported to extend to a depth of 70m. No. 2 discovered in 1970, outcrops as a less prominent gossan that is separated from No.1 by the East Valley Fault that has a 300m horizontal displacement. At depth it forms a steeply dipping, north-west to south-east trending tabular body. No. 3 is the most northerly of the deposits. It does not outcrop, but some chlorite-sericite hydrothermal alteration with some minor sulphide mineralisation, observed at the surface, led to its discovery in 1972 at a depth of 200 metres below the surface. Mineralisation is known to extend to a depth of at least 700 metres below surface. The chert marker bed and massive sulphide zone are elongated north-east to south-west and dip south-east, towards the No.2 deposit. Little data exists for the No.3 deposit, which has been described as small, deep and sub-economic.

No. 4 is the largest of the Jabal Sayid deposits and has the most economic potential. It consists of a vertical stockwork of pyrite and chalcopyrite veinlets associated with disseminated sulphides in a sub-volcanic dome of porphyritic quartz rhyolite. About 300 metres below the surface, the stockwork mineralization is stratigraphically overlain by a 22 metre thick jasper horizon and a 10 metre thick lens of massive pyrite and pyrrhotite that exhibits obvious clastic textures. The massive sulphide and jasper were evidently deposited under subaqueous conditions, as were the succeeding rhyolitic tuffs. The deposit extends over a vertical interval of 600m and is open at depth (Leveque, 1985).

Exploration History The main gossan (No.1 deposit) was discovered by the BRGM / DMMR in 1965. During the next 40 years, three other deposits (Nos. 2, 3 and 4) were discovered, and about 47.3 kilometres of drilling, 5.5 kilometres of surface trenching and 3.9 kilometres of underground development were completed. Exploration methods included litho-geochemistry, as well as multi-disciplinary geophysical surveys in the area of known mineralisation. The geophysical techniques used were ground magnetics, microgravity, self potential (SP), resistivity, induced polarisation (IP), electromagnetics (EM), mise-a-la-masse, downhole current intensity logging, airborne magnetics / radiometrics and airborne INPUT EM. Core drilling was mostly done at NQ size with deeper holes reducing to BQ size. Better than 95% core recovery was generally achieved. All the drill holes were surveyed and most holes maintained their azimuth, but many suffered from significant flattening. Tables 6 and 7 summarise the exploration and development work at Jabal Sayid, the drilling undertaken and the underground development.

Table 6 Summary of Exploration and Development at Jabal Sayid

Date Company Work Undertaken

1966-1974 BRGM Extensive geophysical surveys, mapping and surface diamond drilling No.2 and 3 deposit discovered in 1970 No.4 deposit discovered in 1972

1974-1979 SEREM*/US Steel Surface drilling, mapping & geophysical surveys

1977-1979 Riofinex Review of Jabal Sayid district – mapping & data compilations


1980-1984 DGMR/BRGM Two phase underground exploration programme as part of a pre-feasibility study

1989 Teck Corporation / Cominco

Data review - recommended reverting to pre-feasibility with updated economic parameters before any major expenditure

1997 Behre Dolbear Data review - agreement with Teck’s findings

2001 Ma’aden Awarded exploration licence. Diamond and RC drilling & data compilation.

2006 CMC Awarded exploration licence *Note : SEREM – was a subsidiary of BRGM at the time

Table 7 Drilling and Underground Development at Jabal Sayid

Deposit Drilled By

Surface

Drillholes

Underground

Drillholes Total Type

No. m No. m No. m

BRGM/Serem 30 9,887 17 1,261 47 11,148 DDH No 1 Ma'aden 10 876 - - 10 876 RC

No 2 BRGM/Serem 10 3,908 19 2,821 29 6,729 DDH

No 3 BRGM/Serem 2 1,136 1 199 3 1,336 DDH

No 4 BRGM/Serem 22 12,067 44 6,588 66 18,655 DDH

Southeast BRGM/Serem 6 2,508 - - 6 2,508 DDH BRGM/Serem 10 4,431 - - 10 4,431 DDH Ma'aden 5 1,643 - - 5 1,643 DDH Other

Bariq (2006) 19 2,843 - - 19 2,843 DDH+RC

TOTAL

DRILLING 114 39,300 81 10,870 195 50,171

Underground development

Location Drive No. Length in metres Decline 1 2,113 No.1 Deposit drives 9 363 No 2 Deposit drives 7 475 No 4 Deposit drives 4 525 Vent rises 2 468

Total Underground Development 23 3,944

During the 1980’s, underground access by means of a 5m by 5m decline was developed by the BRGM and substantial underground drilling and sampling was undertaken in the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 deposits (Table 7). Extensive metallurgical test work, including pilot-plant scale, closed-cycle flotation tests, was undertaken on samples from No 4 deposit. Some preliminary flotation test work was also done on samples from No 1 deposit. A Pre-Feasibility study undertaken by the BRGM in 1984 was based on underground mining a rate of 1 million tonnes of ore per year, over a 20 year mine-life, mainly from No.4 deposit, using a 1.5% Cu cut-off (table 10). At the copper price at that time (1984) this concept appeared to be only marginally economic.


In the 1990’s, Cominco Engineering carried out a scoping study based on open-pit mining of an Inferred Resource of 104 Mt at a 0.5 % Cu cut-off, to a depth of 400m (Table 10b). This work was done in support of an application to acquire a licence over the area for a client company, but no licence was granted. In 2002, Ma’aden acquired an Exploration Licence over the area and undertook a comprehensive data compilation and review, together with some exploratory drilling targeted at near-surface, oxide, copper and gold mineralisation. Ma’aden relinquished all its base metal projects in 2004, and in 2005, CMC applied for an EL and completed an MOU with Vertex Group Middle East WLL. This led to the formation of Bariq Mining, the Jabal Sayid Joint Venture and the grant of the current EL to CMC. Bariq have carried out a detailed statistical analysis of the existing historical drillhole assay data and concluded that it is accurate and reliable as the analytical results showed less than 10% variance from the international analytical standards used and most of the data showed less than 5% variance from the standards. Bariq are also cataloguing, re-logging and, where appropriate re-sampling for assay, the large amount of old drill core stored on site. The samples are being analysed at a reputable laboratory in Jeddah and check samples are being sent to ALS in Australia. Bariq commissioned Hellman & Schofield (Australia) to prepare a computerised database of the drillhole data and to use this to prepare a detailed geostatistical model of the mineralisation and a resource statement for the sulphide mineralisation at Lodes 1, 2 and 4. There is insufficient data to provide an appropriate level on confidence in the near surface oxide mineralization and there is also insufficient data available to undertake a resource estimate for Lode 3. Bariq are currently carrying out confirmatory drilling and have completed 11 cored holes (see Table 8) and 16 percussion hole (Table 9) at No.1 and No.2 lodes (as of May 2007). Another 20 percussion holes are planned at No.1 lode and 4 cored holes are planned to test No.4 lode.

Table 8 Jabal Sayid - Bariq Diamond drill-hole results (2006-07)

Hole No. From m Width m Cu % Zn % Au g/t Ag g/t

Lode No. 1

1009 NSA - - - - -

1011A 98 18.0 1.29 1.27 1.43 44.8

1012 NSA - - - - -

1013 84 91.0 1.50 2.27 0.60 30.8

1014 103 113.0 1.79 1.56 0.45 27.3

1015 142 47.0 2.69 1.44 0.57 33.8

1015 196 30.0 0.81 1.75 0.35 22.7

1016 73 39.0 1.99 1.63 0.50 34.2

1016 153 97.0 3.28 1.55 0.71 41.6

Lode No.2

2004 123.0 2.72 0.08 0.22 5.0 110

2005 164.3 2.79 0.23 0.44 23.3 119 Note : NSA = No significant Assay for the sulphide zone, prefix 10 = No.1 Lode, prefix 20 = No.2 Lode


Table 9 Jabal Sayid – Bariq Reverse Circulation drilling results (2007)

Drillhole No.

BDH-

From

(m)

To

(m)

Intercept

(m)

Au g/t

(uncut)

Ag g/t Cu % Zn %

Lode No.1 19 26 7 0.97 22.3 0.03 0.03 1018RC

“ 32 42 10 0.01 6.7 0.49 0.86

14 25 11 0.89 16.2 0.07 0.10 1019RC

“ 34 46 12 0.1 7.7 0.63 0.77

0 9 9 1.05 6.8 0.02 0.02

27 52 25 1.00 7.5 0.03 0.03 1020RC

“

“ 52 63* 11* 0.13 112.3 0.01 0.03

1020A RC 1 4 3 0.75 6.4 0.02 0.01

0 49 49 3.75 10.8 0.04 0.04 1021RC

“ 55 67 12 0.51 28.7 0.63 0.42

0 61* 61* 1.46 18.7 0.13 0.1 1022RC

“ 56 61* 5* 1.00 98.1 1.36 0.55

1023RC 0 9 9 0.52 10.8 <0.01 0.01

Lode No.2

2006RC 102 108 6 1.13 17.8 0.12 0.05

75 85 10 1.05 13.4 0.00 0.01 2007RC

“ 99 104* 5* 1.72 52.9 0.50 0.09

2008RC 17 26 9 0.05 3.3 0.17 0.75

30 34 4 0.01 <0.2 0.86 1.55 2009RC

“ 71 77 6 2.09 15.2 <0.01 <0.01

2010RC 32 73 41 3.00 100.1 0.01 0.04

2011RC 68 76 8 0.08 2.6 0.54 0.02

2012RC 34 40 6 2.20 35.8 <0.01 0.02

49 52 3 0.02 0.3 0.45 0.28 2013RC

“ 59 65 6 <0.005 <0.02 0.38 0.03

35 76 41 1.52 108.3 0.00 0.02 2014RC

“ 88 92 4 0.46 45.5 2.10 1.12 Note : *End of drillhole, prefix 10 = No.1 Lode, prefix 20 = No.2 Lode

The Bariq reverse-circulation-percussion (RC) drilling programme is targeting the near-surface oxide gold/silver and oxide copper zone in order to test the concept of a starter pit to mine the oxide gold and silver mineralisation occurring above the primary sulphide deposits at Lode No.1 and Lode No.2, where the results show a similar vertical zonation from an oxide gold-silver zone at surface, to an oxide copper-silver zone above the primary sulphide zone.

Resource estimates

Prior to 1993, the work at Jabal Sayid was based on the concept of underground mining of a base-metal (Cu-Zn-Ag-Au) deposit using a 1.5% Cu cut-off, with an expected mining recovery of about 65% of the deposit. As exploration progressed, resource estimates were frequently updated and some of the more significant tonnage and grade estimates based on a 1.5% Cu cut-off, were reported in the voluminous literature on Jabal Sayid, as shown in Table 10a. In 1994, the project was reappraised as a potential open-pit mine, as


it was recognised that the higher-grade core mineralisation (>1.5 % Cu) was surrounded by a substantial halo of lower grade mineralisation (0.2 – 1.5 % Cu). When this lower grade mineralisation is taken into account, the estimated tonnage and grade are as shown in Table 10b. These are historical estimates that were prepared before the JORC Code was developed and they do not comply with the JORC Code. They are included here only in order to show the extent of the historical exploration work at Jabal Sayid.

Table 10a Jabal Sayid - Historical tonnage and grade estimates at 1.5% Cu cut-off

Source Location Inferred tonnage and grade Riofinex, 1977 Deposits 1, 2 and 4 34.3 Mt @ 1.55 % Cu plus 6.8 Mt @ 1.12 % Zn

BRGM, (Bournat, 1981)

No. 1 No. 2 No. 4

8 Mt @ 1.5 % Cu, 1.4 % Zn, 40 g/t Ag, 0.5 g/t Au 1.5 - 2.0 Mt @ 1.5 - 2.0 % Cu > 10 Mt @ 1.5 – 2.0 % Cu

BRGM

(Pitre et al 1984)

No. 1

No. 2 No. 4

3.7 Mt @ 2.12 % Cu, 1.35 % Zn plus 7.3 Mt @ 2.7 % Zn

3.02 Mt @ 3.13 % Cu 16.9 Mt @ 2.6 % Cu

BRGM (Fauvelet, 1984)

Total - Jabal Sayid 36.6 Mt @ 2.52 % Cu

BRGM

(Levique, 1985)

No. 2

No. 4

4.2 Mt @ 2.7 % Cu

16.9 Mt @ 2.6 % Cu

(Colinette & Grainger, 1994)

No.1 No.2 and No.4

3.7 Mt @ 2.12%Cu, 1.35% Zn plus 7.3 Mt @ 2.7%Zn, 0.5%Cu 19.9 Mt @ 2.68 % Cu

Table 10b Jabal Sayid - Historical tonnage and grade estimates at 0.2 % Cu cut-off

Source Location Inferred tonnage and grade CESL, 1995 Open-pit based on

a 0.2% Cu cut-off 104 Mt at 1.33% Cu or 82 Mt at 1.54 % Cu plus 21 Mt @ 0.5% Cu

In March 2007, Hellman and Schofield Pty Ltd (“H&S”) a specialist Independent Resource Consultancy, prepared a geostatistical model of the deposit and an interim resource estimate based upon the available data. H&S found the quality and amount of the data justified using an Ordinary Kriging method of resource modelling with a search radius generally of the order of 30m, with resource reporting for each of the lodes constrained by the 0.2% Cu shape. The results of this modelling, using a density of 3.4 t/m3 for Lode No.1 and 2.8 t/m3 for Lodes No.2 and No.4, are presented in Table 11 :-

Table 11 Jabal Sayid – Independent Resource Estimate (H&S, 2007)

Lode Category Tonnes Copper

%

Cu Metal

tonnes

Zinc

%

Zn Metal

tonnes

Indicated

1,847,900

1.61

29,700

1.44

26,600

No.1

Inferred 4,644,400 1.53 71,100 1.29 59,900

Indicated 3,271,100 2.23 73,000 No.2

Inferred 3,328,500 1.67 55.500

Indicated 9,832,200 2.03 199,900 No.4

Inferred 23,262,400 1.71 398,800

Total Tonnes Copper% Cu metal t

Indicated 14,951,200 2.02 302,556

Inferred 31,235,300 1.68 525,432

Total 46,186,500 1.79 827,988


Thus, the current total estimated resource at Jabal Sayid is 46.2 Mt at 1.79% Copper (using a 0.2%Cu cut-off). There is also a zinc resource of 6.5 Mt grading 1.33% for 86,500 t of zinc metal associated with No.1 Lode.

Mining In 1985, the BRGM Pre-feasibility Study proposed mining No.2 and No.4 deposits by underground, open-stoping methods, at a rate of 1 million tonnes per year for 15 years. Even though it was proposed to back-fill the stopes with de-watered tailings, the expected mining recovery factor was only 65 %, with 35% being left as pillars. Use of cemented back-fill was considered, but was rejected on grounds of higher cost (Levique, 1985). In 1993, a scoping study was carried out by Cominco Engineering (CESL) to re-evaluate the deposit in terms of potential exploitation by open-pit mining to a depth of 400m, based on an Inferred tonnage and grade estimate of 104 million tonnes at 1.33 % Cu (using a 0.2% Cu cut-off). The possible Zn-Au-Ag credits were apparently not included. CESL divided the open-pit mining tonnage and grade estimate into 82 million tonnes at 1.54% Cu, plus a further 21 million tonnes at 0.5% Cu that would have to be moved during mining and would be stockpiled for possible processing at a later date. An annual production rate of 20,000 tonnes/day (7,000,000 t/y) was assumed at an 8.5 : 1 strip ratio over a 12-year mine life with a possible further 3 years treating the low-grade (0.5% Cu) stockpile, to produce a potential 100,000 tonnes per year of copper metal.

Processing Pilot testing of a 96 tonne sample from the decline into No 4 deposit, with a specific gravity of 2.8 and a grade of 2.3% copper, gave a copper recovery of 95.6% with the copper concentrate containing 29.5% copper and less than 2% zinc. The massive pyrite-sphalerite-silver ore is generally fine-grained and inter-grown. The stringer pyrite-chalcopyrite ore is coarser grained and may be easier to process. From this work, a process route with a planned throughput of one million tonnes per annum was proposed, based upon a flow-sheet of conventional crushing and medium-fine grinding, conditioning and flotation to produce a single, clean, copper concentrate. Suitable waste-rock and tailings sites are available adjacent to the mine site. The concentrate was to be shipped to a suitable custom smelter. The potential for non-conventional processing, such as heap-leach or SX-EW, particularly for low-grade ore, oxide ore, and mineralised waste rock, has not been investigated.

Infrastructure and services

There is a sealed road to within 2 km of the deposit, a gravel airstrip, and an existing camp capable of accommodating more than 50 staff, at Jabal Sayid. The Madh adh Dhahab mine and township with all the usual facilities is only 40 km from Jabal Sayid, and about 400 km by sealed road from the ports at Jeddah and Yanbu. Neither the BRGM pre-feasibility study, nor the CESL scoping study, included the capital cost of providing electric power and water facilities, as it was assumed these would be provided by the government and the cost recovered through user charges. Preliminary groundwater surveys indicate that a suitable aquifer exists about 70 km to the east.


Exploration Potential

Exploration of the Jabal Sayid deposit appears to have been largely based on geophysical methods; consequently, geochemical data, other than drill-hole assay results, is very limited and the complex relationships between the various mineral phases and their host rocks are poorly understood. The mineralisation has previously been described as either : Massive ore: consisting mainly of pyrite and sphalerite apparently conformable with the bedded chert and/or carbonate horizons within a graphitic black shale unit, or. Stringer ore: consisting mainly of pyrite and chalcopyrite veinlets in hydrothermally altered rhyolite tuffs in the footwall of the chert horizon. Recent drilling indicated that the stringer ore cuts the massive ore (ie, is younger), which suggests that the possible sequence of mineralising events may have been as follows :-

(i) Lenses of chert and limestone, possibly with associated massive bedded pyrite and sphalerite may have been deposited within a thick unit of graphitic black shale with thin interbedded limestone (or carbonate) horizons, in an anoxic sedimentary basin (similar to the present day Atlantis sulphide-rich deposits in the central Red Sea).

(ii) These basinal deposits were then uplifted, folded and faulted before being intruded by metal-rich rhyolites.

(iii) Hydrothermal activity related to the rhyolite intrusion resulted in copper-gold-silver bearing vein stockworks intruding the reactive black shale / carbonate horizon.

(iv) The graphite in the black shale would strip out the gold from the hydrothermal fluids in the vein stockwork (as in a CIL gold processing plant).

(v) The iron in the pyrite - black shale would substitute for the copper which would be precipitated in the vein stockwork (the copper cementation process).

(vi) The iron released by the copper to iron exchange would react with and replace the carbonate to form a massive limonite pseudo-gossan.

(vii) Finally, gold and copper leached from the vein stockwork by surface oxidation would then react with the graphite and carbonate in the black shale to form a secondary dispersion halo and obscure the original mineral associations.

In their 1981 study, Riofinex concluded there was considerable potential for further discoveries at Jabal Sayid and identified the following priorities:-

• Down-dip of No.1 deposit at the eastern end.

• Down-dip of the No.4 deposit at the western end.

• Down-dip of No.2 deposit where there is a combined gravity and Self-Potential geophysical anomaly.

• The ENE trending “Southeast Zone” of chert / gossan located 800m southeast of No.4 lode and extends over a strike length of about 1 km, where drill-hole SA119 encountered 5m at 1.2% Cu.


• The central “Eastern Valley Fault Zone” located about 200m east of No.2 lode, where ancient workings and surface geochemical anomalies occur in the vicinity of drill-hole SA108, which intersected copper and zinc mineralisation over a 56m interval between 99m and 155m depth.

Proposed Bariq Programme During the Year-1 pre-feasibility stage, Bariq will investigate the supergene gold and copper potential of No 1 and No 2 deposits, to a depth of 100 vertical metres from surface, as a potential starter open pit. Bariq will also evaluate the potential for a large open pit and possible follow-on underground operation to mine the sulphide mineral. This would envisage No 2 lode being mined in years 1-4, No 1 lode being mined in years 4-8, and No 4 lode being mined in years 8-15. The potential for Au-Ag-Zn credits may provide additional value that was not taken into account by earlier studies.

Year 1: Compilation and computerisation of all previous data is in progress. This will be followed by a programme of field checking and peer review of the key factors by selected experts, in order to develop a new operational concept as a preliminary to the Pre-Feasibility Study. 5000m of confirmatory drilling has been budgeted at the No.1 and No.2 deposits in order to confirm the geology and mineralisation, and to provide samples for appropriate metallurgical test work. Drilling is also in progress to assess the shallow oxide potential of the No.1 and No.2 lodes to a depth of 100m. Bariq are using the “Saudi Canadian Mining Services” drilling company on contract. Drill cores from Bariq drill holes 1013, 1009, 2001, 2002 and 2005 were examined on site and they confirmed the presence of a 100m-deep oxide zone, with secondary iron oxides and malachite mineralisation that is developed above massive pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite sulphide mineralisation. In the oxide zone, the alkaline nature of the host rocks appears to have resulted in the precipitation of the leached copper as the carbonate minerals malachite and azurite, but not as secondary sulphide minerals such as chalcocite. Bariq are logging their drill core on-site and entering the data into a digital database. The mineralised sections of core are marked up into regular 1-metre sections, split by means of a diamond saw and the half-core sample sent for assay to the Al-Amri Laboratory in Jeddah. Al-Amri is a geochemical assay laboratory also used by Ma’aden. These operations appeared to be carried out in a professional manner by technically competent staff, in accordance with standard industry practice. Bariq has the right to acquire an additional 5% equity in the project (ie, from 20% to 25%) by completing the pre-feasibility study.

Year 2:

It is planned to commence a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), based on drilling, metallurgy, mine planning, engineering, environmental and other relevant work. Bariq has the right to acquire up to 50% of the project by completing the DFS.


Conclusion on Jabal Sayid Project Jabal Sayid is an advanced-exploration / early-development stage project with potential for development of an open-pit oxide gold mine, followed by development of an underground gold-silver-copper-zinc sulphide mining operation. Open-pit mining would recover a significantly larger percentage of the ore (> 90%) than would underground mining (c 65%) down to the pit floor level. A budget of A$ 1.55 million has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.

5.0 MAHD ADH DHAHAB - LAHUF AND JABAL RAMRAM PROJECT

Vertex have applied for two Exploration Licences at Lahuf and Jabal Ramram, located adjacent to and along strike from the Mahd adh Dhahab mine. These licence applications cover a total area of 191 km2 including several areas of known mineralisation that offer significant potential for the discovery of epithermal vein-type gold-sulphide deposits similar to that mined at Mahd adh Dhahab. Vertex submitted the application for both the Lahuf and the Jabal Ramram exploration licences to the Ministry and, following the local review procedure, a revised application for a slightly smaller area was submitted on 10th March 2006. The coordinates of the Lahuf and Jabal Ramram Licence Application Areas are shown in Table 12 and their location is shown on figure 3.

Table 12 Coordinates of the Lahuf and Jabal Ramram Exploration Licences

Co-ordinates of the Lahuf Licence Area (96 km2 )

Corner No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 40° 42' 30" 23° 31' 00"

2 40° 48' 00" 23° 31' 00"

3 40° 48' 00" 23° 29' 35"

4 40° 44' 40" 23° 26' 30"

5 40° 42' 30" 23° 26' 30"

Co-ordinates of the Jabal Ramram Licence Area (96 km2 )

Corner No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 40° 37' 00" 23° 30' 00"

2 40° 40' 00" 23° 30' 00"

3 40° 40' 00" 23° 29' 00"

4 40° 41' 00" 23° 29' 00"

5 40° 41' 00" 23° 28' 00"

6 40° 40' 30" 23° 28' 00"

7 40° 40' 30" 23° 26' 30"

8 40° 37' 00" 23° 26' 30"

5.1 Lahuf Deposit (23° 29’ N / 40° 45’ E)

Location and access Lahuf is an ancient copper-mining site that has been explored intermittently by the various operators of the nearby Mahd adh Dhahab gold mine over the past 40 years. It is


located 350 km northeast of Jeddah and 12 km west-south-west of the Mahd ahd Dhahab gold mine. From the mine, it can be accessed by driving along a graded track that begins in front of the mine gate and runs past the magazine and the Copper Hill Prospect. Alternatively, from Mahd adh Dhahab, travel south-west on the main highway for about 12 km to a small petrol station, then follow a rough track northwards up the wadi behind the petrol station for about 4 km. The "old copper mine" workings are visible on a low N-S trending ridge. The main area of interest is 1 km further north on a prominent E-W trending ridge. Rough bulldozed tracks provide access to most parts of the area. Lahuf is at an altitude of about 950 metres above sea level in an area of steep rocky ridges where the topographic relief is about 150m.

Geology The volcanic host rocks trend SW-NE, dip gently (40°) north-west and appear to be the western continuation of the stratigraphic sequence that hosts the Mahd adh Dhahab mine. The outcropping mineralisation occurs as quartz veins and stockworks cutting altered intermediate to felsic pyroclastic rocks intruded by dome-like plugs of rhyolite and rhyodacite. Numerous sheeted quartz-vein stockworks up to several metres wide are intruded into a strongly sheared zone at least 700m in length and several hundred metres in width. The veins trend WNW-ESE and are transgressive to the host stratigraphy. Some of the veins have been worked for copper in ancient times and there is abundant copper (malachite, azurite) staining visible in some of the veins. Some minor gossan features were noted, but the zone of oxidation appears to be relatively shallow. The mineralisation consists of gold, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena, both oxide and sulphide, within quartz-breccia zones. Significant gold values occur in 1-2m wide quartz veins, at or close to the margin of the stockwork zone. The gold values were reported to be “patchy”.

Previous exploration In 1965, the USGS Mission on behalf of the DMMR, drilled 6 percussion holes at Lahuf. One of these drill-holes tested the southern "old copper mine" area and intersected an 11.5m wide quartz vein at a depth of 175m below surface that assayed 1.2% Cu, 1.6% Zn, 14 g/t Ag and a "trace" of gold. Surface samples from other veins near the old copper workings yielded values of 2m at 30.8 g/t Au and 1m at 10.4 g/t Au. In 1991-93, Petromin Mahd adh Dhahab carried out 2715m of trenching and three phases of drilling resulting in more than 20 cored drill-holes totalling 3741m to a maximum depth of 200m. The main target was the 700m long “Central Breccia” zone of quartz vein stockwork, where significant gold values occur in 2m to 10m wide quartz veins within, or at the edge of, the stockwork zone. In 1992, the estimated in-situ resource; divided into oxide and sulphide mineralisation; and into measured and indicated resources; was 1.24 million tonnes at 2.83 g/t gold, equivalent to 113,000 ounces of contained gold as shown in Table 13.


Table 13 Lahuf - 1992 Measured & Indicated resource estimate (USGS)

In 1999, Ma’aden carried out an additional 17 hole drilling programme totalling 1060m, to a maximum depth of 116m, within the Central and Eastern Breccia zones in order to close off the deposit along strike and to raise the inferred resources to the measured and indicated resource categories. The average down-hole length was 62m, to an average vertical depth of 44m. This produced a modest increase in the oxide resource and a significant increase in the sulphide resource within the Eastern zone. The estimated resources, based on these two drilling programmes, was located in three separate zones spaced about 500 metres apart (ie, the Central, Eastern and Western Breccia zones) and amounted to 1.7 million tonnes at 2.6 g/t gold, equivalent to 142,000 ounces of contained gold as shown in Table 14.

Resource

Category

Zone Type Tonnes Grade

g/t Au

Contained gold

ounces

Measured Central Breccia Oxide 183,500 2.48 14,700

Sulphide 104,000 5.62 18,800

Eastern Breccia Oxide 61,700 9.66 19,100

Sulphide

Subtotal Ox & S 349,200 4.69 52,600

Indicated Central Breccia Oxide 672,200 1.62 35,000

Sulphide 70,300 3.39 7,600


Sulphide 2,400 0.75 100

Subtotal Ox & S 895,100 2.10 60,500

Total 1,244,300 2.83 113,100


Table 14 Lahuf - 1999 resource estimate (Ma’aden)

Resource

Category

Zone Type Tonnes Weighted Average

Grade g/t Au

Contained Au

ounces

Measured Western Breccia Oxide 8,300 5.92 1,600

Central Breccia Oxide 113,700 2.82 10,300

Sulphide 93,300 3.77 11,300


Subtotal Ox & S 276,900 4.76 42,400

Indicated Western Breccia Oxide 145,600 1.08 5,100


Sulphide 108,500 1.56 5,400


Sulphide 2,400 0.75 100

Subtotal Ox & S 930,900 2.17 64,900

Inferred Western Breccia Oxide 98,000 1.25 3,900


Sulphide 50,700 2.01 3,300


Sulphide 8,200 19.27 5,100

Subtotal Ox & S 503,800 2.16 35,100

Total 1,711,600 2.59 142,400

Exploration potential of Lahuf Project

Lahuf is an advanced exploration project with potential for the development of an open-pit mining operation to a relatively shallow depth, located 12 km along strike from an existing operating gold mine. Providing metallurgical recoveries are good, the grades of mineralisation shown above could tolerate the likely high waste to ore stripping ratio. This conclusion is qualified to the extent that:

• Original assay plans and sections, and some drill-hole data, such as the results from the last nine drill holes of the 1999 drilling campaign, are not available.

• No metallurgical processing test work, mine planning, or other engineering feasibility studies, have been carried out.

• Given the geological similarities between Lahuf and the Madh adh Dhahab mine the potential for discovery of “blind” ore zones at depth has not been adequately tested. However, such a discovery would probably require an underground mining operation similar to that at Mahd adh Dhahab.

A budget of A$ 1.25 million has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.


5.2 Jabal Ramram Prospect (23° 28’ N / 40° 39’ E) Jabal Ramram is located adjacent to the Lahuf prospect, about 25 km west of the Mahd ahd Dhahab gold mine (figure 3). It can be accessed from the mine by travelling southwest on the main highway for about 25 km to a small village, then following a rough track up the wadi behind the village for about 5 km. Rough tracks provide access to most parts of the licence area which consists of steep rocky ridges with a 300m topographic elevation.

The host rocks are stratigraphically equivalent to those that host the Mahd adh Dhahab mine and consist of andesite and rhyodacite intrusions, flows and related pyroclastic rocks, that have been intruded by pink granodiorite ring-dykes. Jabal Ramram has been described (Roobol & White, 1985) as an old volcanic crater or caldera that is reported to contain sporadic disseminated Cu-Pb-Ag sulphide mineralisation in quartz veins around the eastern and northern sides. In the late 1980s, DGMR carried out reconnaissance geologic mapping and geochemical sampling programs. 155 rock samples were analysed for a suite of trace elements, with major element analysis carried out on 21 samples. The data is incomplete as reported, with only 38 sample results recorded for ten metallic elements. Mineralisation was detected at five localities and some of these fracture-controlled quartz-veins contained disseminated malachite, pyrite and chalcopyrite mineralisation. At one location, samples containing up to 72 ppb gold and 23 g/t silver were reported.

Exploration potential of Jabal Ramram Jabal Ramram is an early-stage exploration project with potential for discovery of epithermal type gold-sulphide vein mineralisation similar to that located along strike to the east at Lahuf and Mahd adh Dhahab. Bariq plans to compile all the previous data into a computer database, to be followed by field checking, geological mapping and selected sampling of all gossans, quartz veins and alteration zones at Jabal Ramram, with at least 1000 samples budgeted for adequate coverage. In geochemically anomalous areas, trenching, channel sampling and geophysical work will be undertaken.

Current proposals envisage two years of surface work before drilling can be planned at Jabal Ramram. A budget of A$ 600,000 has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.


6. THE SHAYBAN MINERAL BELT

Vertex/Bariq has acquired a significant land position in the highly prospective Shayban mineral belt, where it holds, or has applied for, three Exploration Licence areas in Wadi Shugea and Wadi Hawarah, 150 km northeast of Jeddah. These comprise one granted Exploration License of 6 km

2 covering the Shayban deposit that is held by CMC; and two

Exploration Licence Applications by Vertex at Jabal Shayban Extended (99 km2) and Jabal Baydan (99 km2) immediately to the south-west. The 6 km2 Shayban licence is wholly within the surrounding Jabal Shayban Extended licence application.

Shayban Exploration Licence (CMC JV – 100% Bariq) CMC’s 6 km2 Shayban Exploration Licence was granted on 3rd January 2005 for a period of one year. It was subsequently renewed under the new Mining Code for a further period of 4 years commencing 3rd January 2006. The licence provides for exploration of precious and base-metals over the 4-year period and may be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. CMC’s Shayban licence covers an identified mineral resource of 1.8 million tonnes at 2.7 g/t gold, 23 g/t silver and 0.47% copper (Table 16), which is equivalent to 160,000 ounces of contained gold and 1.3 million ounces of contained silver.

Jabal Shayban Extended and Jabal Baydan Exploration Licence Applications (Bariq 100%) Vertex’s Jabal Shayban Extended Licence Application completely surrounds, but is exclusive of, the Shayban Exploration Licence held by CMC. The Jabal Baydan Exploration Licence Application is located immediately south-west of and is contiguous with the Jabal Shayban Extended licence application area (Figure 5). The licence applications, if granted, will provide for exploration of precious and base-metals over a 5-year period and may subsequently be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. Table 15 shows their co-ordinates and Figure 5 shows their location.

Table 15 Coordinates of the J. Shayban and J. Baydan Licence areas

Co-ordinates of the Jabal Shayban Extended Licence Area (99 km2 )

LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 39° 42' 30” 22° 38' 00”

2 39° 48' 30” 22° 32' 30”

3 39° 48' 30” 22° 32' 30”

4 39° 42' 30” 22° 38' 00”

Co-ordinates of the Jabal Baydan Licence Area (99 km2 )

1 39° 37' 30” 22° 33' 30”

2 39° 42' 30” 22° 33' 30”

3 39° 42' 30” 22° 32' 30”

4 39° 47' 00” 22° 32' 30”

5 39° 47' 00” 22° 30' 00”

6 39° 38' 30” 22° 30' 00”

7 39° 38' 30” 22° 28' 00”

8 39° 36' 30” 22° 28' 00”

9 39° 36' 30” 22° 30' 00”

10 39° 37' 30” 22° 30' 00”


Figure 5 Location plan of Shayban, Jabal Shayban and Jabal Baydan areas

There are numerous mineral occurrences reported within the Jabal Shayban licence area, including, from north to south: Wadi Saq, Matobar, Umm Sani, Shagiah North and Wadi Jidrah. The numerous mineral occurrences reported within the Jabal Baydan licence area include, in approximate order from east to west: Jabal Baydan, Bahran, Wadi Shugea, Maxilah, Wadi Jidrah, Al Marasia, Brumah, Jibalah, Wadi al Shathan, Wutaileh and Hamer.

Previous Exploration The earliest exploration of the Samran-Shayban mineral belt was a series of prospect visits between 1952 and 1966 by DGMR and the USGS that “discovered” the ancient workings at the Shayban deposit, the Bahran gossan and the Al Maraisa prospect. In 1971-72, Rexworthy geologically mapped 2500 km2 in the Shayban area at 1:12,500 scale and concluded the Shayban formation was the southern continuation of the prospective Jabal Sayid Formation to the northeast, and reported that gossans are exposed for several kilometres along the western side of Wadi Shugea where the rocks are considerably altered. Ancient mine workings are present on some of these gossans. In 1972, the Japan Geological Mission (JGM) carried out geological and geochemical surveying in the Wadi Hawarah - Wadi Shagiah (Shajiyah or Shugea) area and recognised six lithological units, all of which contained gossans and base-metal occurrences, whilst two felsic volcanic units were considered to be mineralized on a regional scale. 558 wadi-alluvium samples were analysed utilizing colorimetric and AA techniques and


yielded anomalous values in excess of 300 ppm Cu and 450 ppm Zn. The geochemical exploration did not include the determination of precious-metal values, a significant omission considering the many known gold occurrences in this belt. In 1975, ARGAS carried out geophysical surveys of the Shayban, Jabal Samran, Wutaileh, Hamar and Al Marasia areas by IP, Turam/EM, magnetic, resistivity, and electrical sounding methods. The best anomalies were found in the Al Marasia area. During 1983-84, DGMR implemented a multidisciplinary exploration programme in the Samran-Shayban belt using airborne thematic mapping, helicopter-borne geophysical surveying, geological mapping, and geochemical surveying. All the known mineral occurrences were detected geochemically and three strong anomalies unrelated to known mineralisation were also detected. One of these at Jabal Baydan yielded 500 ppm Cu, 100 ppm Pb, and 500 ppm Zn. Follow-up HLEM (Genie) ground surveys were carried out in 23 areas during 1984-85 and the most anomalous conductive zones at Abu Suluq, Wadi al Shatban, Jabal Baydan and Jabal al Hamra were tested by percussion drilling. The level of exploration at the known prospects is variable. Some occurrences have been percussion drilled as at Wadi al Biyahr where five percussion holes tested the geophysical anomalies with one hole intersecting 1.9% Cu, 1.2% Zn, 0.8% Pb, 42.7 g/t Ag, and 0.1 g/t Au over 2.6 m (Bokhari et al, 1989). In other cases, exploration has been limited to grab samples with no adequate geologic mapping or systematic sampling. Ancient workings at Maxifa, Brumah, Wadi Thufer, Wadi Thufer North, Ad Dawara, Wadi Jidrah, and Jidrah North have only been sampled in this way and the few reports which mention these occurrences do not contain detailed geological maps (WGM, 1992).

Regional Geology The Jabal Shayban licence area and the adjacent Jabal Baydan licence area are located in Wadi Shugea, 100 kilometres south-west of Madh adh Dhahab. The Shayban Mineral belt is the south-western extension of the Madh adh Dhahab / Jabal Sayid mineral belt and is hosted in the same sequence of volcanic host rocks. The rocks in the Shayban area comprise a series of weakly metamorphosed, sub-aqueous, felsic to intermediate volcano-clastic rocks, with subordinate chert and limestone / marble horizons, which have been interpreted as forming the proximal and distal facies of two paleo-volcanoes that correspond to the upper and lower Shayban successions. The volcano-sedimentary rocks are intruded by a younger suite of quartz-diorites and an even younger suite of adamellite, granodiorite and syenite intrusives. The geology of the area is complex and the stratigraphic and mineralogical relationships have not been fully elucidated. It appears that many of the mineral deposits may be related to a mineralised stratigraphic horizon consisting of reactive pyritic and graphitic black shales with some interbedded carbonate units. These may be related to felsic intrusives that have been described by some previous workers as “rhyolite domes”. Gossans are exposed over a distance of several kilometres along the western side of Wadi Shugea (Shagiah) and the rocks are considerably altered. Ancient mine workings are present on some of the gossans.

In 1993-95, geological mapping of the Shayban area showed the mineralisation was

stratabound within the Shayban Formation which trends NE-SW and dips at 50-80° NW.


The Shayban Formation consists of a mafic volcanic unit in the lower part and a felsic volcano-clastic unit in the upper part. This is the regional metallotect for the mineralisation and consists of pyritic rhyolite and dacite volcanics with inter-bedded limestones, jaspers and cherts that are related to a series of rhyolite domes located a few kilometres southwest of Jabal Shayban. The observed sequence, assuming a north-westerly dip, was reported to be, from top to bottom, as follows :

Chloritic tuffaceous "greenstone" - fine grained tuffs Non-porphyritic volcanics - rhyolite and dacite flows and pyroclastics Limestone - marble - brown marmorised limestone / dolomite, Interbedded volcanics and sediments- dacite, limestone, shale, talc-schist Quartz porphyry - may be a small intrusive plug ? Talcose rocks - pyritic, green talc-schist and shale/mudstone Silicified felsic tuff - coarse-grained, massive / un-bedded, limonitic. Felsite - white, fine-grained quartz-feldspar-sericite tuff Dacite and andesite - flows, agglomerates and fine-grained tuffs

This mineralised sequence is overlain by a massive, thick diorite that appears to form a resistant capping along the top of the high rocky ridges in the area. The regional trend of the rocks is NNE - SSW and they appear to have been folded into a series of gentle anticlines and synclines, with the overlying diorite occupying the cores of the synclines. If this is the case then it would seem that the known mineralisation forms a series of NNE trending zones where they outcrop along the flanks of the synclines. These may be described as the eastern, central and western zones, each containing several closely spaced mineral localities, as follows (see Figure 6) :-

• Eastern (or Shayban) zone extending 15 km along the eastern side of the J. Shayban / J. Baydan ridge.

• Central zone extending 10 km along the western side of the J. Shayban / J. Baydan ridge.

• Western zone extending 12 km along the western side of the J. Al Qaham ridge.


Figure 6 Geology and mineral prospects in the Jabal Shayban – J. Baydan area

The Eastern (or Shayban) zone extending along the eastern side of the Jabal Shayban - J. Baydan ridge, includes, from north to south: the Wadi Saq, Matober, Shayban, Shagiah north, Baydan, Bahran, and Abu Sulukh prospects. These form a discontinuous zone of mineralisation extending for about 15 km southwards from the Shayban deposit.

6.1 Shayban Deposit (22°°°° 35' N / 39°°°° 45' E)


Shayban is located 150 km north-north-east of Jeddah and can be accessed from Jeddah along Highway 15 for 90 km to Tuwwal, then along the Madinah road for about 80 km to Wadi S’tarah (Exit 23), then northeast on rough tracks along Wadi Hawarah for about 20 km. The Shayban area is mountainous and deeply incised by narrow wadis. The deposit outcrops as a prominent gossan on the north bank of the wadi at an altitude of 600m, and the steep wadi sides rise to rock ridges up to 500m above the wadi floor. There is no difficulty travelling along the wadi, but access is difficult on the steep hillsides. There are several small houses in the vicinity of the deposit. Shayban is a gold-copper-zinc deposit situated in the lower part of the Shayban Formation, within proximal felsic lava and tuff of the lower Shayban palaeo-volcano. The ancients mined several hundred tonnes of ore from numerous small trenches and shafts up to 5m deep on small, high-grade lenses of zinc oxide minerals (mostly smithsonite) within a northeast-trending zone 600m long and 100m wide. Malachite is also present at the surface. At depth, the main primary mineral is sphalerite with minor amounts of chalcopyrite and pyrite. Sporadic gold and silver values occur. The rock is strongly sheared. The earliest exploration was in 1952 and concentrated on the base-metal potential. This was followed by detailed exploration programmes in 1965 by BRGM and DMMR, and more recently by Ma’aden who also considered the potential for gold mineralisation. The early exploration reports (Takahashi 1977) describe ancient copper-gold workings over a 3 km length of the Wadi and grab samples of zinc carbonate (smithsonite) and copper carbonate (malachite) from these workings assayed up to 48% Zn and 29 g/t Au. Erratic high zinc values were obtained from an area of 250 x 100m. Within this area, individual sulphide-replacement bodies measuring up to 3m x 6m contain 10 - 25% Zn and are surrounded by larger zones of disseminated sphalerite assaying 1 - 2% Zn. Gold values are irregularly distributed, mainly in the north-eastern part of the deposit, where sample intervals up to 40m contained values as high as 12 g/t Au. A geochemical survey identified a gold, silver, copper and zinc anomaly over an area of 600m x 100m trending NE-SW parallel to the strike of the host rocks. The anomaly is associated with hydrothermally altered limestones, pyritic talcose argillites and felsic volcanics, with associated gossans and quartz vein stockworks. The unaltered underlying dacite and overlying andesite volcanics were not geochemically anomalous. In 1968, the main Shayban gossan was tested by 3 diamond drill-holes that were inclined north-west under the gossan. Copper-zinc and gold-silver mineralization was present in each hole and showed the mineralisation occurred in a 50m wide zone of carbonate-rich meta-sediments (altered limestone) and hydrothermally altered volcanics, underlain by thick dacite volcanics and overlain by thick andesite volcanics. The early workers noted that in the near-surface oxide zone, the highest grade mineralisation occurred in the carbonate rocks, but in the deeper sulphide zone, the inter-bedded limestone was barren or relatively unmineralised. The sulphide mineralisation actually occurred as a stockwork in the altered meta-sediments (argillites and talcose schists that may originally have been a sulphide-rich mud). This was interpreted as indicating that the high-grade mineralisation (smithsonite and malachite) was a secondary feature due to the copper and zinc leached from the sulphides by acidic groundwater (from oxidation of the pyrite) being precipitated on contact with the alkaline limestone to form supergene carbonate / oxide minerals.


In 1981, Cheeseman reviewed the existing data and estimated that there was an Inferred Resource of supergene zinc mineralisation of 100,000 tonnes grading 8.6% Zn to a depth of 20m; and the combined Zn-Cu oxide zone contained about 300,000 tonnes at 1.5% Zn and 0.5% Cu. He also recognised that Shayban was a gold prospect with gold values over a strike length of 360m and a vertical range of 90m. The best zone (DDH 3) averaged 9.26 g/t Au over a strike length of 145m, an average width of 4.34m and a depth of 50m. Cheeseman estimated this was “equivalent to an undiluted tonnage potential of 1,700 tonnes/vertical metre.” In 1984, DGMR drilled a 249m deep hole (SAM-7) south-east of the previously identified gold and geophysical anomalies and intersected gold values ranging from 0.12 to 5.20 g/t Au between depths of 59.2 and 62.6m associated with disseminated sulphides and quartz veinlets in rhyolite tuff. In 1988-89, BRGM collected 277 rock chip samples from four traverses approximately 100m apart that yielded 45 samples with gold values ranging between 1 - 5 g/t Au over an area 30m wide, 500m long that averaged 3g/t Au at the surface. They concluded that further exploration was warranted to fully determine the gold potential of the Shayban prospect. The primary mineralisation appears to consist of ten or more separate, but parallel, horizons that are conformable with the host rocks that dip 50° - 60° NW. These mineralised horizons vary from 1m to 10m in thickness within a 50m thick mineralised zone. In DDH 1, a 10m composite section from 100-110m averaged 3.42 g/t Au, 23.27g/t Ag, 0.1 % Zn, 0.5% Cu, and 2.7% Pb (WGM, 1992). The deposit is open at depth. Figure 7 illustrates the geology and mineralisation.

Figure 7 Shayban deposit - simplified geology and mineralisation


Resource estimates

Between 1963 and 1965, BRGM drilled 36 cored holes totalling 5174 metres at 50m intervals, along six section lines across the deposit. This led to a reassessment of the deposit as a gold prospect 500m in length, 50m in width and with a down-dip extension of 100m containing a significant gold-copper resource that is oxidised from the surface down to an average depth of 25m. In 1999, Ma’aden drilled a further 58 holes totalling 3415 metres and estimated the resource to a depth of 100m below surface, using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off and an SG of 2.5 for oxide ore and 2.7 for sulphide ore as shown in Table 16. This was equivalent to 159,500 ounces of contained gold and 1,312,000 ounces of contained silver.

Table 16 Shayban - measured and indicated resource estimates (Source Ma’aden, 1999) OXIDE ZONE

Weighted Average Grade

SULPHIDE ZONE

Weighted Average Grade

Ore

Category

Tonnes g/t Au g/t Ag % Cu Tonnes g/t Au g/t Ag % Cu

Measured 266,296 2.56 31.09 0.43 738,906 2.78 20.46 0.52

Indicated 156,094 3.79 30.35 0.39 648,548 2.58 21.14 0.42

Sub-total 422,390 3.01 30.81 0.41 1,387,454 2.68 20.77 0.47

Combined total oxide + sulphide 1,809,844 2.76 23.11 0.46

Following an assessment of the mineralogy, some preliminary metallurgical testwork was undertaken on BRGM drill-core samples. The gold was finely disseminated in the matrix of the gangue minerals of the oxide zone that included silica, hematite, limonite and magnetite; and in the sulphide zone in the sphalerite and galena. Bench-scale cyanide-leach tests showed that gold extraction was rapid, with no significant differences between 24 and 96 hour leach times. Gold extractions at various grind sizes, ranging from 65% to 90% passing 75 microns, showed no significant difference. Most of the samples gave better than 90% gold extraction with low (0.86 kg/t) cyanide consumption and normal lime consumption rates, but some core samples with visible copper gave lower (72 – 83%) extraction and higher cyanide consumption rates. The gold extraction was shown to be independent of the grade of the samples tested.

Subject to mine planning limits, the Shayban deposit appears to have potential for the development of a small open-pit mine utilising cyanide-leach extraction. However, the extent of any open-pit may be constrained by rapidly increasing stripping ratios at depth, due to the proximity of the high ridge to the north-west. A budget of A$ 338,000 has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.

6.2 Wadi Saq and Matober Prospects (22o

36' N / 39o

46' E)

The Wadi Saq and the adjacent Matober prospects are located in the upper reaches of Wadi Hawarah about 2.5 km upstream from the Shayban deposit (see figure 6). The prospects are underlain by locally silicified rhyolite and rhyolitic tuff of the Samran Group, cut by younger dikes of mafic to intermediate composition. Both occurrences


were ancient mining sites with trenches and one shaft developed on malachite stained quartz veins over a length of 60m. Mineralisation at the Wadi Saq prospect consists of a swarm of north-northwest trending quartz veins that dip steeply east and are cut by younger east trending veins. The veins are discontinuous, vary in width from 10-50 cm, and carry erratically distributed chalcopyrite and malachite. Malachite staining is also reported to extend away from the veins along fractures in a north-easterly direction. During 1974-75, the Wadi Saq - Matober area was geochemically surveyed by the JGM and nine samples of bedrock mineralisation and 300 soil samples were collected and assayed for Cu, Pb and Zn. One quartz vein yielded 0.4 - 3.6% Cu over a strike length of 300m. A second vein, with conspicuous malachite staining, yielded 9.8% Cu. Altered zones adjacent to another vein carried between 0.18% and 8.3 % Cu. The zinc values varied from 0.01% to 0.03%; whilst lead values were very low. Precious metal values were not determined for either bedrock or soil samples. JGM concluded that the north-trending zone of anomalies were due to supergene enrichment of copper in weathered bedrock and that no follow-up exploration was warranted, but noted the presence of geochemical anomalies in wadi alluvium extending for 5 km downstream from the prospect.

6.3 Jabal Baydan deposit (22° 32’ N / 39° 45’ E) The Jabal Baydan prospect, located 7 km south of the Shayban deposit and 10 km southeast of Al Maraisi, is the second largest mineral occurrence in the Wadi Shugea area. The area is deeply dissected with about 500m of topographic relief. The main Baydan gossan outcrops on the western side of the wadi, about half way up the steep hillside at an elevation of 900m (figure 8). Ancient copper workings extend over an area of 200m by 150m, within a prominent gossan zone that is 1250m in length and up to 70m wide. They were first discovered in the 1930’s and in 1952, the DGMR examined the area and obtained assay values of 1.03 g/t gold and 8.91 g/t silver from the ancient mine dumps. Ground geophysical surveys subsequently traced a north trending, west dipping, conductor below the gossans. In 1983-84, the area formed part of the Samran-Shayban multi-disciplinary exploration programme undertaken by DGMR in which the geochemical survey delineated three strong copper, zinc and lead anomalies, one of which was at the Jabal Baydan gossan. Two anomalous IP zones were detected, one showing a sulphide-type response, the other a graphite-type signature. Both zones were subsequently drilled. Eleven percussion drill-holes (total 1161 metres) and two diamond core drill-holes (total 416 metres) tested the two IP anomalies at Jabal Baydan along a strike length of about 480 metres. Drill-hole SAM-33 tested the western anomaly and intersected 7 metres at 20.51 g/t gold and 28.8 g/t silver within a 29 metres long zinc-rich section, plus another 8 metres at 18 g/t gold. Drill-hole SAM-58 reported a single value of 50 g/t gold, while drill-hole SAM-29 was reported to have intersected “significant” Cu-Pb-Zn-Au-Ag mineralization over a 32m long intersection in the eastern anomaly. The rocks in the Baydan area strike north-south and dip to the west. They consist of dacitic agglomerates conformably overlain by quartz-eye rhyolite tuffs and flows, with minor chert, carbonate and gossan units, that form a proximal facies of the lower Shayban paleo-stratovolcano. These rocks are stratigraphically equivalent to the host rocks at Shayban and Jabal Sayid.


The stratigraphic succession at Baydan has been described as follows:

4. Quartz-diorite > 100m thick mafic unit 3. Epiclastic rock 80 – 100m of unmineralised felsic volcano-clastics and

tuffs. 2. Black Shale 50 – 125m of graphitic black shales and tuffs with 10m of

massive sulphides at its base. 1. Felsic tuff > 100m of hydrothermally altered tuffs with sulphides in

quartz-vein stockworks The overlying quartz-diorite sill (Jabal Shajiyah pluton) may intrude the Shayban Formation but no metamorphic contact minerals have been reported at the contact with the underlying epiclastic rocks. It trends north-south, dips 40° west, and as it is rigid it is only affected by brittle faulting. Gossans are exposed for several kilometres along the western side of Wadi Shugea and include the N-S trending Baydan gossan that outcrops over a 2km strike length. It has been explored to a depth of 400m by 24 cored holes, totalling 4516m, with further reconnaissance drilling to the north and south. The Baydan deposit occurs as a 300m long, 100m wide and 5m thick lens of massive sulphides within black graphitic shale, in a sequence of felsic, quartz-eye tuff, overlain by epiclastic rocks and a thick quartz-diorite sill. Three types of mineralisation have been recognised at Baydan:

• Au, Ag, (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ba) in graphitic black shale.

• Zn, Cu, Pb (Ag, Au) as layered massive sulphides capped by graphitic black shale occurs stratigraphically at the top of stockwork mineralization.

• Pyrite, Cu, Zn in quartz-vein stockworks in the brecciated footwall feeder zone. In 1996, BRGM reported the mineralisation occurred in rhyolite tuffs and consisted of massive sulphides at the base of a graphitic black shale that directly overlay a quartz vein stockwork zone. The mineralised zone was hydrothermally altered with silica, carbonates and sulphide minerals including barite, galena, tetrahedrite, silver and gold. The mineralisation forms a lens 400m in length and 3m thick, which extends 150m down-dip. The massive sulphide (pyrite–sphalerite) mineralisation has yielded values in the range of 10 – 40 % Zn and 1 – 5 % Cu. Drillhole BAY CO10 intersected 15.65m of black shale containing 4.7 g/t Au, 97 g/t Ag 1.48% Zn and 0.28% Cu. The mineralisation displays distinct morphologic, textural, and mineralogical zonation. Sphalerite, tetrahedrite and galena are relatively abundant in the massive sulphides, whereas chalcopyrite is more common in the stockwork mineralization. Barite appears lateral to the massive sulphides. The black graphitic shale locally encloses narrow bands of massive sulphides that are also deformed and affected by late fracturing with a filling of galena, tetrahedrite, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite.


The deposit was tested by 24 core holes totalling about 4,520 metres with the best intersections being :-

Drill-hole No. Sample assay results BAY C003 37.9 m at 2.12 g/t Au, 69 g/t Ag, including ’’ 9.45m at 6.28 g/t Au, 166 g/t Ag, 2.17 % Zn, 0.13% Cu.

BAY C0010 19.65 m at 4.0 g/t Au, 80 g/t Ag, 6.5 % Zn, 0.6% Cu. BAY C0014 3.85 m at 0.2 g/t Au, 115 g/t Ag, 14 % Zn, 1.8% Cu. BAY C0019 7.85 m at 0.8 g/t Au, 20 g/t Ag, 7.3 % Zn, 0.9% Cu.

Based on this data, the Exploration Potential at the Jabal Baydan prospect was estimated to be 0.5-0.7 million tonnes at a grade of about 1.5-2.5 g/t gold and 16-17 % zinc (about 40,000 oz of contained gold and 100,000 tonnes of contained zinc metal). These are historical estimates and do not comply with the JORC Code. Accordingly, under the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (Paragraph 18) - the potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource and that it is not certain that further exploration will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource.

Exploration potential

The Jabal Baydan prospect is an early-stage exploration project with potential for the discovery of a gold-sulphide deposit. Bariq plans to compile all the previous data in the tenement package into a digital data-base, followed by a programme of field checking, mapping and selected sampling, in order to re-evaluate the identified prospects. Based upon this work, drilling may be programmed towards the end of the second year. Until the data compilation is completed, the specific work requirements are difficult to predict.

A budget of A$ 130,000 has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.

Bariq’s long-term objectives are to:

• Increase resources down dip and along strike of potential untested mineralisation.

• Validate an additional resource of 1 million tonnes of oxide and sulphide ore.

• Target + 500,000 oz Au equivalent as shallow open-pit mining potential. However, if a substantial mineral resource is confirmed, then it may be possible to advance the Jabal Shayban prospect to the pre-feasibility/feasibility stage which will involve considerable multi-disciplinary exploration work,


Figure 8 Location of the Baydan, Bahran and Abu Sulukh Prospects


6.4 Bahran Gossan (22° 30' 30” N / 39° 44' 30” E) The ancient workings at Jabal Bahran, also known as the Bahran gossan, are located on the west side of Wadi Shugea (Shajiyah) about 10 km south of the Shayban deposit and 2 km south of the Jabal Baydan prospect (figure 8). It may represent a southern extension of the Baydan deposit. The Bahran area is underlain by north trending dacitic agglomerates which dip west at 30° and are conformably overlain by quartz-eye rhyolite tuffs and flows with subordinate chert, carbonate and gossan. The strongly ferruginous gossan occurs as four north-south aligned outcrops over a length of 250m along the wadi, that are dislocated by north-striking faults. The mineralisation is mostly oxidized pyrite and minor arsenopyrite with traces of barium, and is generally poor in base metals. Intense weathering produced local sugary rocks with gold concentrations up to 6.15 g/t Au. In 1952, the DGMR/USGS sampled ancient slag dumps, containing about 300-400 tonnes, in the immediate vicinity of the Bahran gossan that yielded values up to 1.03 g/t Au and 8.91 g/t Ag. In 1964, the DGMR/USGS carried out a reconnaissance vertical loop electromagnetic survey that detected a south-east-trending, steeply dipping conductor below the gossan. In 1966, the USGS collected grab samples from the ancient workings over an area of 600m x 700m which yielded values up to 2.06 g/t Au and were geochemically anomalous silver and copper. Pyrrhotite, pyrite and minor chalcopyrite mineralisation was disseminated over intervals up to 31m in thickness in some drillholes. Other forms of mineralisation included sulphide stringers and fillings in breccia, which indicate this may represent the partially oxidized top of a precious metal-bearing Cu-Pb-Zn deposit.

6.5 Abu Sulukh Prospect (22° 29’ 30” N / 39° 45' E) The Abu Suluq prospect is located on the western side of Wadi Shugea (Shajiyah), about 12 km south of the Shayban deposit and 2 km south of the Bahran prospect (figure 8). It was discovered during the 1983-84 DGMR multidisciplinary programme, that led to the drilling of three diamond drillholes, the first and second (SAM-14, SAM-15) to depths of 60.9m and 80.0m respectively, and the third (SAM-30) to 327.6m. The best intersection was 0.5m assaying 3,400 ppm Cu, 64 ppm Zn, 2.3 ppm Pb, 0.78 ppm Ag, and nil Au in hole SAM-15. It was concluded that the geophysical (EM) anomaly was probably due to a strongly oxidized fault about 10m wide, oriented N120°E and dipping 70°NE that transected the disseminated pyritic horizon observed in SAM 30, between 166-180m. The host rocks are dacitic to rhyodacitic quartz porphyry, chert, black rhyolitic rock, and andesitic tuff or lava. No additional work was recommended.

The Central zone extends 10 km along the western side of the J. Shayban / J. Baydan ridge, including from north to south :- the Maxifa, Wadi Jidrah N & S, Brumah, and Jibalah prospects (Figure 6). There are no detailed descriptions of these prospects available, but from the regional geology it seems they may occur within a shallow N-S trending anticlinal structure. The prospects may therefore be related to the outcrop of the favourable horizon along each limb of the anticline. The Western zone extends 12 km along the western side of the J. Al Qaham ridge, including :- the Al Maraisa, Abu Shiaab, Wutaileh, Wadi al Shatban, Wadi Thufer N & S, and Hamer prospects (Figure 6).


6.6 Al Marasia Prospect (22°33' N / 39°40' E) The Al Marasia prospect is located about 10 km west-south-west of the Shayban deposit and 8 km north-east of the Hamar prospect. The mineralisation forms a 50 – 100m wide gossanous zone, with some copper (malachite) stains and some thin parallel quartz veins, that outcrops intermittently over a strike length of about 600m. Oxidation is estimated to extend to a depth of about 25m. The gossan is developed on a steep north-plunging sulphide lens (pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite) in a north-south trending shear zone. Drilling indicated mostly pyrite with combined zinc, copper and gold grading less than 5% zinc equivalent in the primary and oxidized zones. The area is underlain by a north-east-trending belt of pale green chlorite schist, sericite schist, and phyllite probably derived from metamorphosed and deformed pyroclastic and epiclastic rocks. Schistose rocks are locally bleached and altered in a manner similar to those at the Hamar prospect. The mineralization at Al Marasia was discovered, sampled and drilled by the DGMR in 1967. Surface samples yielded values up to 3.1 g/t Au, 0.48% Cu, 1.2% Zn, and 0.3% Pb. DDH-1 intersected 13.4m of gossan between 5.2m and 18.6m, containing two sections which assayed 19.2 g/t Au over 3.5m and 13.7 g/t Au over 1.8m, whilst an 8.5m section of altered rock averaged 9.52 g/t Au and 31.49 g/t Ag. DDH-2 drilled to test the down-dip extension of this mineralisation failed to intersect either sulphide or gold mineralisation. On the basis of these results an Inferred Resource of 67,500 tonnes grading 4.35 g/t Au and 14 g/t Ag. was estimated at Al Marasia. In 1975, ARGAS carried out ground magnetometer, Turam, IP, and resistivity surveys. Follow-up work included 22 trenches averaging 3.0 - 4.5m in depth and totalling 739m in length, but no mineralization was discovered. During the 1984 ARGAS-Geoterrex regional airborne electromagnetic-magnetic survey of the area, an EM anomaly associated with a magnetic low was detected in a cultivated area about 1 km west of Al Marasia, and follow-up ground EM survey delineated a conductive zone that was tested by three percussion holes. Disseminated pyrite was present in two holes but assay values were low. No further work was recommended.

6.7 Wadi al Shatban Prospect (22°30' N / 39°38' E)

The Wadi al Shatban prospect is located about 15 km south-west of the Shayban deposit and 6 km southwest of Al Marasia. There is no evidence of ancient mining in this area. The area is underlain by rhyolitic and dacitic volcanic rocks trending NNE and dipping 80° west, that are considered to be a distal sub-aqueous facies of the Shayban Formation of the Samran Group. Mineralisation consists of lenses of massive pyrite and subsidiary chalcopyrite and sphalerite. In 1983-84, the DGMR multidisciplinary exploration programme outlined eight airborne EM anomalies (Area 8) in the Wadi al Shatban area. Follow-up ground EM and IP surveys delineated two sub-vertical anomalies (eastern and western zones) parallel to the regional lithology. Thirteen percussion holes totalling 925m and six diamond drillholes totalling 767m were drilled to test these anomalies. In the western zone, the first hole (SAM-26) intersected 11m of massive sulphide carrying high base-metal values in "leached and altered rock" that consisted mostly of quartz-eye rhyolitic tuff, with lesser andesitic and dacitic tuff, sedimentary rock, and massive sulphides. Similar rocks were intersected in the eastern zone, where lenses of massive sulphides, mainly 70-80% pyrite with lesser chalcopyrite and sphalerite, and some


“economically interesting Cu, Zn, and Ag values” were intersected. Geochemically anomalous gold values were encountered in several of the drillholes. Additional diamond drilling was recommended on both conductive zones (WGM, 1992).

6.8 Wutaileh Prospect (22° 31' N / 39°39' E). The Wutaileh Cu-Pb-Zn prospect is located about 17 km south-west of the Shayban deposit and 5 km south of the Al Marasia prospect and about 5 km northeast of the Hamar gossans. The Wutaileh Cu-Pb-Zn prospect consists of two gossan outcrops in a steep-sided valley. The most easterly gossan is anomalous for Cu, Pb and Zn, and the western gossan for copper. Both are slightly anomalous for silver (up to 8.23 g/t Ag). The two gossans, each about 150 m2 in area, are hosted by Samran Group sericite-chlorite schist, developed from dacitic volcani-clastic sediments. Friable, hematite or limonitic schists are locally developed. Intrusive rocks include gabbro, diabase and diorite. During 1967, DGMR collected fifteen chip samples with average copper values of 1,162 ppm in gossan and 4,625 ppm in schistose rocks. Zinc values averaged 1,247 ppm and 1,263 ppm respectively. Gold content was nil in all samples, but the analytical method used was not stated. During 1975, the prospect was surveyed by ground magnetometer, Turam, and dipole-dipole IP-resistivity equipment. Several weak magnetic, chargeability and resistivity anomalies were located close to the gossan outcrop, but despite the occurrence of gossan no further exploration was recommended (WGM, 1992).

6.9 Hamar Prospect (22°29'N / 39°37' E) The Hamar prospect is located about 18 km south-west of the Shayban deposit and 10 km south-west of the Al Marasia prospect, in a mountainous area without access roads. Gossans outcrop discontinuously along a 600m long and 50m wide shear zone in northerly trending sericitic and chloritic schists, possibly developed from felsic pyroclastic rocks. The gossans are derived from narrow lenses of massive sulphide. In 1967, the prospect was mapped and sampled and 2 holes totaling 329m were drilled. Erratic gold values up to 3.77 g/t were obtained from Gossan No.2 and a 36m zone of disseminated pyrite grading 0.023 % Cu and 0.68 - 2.06 g/t gold was intersected in DDH-1A and, in the same hole, a 1.5m thick band of massive sulphides assayed 0.3% Cu. The minerals included covellite, chalcocite, bornite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite; whilst the dominant accessory minerals were limonite, pyrite and silica. During 1975, ARGAS conducted ground magnetometer, Turam, IP and resistivity surveys. A total of five conductive zones were detected by the Turam survey, several of which were coincident with or parallel to the surface gossan outcrop. IP and resistivity surveys delineated several steeply dipping anomalies of low to moderate chargeability. Further exploration is required to fully assess the Hamar prospect.


7.0 WADI KAMAL PROJECT (Bariq 100%) Vertex / Bariq applied for the Wadi Kamal Exploration Licence which has been granted and provides for exploration of precious metals, base-metals, platinum group elements (PGE’s) and ferro-alloys, over a five-year period and may subsequently be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. Table 17 shows the licence area’s co-ordinates and Figure 9 the location. Table 17 Co-ordinates of the Wadi Kamal Licence Area (100 km

2 ) CORNER No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 37° 44' 24° 23' 00”

2 37° 50' 24° 23' 00”

3 37° 50' 24° 17' 30”

4 37° 44' 24° 17' 30”

7.1 Wadi Kamal Prospect ( 24° 20’ N / 37° 47’ E ) The Wadi Kamal layered mafic intrusion has been explored for magnetite-ilmenite and copper-nickel mineralisation, but has not been systematically explored for platinum group minerals (PGM’s). It is located 400km north of Jeddah and 40 km north of the port of Yanbu al Bahr. From Jeddah proceed along the coastal highway to Yanbu and then a further 35km north along the M55 Highway before turning east along a rough track up the wadi for about 7 km. It is an area of low relief with steep rocky ridges up to 100m high, separated by wide sandy wadis.

Geology

The Wadi Kamal ELA covers the southern part of a layered igneous complex that outcrops over an area about 50 km N-S and 10km E-W. The layered complex includes serpentinised dunite, layered gabbro, an ultramafic-mafic layered unit, and anorthosite. In the southern part of the complex, PGE’s and gold values are associated with gossans derived from pyrrhotite / pyrite / chalcopyrite / pentlandite mineralisation. The individual gossan outcrops are only a few square metres in area, but form a discontinuous line of outcrop over a distance of 10 km from north to south, within the amphibolite-dunite zone. A magnetite-ilmenite (titanium) mineralised layer has been traced over a strike length of almost 35 km in the northern part of the complex, but it is reported to be narrow, relatively low-grade and impoverished in PGE’s, although drill-hole KM-9 intersected three Fe-Ti mineralised horizons from 10m – 25m thick containing up to 90% Fe-Ti oxides, over a 146m interval in gabbro, but they were not assayed (Chevromont, 1982). 25 surface samples collected along the most prominent outcrop yielded assay values in the range:- 42 – 79 % Fe2O3, 4 – 26 % TiO2, 0.05 – 1.2 % V2O5 and 0.1 – 11.2 % P2O5.

The geology of the Wadi Kamal igneous complex is illustrated in Figure 9.


Figure 9 Simplified geology of the Wadi Kamal igneous complex

Between 1972 and 1979, BRGM examined the Wadi Kamal complex by geological mapping, rock and wadi-sediment geochemical sampling, airborne and ground geophysical surveys and eleven diamond drill-holes totalling 2758 metres. This work focused primarily on the copper-nickel potential, although the potential for ferro-titanium oxide mineralisation was also considered.


Results included:

• Drill hole KM-1 intersected an accumulated thickness of 4m at 0.33% Ni equivalent.

• Drill hole KM-2 intersected a cumulative thickness of 3.15m at 0.32% Ni equivalent

• Drill hole KM-4 intersected disseminated to sub-massive sulphide over an interval of 130m averaging 0.2% Ni and 0.2% Cu. This included the occurrence of Melonite which is a nickel-palladium-tellurium mineral, associated with chalcopyrite and pentlandite at depths of 217m and 332m.

• Drill hole KM-6 intersected 0.7m at 0.25% Ni including an 11 cm thick band of massive sulphides (pyrhhotite – pentlandite) associated with pyroxene.

• The best result was in drill hole KMS1, with 17m at 0.53% Ni and 0.21% Cu, which was sited to test a gossan outcrop and intersected stringers and disseminations of pyrite, pyrrhotite, pentlandite and minor chalcopyrite between 20m – 60m depth in pyroxene bearing peridotite. The best values were: 9.38m at 0.38% Ni and 0.12% Cu; and 7.65m at 0.71% Ni and 0.33% Cu.

In 1986, the gossan was re-sampled and analysed for gold and platinum group elements (PGE’s) and a sample of copper-nickel enriched gossan near drill-hole KMS1 assayed 7.2 g/t Pt, 0.82 g/t Pd, 6.2 g/t Au, 10.6% Cu and 3% Ni. The zone of disseminated sulphide mineralisation in drill-hole KMS1 between 20m and 60m depth that averaged 9.38 metres at 0.38% Ni and 0.12% Cu; and 7.65 metres at 0.71% Ni and 0.33% Cu, was not assayed for gold or PGE’s until 1986 (Salpecteur, 1996) when high platinum and gold values were found associated with the Cu-Ni minerals. If these values represent a consistently mineralised sulphide layer then Wadi Kamal is highly prospective.

Exploration potential Wadi Kamal is an early-stage exploration project with potential for the discovery of a large layered Ni-Cu-Pt-Au deposit. Layered ultramafic complexes such as Wadi Kamal host major nickel-copper-PGE-gold sulphide deposits in many parts of the world. The platinum group metals (PGE’s) include platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium and iridium. The principal minerals containing these metals are native platinum, various platinum metal alloys and inter-metallic compounds, such as sperrylite (PtAs2), cooperite (PtS), braggite ({Pt, Pd, Ni}S), laurite (RuS2), and stibiopalladinite (Pd3Sb). A large number of rare PGE minerals containing Te, As, Sb, Sn, Hg and Bi are known. Most ultramafic rocks (dunites, peridotites, and serpentinites) are slightly enriched in platinum metals and average about 65 ppb Pt and 20 ppb Pd; with the lower values for Ru, Rh, Os, and Ir being on average about 5 ppb respectively. However, in the sulphide and chromite rich zones of these ultramafic rocks, the PGE values may increase by factors of 10 to 100 and rarely by up to a factor of 1000. Similarly, the ultramafic rocks contain on average about 4 ppb gold and the sulphide segregations from 40 to 400 ppb Au. At Wadi Kamal, Vertex/Bariq plan to compile all the previous data into a digital data-base, followed by field checking, geological mapping and selected sampling, in order to delineate areas of the Wadi Kamal complex favourable for PGE, gold, copper and nickel


mineralisation. Detailed heavy-mineral and geochemical sampling, with detailed geologic mapping, will follow. No drilling is planned in the first two years. A budget of A$ 1 million has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.

8.0 MURAYJIB-BIL’IWY PROJECT (Bariq 100%) Vertex / Bariq applied for the Murayjib-Bil’iwy Exploration Licence, which has been granted and provides for exploration of precious and base-metals over a five-year period and may subsequently be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. Table 18 shows the co-ordinates.

Table 18 Co-ordinates of the Murayjib-Bil’iwy Licence Area (100 km2 )

CORNER No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 38° 23' 30” 24° 52' 00”

2 38° 26' 30” 24° 52' 00”

3 38° 26' 30” 24° 41' 30”

4 38° 23' 30” 24° 41' 30”

Location and access

The Murayjib licence area is located 450 km north of Jeddah and 90 km north-northeast of Yanbu al Bahr and 40 km southeast of Al Ayis. It is accessible from Yanbu along Highway 382 for 55 km to Yanbu ou Nakhl, then north towards Al Ayis to the small village of Al Fuqhal, then southeast for 10 km on desert tracks to Bir Salamah. The licence area is 450m above sea level in an area of steep hills with a 250m topographic relief.


Figure 10 Location of gold prospects in the Murayjib-Bil’iwy Licence area

Geology The Murayjib-Bil’iwy Exploration Licence covers an area of ancient gold mines, including the recorded workings at Murayjib, Murayjib South, Bil’iwy, Umm Hashayim, Ifshaygh, and Umm Hufrah. These workings are aligned in a north-south direction over an area 20 km in length and 5 km in width that appears to correlate with the lower contact of a thick basalt or diorite unit. On a regional scale the stratigraphy consists of mafic tuffaceous sediments overlain by a thick sequence of coarse sandstones and conglomerates that have been folded into a shallow north-south trending syncline. In the vicinity of Murayjib, the sediments have been strongly sheared to form “pencil slates” in which the cleavage intersections plunge northwards at 25 to 30°. The stratigraphic succession is as follows : { Aghrad Formation = grey sandstones and conglomerates HADIYAH GROUP { Turiah Formation = red-green feldspathic sandstones { Siqam Formation = basaltic and andesitic volcanoclastics These volcano-clastic rocks are capped (overlain) by a thick basalt-diorite unit that appears to form the core of the syncline and which acted as a barrier to rising hydrothermal fluids which caused widespread and in places, such as the Bil’iwy prospect, quite intense propylitic, carbonate and ferruginous hydrothermal alteration of the rocks immediately below the diorite contact. The quartz veins on which the ancient workings are developed appear to be structurally controlled along this favourable stratigraphic horizon along the sheared and altered contact between the sedimentary rocks (sandstones) and the overlying basalt/diorite unit. Structurally controlled swarms of quartz veins occur in the clastic rocks and in places such as Murayjib form east-west trending vein


stockworks that extend over areas up to 800m in length and 400m in width. Gold occurs in the quartz veins and as widespread alluvial / colluvial deposits. The quartz veining and associated alteration is most intense directly beneath the overlying diorite cap rock.

Previous exploration In 1937-38, SAMS carried out diamond core drilling at Murayjib, Murayjib South and Bil’iwy to depths of 500 feet, but the co-ordinates of these drill-holes have been lost. In 1982-85, Riofinex carried out a regional wadi-sediment geochemical survey, with extensive rock sampling and trenching of the gold prospects. Trenching, pitting and churn-drilling programmes were also undertaken to test the alluvial gold potential. The Riofinex geochemical results were consistently lower than those from the SAMS programme. At the Murayjib workings, SAMS grab samples from thin (< 10 cm) quartz veins within a 1 km2 vein swarm, yielded gold values up to 260 g/t Au and averaged 5.1 g/t Au, whereas Riofinex’s best result was 0.7 g/t Au over 13 metres. There is a similar discrepancy at Bil’iwy. This may indicate that the SAMS sampling was very selective and possibly not representative of the whole mineralised structure. At Bil’iwy, the main 1000m by 200m alteration zone was sampled along three trenches about 100 metres in length. One trench intersected 12 metres at 1.8 g/t gold and another 32 metres at 1.75 g/t gold. There are many other vein swarms, alteration zones and potential feeder faults that were not sampled. The numerous wadi-sediment anomalies may indicate areas of potential mineralisation that may be worth some follow-up, such as the ancient placer workings with no apparent hard-rock source.


Figure 11 Geology and mineralisation in the Murayjib-Bil’iwy area

8.1 Murayjib Prospect (24° 50’ 48” N / 38° 24’ 22”E)

The Murayjib prospect is located immediately to the south of the old SAMS exploration camp about 2 km north of Bir Salamah. The prospect consists of an extensive area of ancient gold mining developed on vertical to steeply-dipping WNW-ESE trending


sheeted quartz-vein system exposed on a low ridge over an area about 800m east-west and 300m north-south (figure 11). The veins are narrow, usually 10 to 30cm, but are persistent along strike. At least 50 veins have been trenched along their outcrop by the ancient workings and some of the veins have been worked to depths of at least 10m. Many of the veins are gossanous, apparently after pyrite. In 1937, SAMS investigated the prospect and drilled 6 cored holes, of which, DDH 2 intersected 0.3m at 180 g/t Au and DDH 5 intersected 1.5m at 9.6 g/t Au. The prospect was also investigated by Riofinex in 1982, who collected 462 rock chip samples and 13 grab samples, as well as investigating the alluvial gold potential of the nearby wadi. The very extensive ancient workings and their relatively easy access makes Murayjib an attractive exploration project 8.2 Murayjib South Prospect (24° 50’ N / 38° 24’E) The Murayjib South prospect is located high on the ridge about 1 km north of Bir Salamah and 1 km south of the Murayjib prospect (figure 11). It consists of some ancient workings developed on a NW-SE trending sheeted quartz-vein system exposed along the side of the ridge over an area about 400m east-west and 100m north-south. The veins are reported to be up to 3m wide but most are much narrower. In 1937, SAMS drilled one cored hole but did not report any significant mineralisation, and in 1982 Riofinex collected 610 rock chip samples. 8.3 Bil’iwy Prospect (24° 50’ 45” N / 38° 24’ 30”E) The Bil’iwy prospect is an area of ancient gold workings located in a small east-west trending valley about 2km south of Bir Salamah and 4 km south of the Murayjib prospect. It consists of a large number of quartz veins up to 1m in width, within an area of intense ferruginous hydrothermal alteration that has been pitted, trenched and drilled over an area approximately 1500m by 500m. There appear to be three sets of quartz veins :

• Massive sub-horizontal quartz reefs dipping at 10 - 30°

• Quartz filled tension gashes that are almost vertical and trend 050 - 080°

• Networks of small quartz veinlets. The quartz is mostly free of sulphide minerals, but the hydrothermally altered zone on the southern side is very ferruginous with some thin, steeply dipping gossanous bands. The ancient workings appear to have favoured the ferruginous altered zones in preference to the quartz. The substantial ancient workings, quartz veins and intense alteration make Bil’iwy an attractive exploration target.

8.4 Other Gold Occurrences

There are several other recorded gold occurrences in the western and southern parts of the licence area, but there is little information available. They include :-

Ifshaigh Prospect (24° 50’ N / 38° 22’ E) Located 4 km west of Bil’iwy prospect, this is an area of ancient alluvial gold workings in wadi gravels with no known hard-rock source.


Umm Hufra Prospect (24° 43’ N / 38° 25’ E) Located about 5 km south of the Bil’iwy prospect, Umm Hufra consists of scattered ancient gold workings in wadi gravels with no known hard-rock source.

Umm Hashayim Prospect (24° 45’ N / 38° 25’ E) Located about 15 km south of the Bil’iwy prospect, Umm Hashayim consists of scattered ancient gold workings in wadi gravels with no known hard-rock source.

Exploration potential of the Murayjib-Bil’iwy Licence area Sheeted quartz-vein stockworks with disseminated gold mineralisation associated with the contact zones of granite or diorite intrusions are an economically important class of gold deposits in many parts of the world. The intense alteration and associated gold bearing quartz vein stockworks that extend for almost 5 km along the diorite contact between the Murayjib and Bil’iwy prospects make the Murayjib-Bil’iwy area an attractive exploration target for a large, bulk gold deposit amenable to open-pit mining.

Bariq plans to compile all the previous data, and follow this with field checking, mapping and selected sampling. Trenching may also be carried out in some areas such as Bil’iwy. Depending on the results of this work, diamond drilling may then be considered. A budget of A$ 1 million has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work and to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.


9.0 IDHKIRI – AL QUNNAWAT PROJECT (Bariq 100%) The Idhkiri – Al Qunnawat project comprises two adjacent Exploration Licence Applications, Jabal Idhkiri West and Jabal Al Qunnawat South with a combined area of 160 km2. They were applied for by Vertex, but have not been granted yet. The licence applications, if granted, will provide for exploration of precious and base-metals over a five-year period and may subsequently be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. Their co-ordinates are shown in Table 19 and their location is shown in Figure 12.

Table 19 Coordinates of the Idhkiri and Al Qunnawat Licence areas

Co-ordinates of the Jabal Idhkiri West Licence Area (73 km2 )


1 41° 08' 26° 05'

2 41° 14' 26° 05'

3 41° 14' 25° 59' 30”

4 41° 08' 25° 59' 30”

Co-ordinates of Jabal Al Qunnawat South Licence Area (78 km2 )


1 41° 15' 26° 05'

2 41° 20' 26° 05'

3 41° 20' 26° 00'

4 41° 15' 26° 00'

Figure 12 Location plan - Jabal Idhkiri and Jabal Al Qunnawat Licence areas


Location and access (26° 02' N / 41° 15' E) The Jabal Idhkiri West and Jabal al Qunnawat South prospects are located about 650 km north-northeast of Jeddah, 250 km northeast of Madinah and 35 kilometres east of Hulayfah at 26° 02' North and 41° 15' East. They can be accessed from Jeddah along Highway 15 to Madinah and then along Highway 389 for 240 km to the small town of Hulayfah As Sulfa, and then by rough tracks to Jabal Idhkiri. Rough tracks provide access to most parts of the licence areas, which consist of discontinuous low rock outcrops separated by wide sand-filled wadis. The Idhkiri – Al Qunnawat prospects form a gold and minor base-metal geochemical anomaly extending over a distance of about 14 km along a WSW-ENE trend. At Jabal Idhkiri to the west, there are 34 separate ancient workings along a 1,200m long by 100m wide zone of en echelon quartz veins that trend southwest – northeast and have been intruded into granodiorite and Murdama Group sediments. In 1985, Riofinex mapped the workings and collected 33 grab samples from quartz veins and/or altered host rock. The samples averaged 3.2 g/t gold, with the best value being 25.3 g/t gold from a sample of quartz vein in granodiorite. Although further work was recommended, including heavy mineral sampling and trenching, there is no record of it having been done. The Jabal Al Qunnawat South prospect to the east, consists of numerous quartz veins within altered volcanic rocks that have been intruded by granodiorite to the south. Stream sampling in the vicinity of the ancient workings showed anomalous gold, silver and base metal values over a distance of 8 km along a SW-NE trend. In 1985, Riofinex collected vein and wallrock samples that returned assay values up to 46.6 g/t gold.

Exploration potential Jabal Idhkiri - Al Qunnawat South is an early stage gold exploration project. Vertex/Bariq plan to compile all the previous exploration data, followed by a programme of field checking, mapping and sampling, mainly in the locations identified by ancient gold workings. More detailed field sampling and mapping may be required after the first year, possibly with ground geophysical surveys of the gold-bearing veins. Diamond core drilling to test the known mineralized veins in the zone of ancient workings, may be undertaken in year 3, provided the sampling results justify this. A budget of A$ 72,000 has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work an to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.


10.0 BARI PROJECT (Bariq 100%) Vertex/Bariq submitted an application for the Bari Exploration Licence to the Ministry in March 2006. The licence application, if granted, will provide for exploration for precious and base metals over a 5-year period and may subsequently be converted to an Exploitation Licence providing certain conditions are fulfilled. The co-ordinates of the Bari Licence Application are shown in Table 20 and the location is shown on Figure 3. Table 20 Co-ordinates of the Bari Licence Area (96 km

2 ) Corner No. LONGITUDE (E) LATITUDE (N)

1 41° 08' 00" 23° 23' 30"

2 41° 08' 00" 23° 23' 30"

3 41° 14' 00" 23° 18' 30"

4 41° 14' 00" 23° 18' 30"

10.1 Bari Prospect (23° 21’ N / 41° 11’ E) Bari is located 350 km northeast of Jeddah and about 38 km south-east of the Mahd ahd Dhahab gold mine. From Mahd adh Dhahab, proceed east for about 12 km on a graded road, then turn south-east on graded roads for about 20 km, then turn south on rough tracks for about 6 km. The area of interest is located on a low ridge rising about 30m above the surrounding sand covered plains. A network of tracks serve scattered houses in the area and provides access to all parts of the licence area.

Geology Bari is an ancient copper and gold mining area where the BRGM recorded 132 separate ancient workings within a 4 km by 2 km area, including ancient copper-smelter slag dumps that are reported to contain up to 3000 tonnes of slag. Outcrop is sparse, but there are extensive areas of quartz float on the ridges and several small (< 10cm wide x 10m long) quartz vein outcrops can be seen. The ancient workings appear to have exploited thin seams of secondary malachite in sheared gossanous granite, associated with a series of sub-parallel east – west trending lodes up to 1400m in length. The ancient workings are mostly located on the northern slope of the ridge suggesting that the vein outcrops on the higher part of the ridge may have been leached of their copper content and therefore any geochemical sample values may have been depleted.


Figure 13 Geology and mineralisation in the Bari licence area

A large quartz-diorite intrusion hosts the series of east-west trending quartz veins that contain the Cu, Au, Ag, Zn and Pb mineralisation. These veins appear to be located in a broad altered contact zone where the quartz-diorite has been intruded by the Bari biotite-granite. Structural features and alteration are developed equally in all rock types and the mineralised structures typically contain only minor quartz veins that are bordered by alteration zones up to several metres wide.

Previous exploration In 1954, DGMR collected three dump samples from ancient workings which gave values up to 9.3 g/t Au, 33.3 g/t Ag and 0.3% Cu. In 1964, the ancient workings were surveyed and soil sampled by the USGS mission. One cored drill-hole was drilled to the south of the Old Village but the results are not available. In 1965, BRGM trenched and channel sampled the mineralised shears and obtained values up to 8g/t Au and 37g/t Ag. The base-metal values were low although some samples from the ancient dumps contained up to 2.35% Pb and 1.3% Zn. Geological mapping and geochemical soil sampling was then carried out over a 20 km2 area centred on the Bari prospect, with samples collected on a 100 metre by 200 metre grid spacing. This delineated several zinc and lead anomalies described as ‘weak’. BRGM then drilled 32 percussion holes totalling 3,320 metres, as well as four cored drill-holes totalling 237 metres as shown in Table 21.


Table 21 Bari - Selected BRGM drill-hole intersections

Location No. of

holes

Total

metres

drilled

Best

holes

Intercept

metres

g/t Au g/t Ag Zn % Cu %

P-02 3.5 30-60 - 1.3 1.0 Old Village 8 645

P-05 1.5 20-74 0.7 0.5 5.0

Trench 12 1 103 P-28 1.0 13.8 0.34 0.42 3.0

P-06 39.0 7.3 12.9 1.2 - Trench 13 14 1606

P-10 84.0 6.8 5.1 - -

P 20 Area 6 552 P-20 3.0 0.05 3.0 >2.0 -

P 32 Area 3 333 P-32 3.0 - 1.2 - -

Note : (i) these are intersected widths – not true widths

(ii) the other 25 drillholes did not intersect any economically significant mineralisationn

The exceptional results (84m at 6.8 g/t Au) from holes P-06 and P-10 in the Trench 13 area, were investigated by a further 6 drill-holes that failed to substantiate the P-06 and P-10 results. BRGM therefore concluded that the P-06 and P-10 drill-holes must have been drilled down the dip of one of the veins or along a previously unrecognised N-S trending mineralised structure.

Mineralisation Two mineralised areas, the Old Village area and the Trench 13 area have been investigated by drilling. The poly-metallic mineralisation (Zn, Cu, Pb, As, Au, Ag) is reported to be localised within E-W trending fractures and shear zones. These mineralised structures apparently contain only minor vein-quartz less than 1 cm wide although a few short veins up to 30cm wide were seen. The veins are bordered by zones of hydrothermal alteration up to several metres wide. This alteration consists of silicification, bleaching and potassic alteration. Structural features and alteration are developed equally in all rock types. The mineralisation consists of pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and minor tin, bismuth, gold and silver. Pyrite is the most abundant mineral and occurs in quartz veins and as disseminations in the altered granite – diorite host rock. The gold is reported to occur as inclusions in the pyrite and arsenopyrite. As a result, there is a strong geochemical correlation between gold, silver and arsenic values.

Exploration potential

Bari is an early stage exploration project. It is a large, shear-hosted, quartz-vein system that offers potential for the discovery of a bulk, low-grade deposit amenable to open pit mining. Vertex/Bariq plan to compile all the previous exploration data into a computer data-base, to be followed by a programme of field checking, mapping and sampling. Future work should have regard for the strong geochemical correlation between gold, silver and arsenic values. Existing prospects will be carefully re-evaluated using computer-based multi-disciplinary techniques to develop new exploration targets based on modern geological concepts. Thereafter, a phased programme of 2000 metres of diamond core drilling will test the known gold-bearing zones and any significant geochemical or geophysical anomalies. Dependent upon the success of drilling, a further programme of up to 2000 metres may be considered.


A budget of A$ 1 million has been allocated for the first two years, which is sufficient to carry out the proposed work an to comply with the minimum expenditure commitments specified by DMMR in the new Mining Investment Code.

11.0 OPINION

The Vertex / Bariq exploration programmes, as outlined in this report, have been designed to meet the geological nature of the exploration areas as described in the reports of the previous exploration work and confirmed by site visits by the technical staff of Vertex and by the author. Behre Dolbear considers that the planned exploration programmes are clearly defined and are reasonable in terms of the prospectivity of the licence areas, the stated exploration objectives and the proposed budgets.

12.0 DECLARATIONS

Terms of Reference, Consultant Relationship and Disclaimer ADV Group Ltd (“ADV”) commissioned Behre Dolbear to prepare an Independent Geologists Report for the Australian Securities Exchange on the assets of the associated companies Vertex Group WLL (“Vertex”), a company registered in Bahrain, and Bariq Mining Ltd (“Bariq”), a company registered in Saudi Arabia, which hold or have applied for nine wholly-owned Exploration Licence Application areas (“ELA’s”) for gold and base-metals. Vertex has also concluded a joint-venture and farm-in agreement with Consolidated Mining Company Ltd (“CMC”) that holds an Exploration Licence over the relatively advanced Jabal Sayid base-metals project, whereby Bariq has acquired an initial 20% interest in the Jabal Sayid project, and, subject to certain conditions, can earn up to a 50 interest. Vertex also has an agreement with CMC whereby Bariq has acquired a 100% interest in CMC’s Jabal Shayban Licence. Behre Dolbear carried out this independent geological appraisal on a reasonableness basis and has relied upon the information provided by Vertex and other third parties as being accurate, reliable and suitable for use in this assessment. We retain the right to change or modify our conclusions if new or undisclosed information is provided which might change our opinion. Behre Dolbear has seen most of the licence application documents in Arabic, but is not qualified to comment on their validity, and does not accept any liability other than statutory liability to any individual, organization, or company and takes no responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this report, or information, data, or assumptions contained therein.

Behre Dolbear is acting in an independent capacity as a consultant to ADV and is receiving a pre-negotiated fixed fee for its services. Neither Behre Dolbear nor any professional working on this assignment has any ownership interest, financial interest, or any other pecuniary interest, in ADV, Vertex, Bariq, CMC, or any of the Licence areas.


Qualifications, Experience and Sources of Information On behalf of Behre Dolbear, Mr R. J. Fletcher carried out a review of the previous mineral exploration work in the various exploration licence areas held, acquired or applied for by Vertex (or its Saudi Arabian subsidiary Bariq Mining). Mr Fletcher is qualified to act as a “competent person” as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. and accepts responsibility for the information on Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in this Independent Geologist’s report. Behre Dolbear affirms that Mr R J Fletcher :-

• has more than 10 years experience in the Saudi Arabian region, • is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, • has more than 40 years experience in the estimation, assessment and evaluation of

mineral resources and ore reserves that is relevant to the styles of mineralisation and the types of deposits under consideration.

Behre Dolbear also affirms that :-

• previous geological reports, referred to herein, are available from an open-file register or website of the Deputy Ministry of Mineral Resources or the Geological Survey of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; or an open register or website of a recognised stock exchange, or other public domain sources.

• all references to previous geological reports or sources of information fairly represent the contents of the previous geological reports or sources.

• Reports and publications attributed to organisations and persons are referenced only to support the technical and scientific aspects within the Independent Geologist's Report and not for promotional reasons.

• Consent for the use of any public domain information has not been sought.

Behre Dolbear also affirms that :- • It observes Section 947B of the Corporations Act 2001. • In accordance with Corporations Regulation 7.6.01(1)(u) and Corporations Amendment

Regulations 2003 (No. 7) 2003 No. 202, the Independent Geologist's Report is not financial product advice but is intended to provide investors with expert opinion on matters relevant to an investment in the client Company.

• Behre Dolbear is not operating under an Australian financial services licence. • the advice in the Independent Geologist's Report is an opinion on matters other than

financial products and does not include advice on a financial product.

The report covers :

• The licence areas - their tenure terms and co-ordinates;

• The location of the projects within the licence areas;

• Previous work carried out on the projects, quantitatively and qualitatively;

• Geological descriptions and interpretations;

• Resource estimates and the basis for these;

• The exploration potential of the licence areas; and

• Any other appropriate comments based on professional judgment. The report is based on technical data, reports and studies provided by Vertex's professional and technical advisers in Saudi Arabia and two 8-day visits to Saudi Arabia, in September 2006 and January 2007, that involved:-


• discussions with the relevant officers and geologists of the Vertex and Bariq companies at their office in Jeddah;

• discussions with officers and geologists of the Bariq company at their project office in Mahd adh Dhahab; and

• site visits to the Jabal Sayid, Lahuf, Jabal Ramram, Bari, Shayban, Baydan, Wadi Kamal, and Murayjib-Bil’iwy licence areas, accompanied by the geological staff that have been working on these projects.

Table 22 List of persons providing information and advice

NAME POSITION ORGANISATION

Inés Scotland Director and CEO Vertex Ltd and Bariq Mining Ltd

Ralph Stagg Technical Director Bariq Mining Ltd

Alan Jack Operations Manager Bariq Mining Ltd

Brett Butlin Exploration Manager Bariq Mining Ltd

Dr. Milan Puncochar Chief Geologist Bariq Mining Ltd

Most of the descriptions in this report are based on previous reports prepared by various organisations, acting as contractors to the Deputy Ministry of Mineral Resources (DMMR) that were carried out and reported to the highest industry and academic standards, as would be expected of a national Geological Survey. Many of the reports are available from the DMMR, or are on open-file at the Saudi Geological Survey (SGS) in Jeddah. Appendix A contains a list of the principal sources of information referred to during the preparation of this report. References to currencies in this report are either in Saudi Riyals (SR) or in Australian dollars.

This Independent Geologist’s Report is presented on behalf of Behre Dolbear

International Limited by

Denis Acheson, Chairman, Behre Dolbear International Limited

and

R. J. Fletcher M.Sc., B.Sc., FAusIMM, MIMMM, C.Geol., C.Eng., Senior Geological Associate


APPENDIX A - REFERENCES

1. Watts, Griffis and McOuat Ltd, Evaluation and Studies Project, Final Project Report, 1992.

2. Barker, D J, Jabal Sayid Project, overview, update and review of Cominco

Engineering Study, 26 November 1993. 3. Cominco Engineering Services Ltd, Preliminary evaluation of the Jabal Sayid

copper deposit, Saudi Arabia, for Evan Resources, December 1993. 4. Bokhari, M, Ma’aden, La Huf oxide gold prospect, undated, but later than 1993. 5. Collenette, P & Grainger, D.J., 1994 Directorate General of Mineral Resources,

Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia. 6. Bacigalupo-Rose, S, Exploration Department, Ma’aden, A Review of Lahuf

Prospect, May 1996. 7. Wheatley, C, Ma’aden, Results of cyanidation bottle tests: Shayban Gold

Prospect, 25 August 1997. 8. Al-Saadawi, E, Ma’aden, Geological review and resource estimation, Jabal

Shayban gold prospect, August 1999 9. Sangster, D F & Abdulhay, G J S, Saudi Geological Survey, Base Metal (Cu-Pb-

Zn) mineralization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2005. 10. Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Mining Investment Regulations of

the Mining Investment Code, 2005. 11. Vertex and CMC, Memorandum of Understanding, 19 November 2005. 12. Vorster, A, SRK Consulting, Jabal Sayid desktop review, report for Consolidated

Mining Company Ltd, December 2005. 13. Stagg, R N, Vertex/Bariq Mining, Information Memorandum, Part Two,

Technical Report, December 2005. 14. Clegg, I H, 2006, Mining Legislation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy

Ministry for Mineral Resources, Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources. 15. Bariq Mining Company, Corporate Presentation, February 2006. 16. Bariq and CMC, Joint Venture and Farm-in Agreement, Draft, 11 March 2006.

17. Bowden, R.A. and Smith G.H. 1981, Jabal Sayid District – Overview study,

Technical Record RF-TR-01-2, Riofinex Geological Mission, for MPMR, Jeddah, KSA.


18. Final report – Database on Exploration Information, 2006, GIS-Geoindustry

s.r.o., Czech Republic, for Vertex Group WLL Co. 19. Leveque M.X. 1985, Pre-feasibility study for exploitation of the Jabal Sayid

copper deposit, Saudi Arabian Deputy Ministry for Mineral Resources, Confidential Report BRGM-CR-05-5.

20. N H Cole and Associates Pty Ltd, Due diligence report prepared for ADV Group

Ltd on Vertex and Bariq Mining mineral projects in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, April 2006.

21. Exploration of the Jabal Shayban gold prospect, Vol.1, Geological mapping and

sampling of the Jabal Shayban and Umm Saina West prospects, 1995, Technical report DMMR-TR-94-3.

22. Hacket, D. 1986, Mineralised aplite-pegmatite at Jabal Sa’id, Hijaz region,

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jour. of Earth Sciences, Vol.4, pp.257-267. 24. Hopwood, T. 1979, An exploration study of metal deposits in the Jabal Sayid

region, DMMR/Riofinex Report RFO-1979-9. 25. Bournat, G. 1981, Jabal Sayid copper-zinc deposit – synthesis of work and

results 1971-74, DMMR Open File Report BRGM-OF-01-07. 26. Bellivier, M., Abu Sarfiyah and Peyrol, L. 1999, Mineral exploration in the

Baydan area, DMMR Technical Report BRGM-TR-97-6. 27. Morfett, E.M., 1982, assessment of the gold potential of the Murayjib-Bil’iwy

prospects, DMMR/Riofinex Open File report RF-OF-02-18. 28. Chevromont, P. 1982, Cored drilling in the Wadi Kamel area, DMMR Open

File Report BRGM-OF-02-37. 29. Chevromont, P. and Johan,Z. 1981, Wadi Kamel- Wadi Murratijah ultramafic

– mafic layered complex, DMMR Open File Report BRGM-OF-01-36. 30. Salpeteur, I. 1996, PGE exploration of the Alays and Wadi Kamel complexes,

DMMR Internal Report BRGM-JED-IR-96-7. 31. Roobol, M.J. and White, D.L. 1985, Cauldron subsidence structures and calderas

above Arabian felsic plutons. In Felsic Plutonic Rocks and Associated Mineralisation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. DMMR Bulletin No. 29.

32. Hellman & Schofield Pty. Ltd , March 2007, Resource Estimation for the Jabal

Sayid Cu/Zn Deposit, Saudi Arabia. 33. www.bariqmining.com


APPENDIX B

BARIQ EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR 2007-2008

The 2007 Programme is subdivided into 3 phases:

• Jabal Sayid Pre-feasibility (Jan-June);

• Jabal Sayid Feasibility (July-Dec);

• Exploration (Full 2 Years); The 2008 exploration programme will be largely results-driven.

1) JABAL SAYID PRE-FEASIBIITY STUDY (PFS) PROGRAMME GEOLOGY : Objectives: 1. Data validation; 2. Core Recovery; 3. Geological Re-evaluation Programme: 1. Archive searches for paper and other data. Ongoing programme at SGS, DMMR and BRGM (France). 2. Recovery of old core at site which commenced January 2007. 3. Re-evaluation of geological model. Ongoing programme will include field mapping commencing March 2007.

GEOCHEMISTRY/ASSAYING

Objectives: 1. Core sample analysis including duplicate and replicate samples. Standards from Australia included at Al Amri. Duplicate sample analysis at ALS using multi-element ICP; 2. Duplicate analyses by BRGM. Programme: 1. Standards from Australia included at Al Amri. Duplicate sample analysis at ALS using multi-element ICP. 2. Archived data re-evaluated.

GEOPHYSICS

Objectives: 1. Test modem geophysical techniques over known lodes. Programme: 1. 3D-IP selected for trial. Programme by SJ Geophysics from Vancouver to be confirmed. Ground magnetic survey will also be undertaken over grid.

DRILLING

Objectives: 1. Due Diligence validation 2. Assessment of Oxide zones. 3. Continued diamond core drilling. Programme: 1. Lode 4. 4-5 holes (c. 2,000m). Holes planned by Hellman & Schofield, commencing January 2007. 2. Lode 1 & 2. 26 holes (c.2,000m). Holes planned by Brett Butlin, commenced January 2007. 3. To be confirmed. May include exploratory, geotechnical and metallurgical as required and prioritized.

RESOURCE MODELLING AND MINE DESIGN

Objectives: 1. Estimate mineral resources to JORC Code / ASX requirements; 2. Pit design and scheduling Programme: 1. Develop resource block model using appropriate techniques. Hellman and Schofield appointed, commenced in January 2007. 2. Preliminary pit shells (Whittle 3 or 4-D) and concept schedule, AMDAD appointed, commenced in February 2007.


METALLURGY

Objectives: 1. Flotation test work to check BRGM results; 2. Test work on Oxide Au and Cu; 3. Comminution test work. Programme: 1. Lodes 1 and 2. Programme planned by Alphrai P/L. Test work at Metcon Laboratories (Sydney), commenced January 2007. Lode 4 samples will also be tested when available. 2. Lodes 1 and 2. Samples tested for Cyanide Leach and also for flotation (Oxide Cu). Low priority programme, may commence March 2007. 3. Lodes 1 and 2. Programme planned by Alphrai P/L. Test work through Metcon Laboratories (Sydney) to selected sub-contractors commencing February 2007.

GEOTECHNICAL

Objectives: 1. Assess data for open pit and recommend programme going forward; 2. Waste Rock assessment and plan. 3. Tailings assessment and plan Programme: 1. Site Visit and data evaluation. Input into Mine Design work. Manage and co-ordinate. Commenced February 2007. 2. As above 3. As above, Golders appointed.

ENVIRONMENTAL

Objectives: 1. Evaluate requirements; 2. Manage water study. Programme: 1. Site visit and evaluation. Arensco to site in January 2007. Identify potential show stoppers and develop program. 2. Commence and manage SGS water study evaluation of previous BRGM studies.

ENGINEERING

Objectives: 1. Engineering, design and costing. 2. PFS report Programme: 1. As required for PFS concept. Tenders issued - responses being evaluated 2. To PFS standard to provide concept, programme and costing for PFS.

2) JABAL SAYID FEASIBIITY STUDY (FS) PROGRAMME This programme will be defined by the PFS. Most PFS technical programmes (geology, geotechnical, drilling, metallurgy, environmental) to be ongoing and overlap into the FS.

3) EXPLORATION

RECONNAISSANCE / BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Objectives: 1. Build database and mineral deposits knowledge. 2. Introduction and application of modern exploration technology. 3. Strategic acquisition of new projects.

Programme:- 1. Ongoing to increase depth of knowledge. Strategic alliances with Universities eg King Abdul Aziz Geophysics Department. 2. Hymap programme. Acquisition of satellite data 3. Targeted and specific known resources or good exploration concepts.


GRANTED TENEMENTS

Objectives: 1. Wadi Kamal. To consolidate previous data and use this in a mapping program to prepare Wadi Kamal to be drill ready. 2. Murayjib-Bil'iwy. To consolidate previous data and use this in a mapping program to prepare to be drill ready. 3. Lahuf – SRK to complete a review and recommendation report. Prepare drill targets using SRK recommendations after internal review. Drill during late 2007. Complete initial 1,000m of reconnaissance drilling followed by up to 4,000m of drilling in 2008. 4. Bari - To consolidate previous data and use this in a mapping program to prepare Bari to be drill ready. Complete an initial 2,000m reconnaissance drill program and assess the use of a geophysics program over the area. 5. Jabal Ramran – Complete regional mapping and data consolidation 6. Shayban. Complete 1-2,000m of drilling. Re-assess resources.

Programme: 1. Data compilation and field verification. Mapping and geochemistry. Possibly consider geophysics (IP/Mag/TEM ?) programme. Develop drill target(s). 2. Data compilation and field verification. Mapping, geochemistry and trenching. Drill selected shallow target(s) using RC drill 3. RC program aimed at targets generated by SRK (approx 2500m) 4. Data compilation and field verification. Mapping and geochemistry.. Drill selected shallow target(s) using RC drill 5. Data compilation and field verification. Mapping and geochemistry. Develop concepts aim to generate drilling targets for year 2 6. Shayban. Recompile data and field verification. Mapping. Infill shallow drilling using RC drill. Possibly deeper diamond drilling.

TENEMENTS NEAR GRANT

Objectives: 1. Jabal Baydan - Get Baydan to drill stage during 2007. Assess and prioritise other prospects within tenement. 2. Jabal Shayban extended area – Consolidate into the database previous geochemistry and supporting exploration data 4. Hail - Develop concepts and possible drill targets.

Programme: 1. Assess mapping program. Geochemistry (?). Prepare drilling programme for shallow targets. Assess results.2. Data compilation and field verification. Mapping and geochemistry.


APPENDIX C - GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

Aeolian Formed or deposited by wind.

aeromagnetic A survey undertaken by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft for the purpose of recording magnetic characteristics of rocks by measuring deviations of the Earth’s magnetic field.

airborne geophysical data Data pertaining to the physical properties of the Earth’s crust at or near surface and collected from an aircraft.

alluvial Pertaining to silt, sand and gravel material, transported and deposited by a river.

alluvium Clay silt, sand, gravel, or other rock materials transported by flowing water and deposited in comparatively recent geologic time as sorted or semi-sorted sediments in riverbeds, estuaries, and flood plains, on lakes, shores and in fans at the base of mountain slopes and estuaries.

alteration The change in the mineral composition of a rock, commonly due to hydrothermal activity.

amphibolite An aluminosilicate mineral formed at moderate to high temperatures (450°C to 700°C) during regional metamorphism.

andesite An intermediate volcanic rock composed of andesine and one or more mafic minerals.

anomalies An area where exploration has revealed results higher than the local background level.

anticline A fold in the rocks in which strata dip in opposite directions away from the central axis.

antiform An anticline-like structure.

archaean The oldest rocks of the Precambrian era, older than about 2,500 million years.

assayed The testing and quantification metals of interest within a sample.

Au Chemical symbol for gold.

axial plane The plane that intersects the crest or trough of a fold, about which the limbs are more or less symmetrically arranged.

Basalt A volcanic rock of low silica (<55%) and high iron and magnesium composition, composed primarily of plagioclase and pyroxene.

basement part of Earth's crust: the highly folded igneous or metamorphic layer of rocks that lies beneath more recent, softer sedimentary rocks

base metals A non-precious metal, usually referring to copper, lead and zinc.

bedrock Any solid rock underlying unconsolidated material.

BIF A rock consisting essentially of iron oxides and cherty silica, and possessing a marked banded appearance.

brittle rock deformation characterised by brittle fracturing and brecciation.

Cainozoic An era of geological time spanning the period from 65 million years ago to the present.

calcareous containing calcium carbonate carbonate Rock of sedimentary or hydrothermal origin, composed primarily of calcium, magnesium or

iron and CO3. Essential component of limestones and marbles.

chert Fine grained sedimentary rock composed of cryptocrystalline silica.

chlorite A green coloured hydrated aluminium-iron-magnesium silicate mineral (mica) common in metamorphic rocks.

clastic Pertaining to a rock made up of fragments or pebbles (clasts).

clay A fine-grained, natural, earthy material composed primarily of hydrous aluminium silicates.

colluvium A loose, heterogeneous and incoherent mass of soil material deposited by slope processes.

conduit The main pathways that facilitate the movement of hydrothermal fluids.

conglomerate A rock type composed predominantly of rounded pebbles, cobbles or boulders deposited by the action of water.

copper A reddish metallic element, used as an electrical conductor and is the basis of brass and bronze.

Dacite An extrusive rock composed mainly of plagioclase, quartz and pyroxene or hornblende or both.

depletion The lack of gold in the near-surface environment due to leaching processes during weathering.

diamond drill hole Mineral exploration hole completed using a diamond set or diamond impregnated bit for retrieving a cylindrical core of rock.

dilational Open space within a rock mass commonly produced in response to folding or faulting.

diorite A coarse grained mafic intrusive rock composed mostly of pyroxenes and sodium-calcium feldspar.

dip slope downwards from the horizontal disconformity a break in the sedimentary record in which the rock layers remain parallel ductile Deformation of rocks or rock structures involving stretching or bending in a plastic manner

without breaking.


dykes A tabular body of intrusive igneous rock, crosscutting the host strata at a high angle.

En-echelon Repeating parallel, but offset, occurrences of lenticular bodies such as ore veins.

erosion The group of physical and chemical processes by which earth or rock material is loosened or dissolved and removed from any part of the Earth’s surface.

Fault zone A wide zone of structural dislocation and faulting.

feldspar A group of rock forming minerals.

felsic An adjective indicating that a rock contains abundant feldspar and silica.

fold A term applied to the bending of strata or a planar feature about an axis.

foliated Banded rocks, usually due to crystal differentiation as a result of metamorphic processes.

follow-up A term used to describe more detailed exploration work over targets generated by regional exploration.

footwall the rock layer that lies immediately beneath a vein of ore or other mineral deposit or a fault plane

g/t Grams per tonne, a standard volumetric unit for demonstrating the concentration of precious metals in a rock.

Gabbro A fine to coarse grained, dark coloured, igneous rock composed mainly of calcic plagioclase, clinopyroxene and sometimes olivine.

geochemical Pertains to the concentration of an element.

geology the study of the structure of the Earth, in particular its rocks, soil, and minerals, and its history and origins

geophysical Pertains to the physical properties of a rock mass.

GIS database A system devised to present partial data in a series of compatible and interactive layers.

gneiss Coarse grained metamorphic rocks characterised by mineral banding of the light and dark coloured constituent minerals.

gossan reddish-brown, surface, iron-rich outcrop of sulphide mineralisation.

granite A coarse-grained igneous rock containing mainly quartz and feldspar minerals and subordinate micas.

granodiorite A coarse grained igneous rock composed of quartz, feldspar and hornblende and/or biotite.

greenschist A metamorphosed basic igneous rock which owes its colour and schistosity to abundant chlorite.

greenstone belt A broad term used to describe an elongate belt of rocks that have undergone regional metamorphism to greenschist facies.

greywacke A sandstone like rock, with grains derived from a dominantly volcanic origin.

Hanging wall The mass of rock above a fault, vein or zone of mineralization.

hematite Iron oxide mineral, Fe2O3.

hinge zone A zone along a fold where the curvature is at a maximum.

hydrothermal Pertaining to hot aqueous solutions, usually of magmatic origin, which may transport metals and minerals in solution.

Igneous Rocks that have solidified from a magma.

infill Refers to sampling or drilling undertaken between pre-existing sample points.

In-situ In the natural or original position.

interflow Refers to the occurrence of other rock types between individual lava flows within a stratigraphic sequence.

intermediate A rock unit which contains a mix of felsic and mafic minerals.

intrusion A body of igneous rock which has forced itself into pre-existing rocks.

intrusive contact The zone around the margins of an intrusive rock.

ironstone A rock formed by cemented iron oxides.

isoclinal A series of folds that dip in the same direction at the same angle.

Joint venture A business agreement between two or more commercial entities.

JORC Code The Australasian Code for Reporting Exploration Results Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2004 Edition.

Lead A metallic element, the heaviest and softest of the common metals.

lineament A significant linear feature of the Earth’s crust, usually equating a major fault or shear structure.

lithological contacts The contacts between different rock types.

Mafic adjective indicating that a rock contains abundant dark minerals and low silica

magnetite A mineral comprising iron and oxygen which commonly exhibits magnetic properties.

metamorphic A rock that has been altered by physical and chemical processes involving heat, pressure and derived fluids.

metasedimentary A rock formed by metamorphism of sedimentary rocks.

mineral an inorganic chemical substance that occurs naturally in rocks and has a characteristic appearance and chemical composition

Moz Millions of ounces.

Mt Million tonnes.


mylonite A hard compact rock with a streaky or banded structure produced by extreme granulation of the original rock mass in a fault or thrust zone.

Nickel Silvery-white metal used in alloys.

Open pit A mine working or excavation open to the surface.

ophiolite a sequence of rocks representing oceanic crust, usually includes ultramafic and mafic volcanics and may include limestone, chert and sulphide mineralisation in the upper levels

ortho-image A geographically located composite plan using aerial photography as a base.

outcrop Surface expression of underlying rocks.

oxide any mineral compound containing oxygen, especially in combination with a metal Palaeo-channel An ancient preserved stream or river.

pegmatite A very coarse grained intrusive igneous rock which commonly occurs in dyke-like bodies containing lithium-boron-fluorine-rare earth bearing minerals.

polymictic Referring to coarse sedimentary rocks, typically conglomerate, containing clasts of many different rock types.

porphyry Felsic intrusive or sub-volcanic rock with larger crystals set in a fine groundmass.

Ppb Parts per billion; a measure of low level concentration.

Proterozoic An era of geological time spanning the period from 2,500 million years to 570 million years before present.

pyroxenite A coarse grained igneous intrusive rock dominated by the mineral pyroxene.

Quartz-vein mining term used to describe large quartz veins.

Quartzo-feldspathic Compositional term relating to rocks containing abundant quartz and feldspar, commonly applied to metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.

quartzose Quartz-rich, usually relating to clastic sedimentary rocks.

RAB drilling A relatively inexpensive and less accurate drilling technique involving the collection of sample returned by compressed air from outside the drill rods.

radiometric survey an exploration technique used to detect and measure radiant energy, principally from potassium, uranium and thorium

RC drilling A drilling method in which the fragmented sample is brought to the surface inside the drill rods, thereby reducing contamination.

regolith The layer of unconsolidated material which over lies or covers in situ basement rock.

residual Soil and regolith which has not been transported from its point or origin.

resources In situ mineral occurrence from which valuable or useful minerals may be recovered.

rhyolite Fine-grained felsic igneous rock containing high proportion of silica and felspar.

rock chip sampling The collection of rock specimens for mineral analysis.

Sandstone a type of sedimentary rock made up of particles of sand, mostly quartz, bound together with a mineral cement matrix

saprolite Disintegrated, in-situ rock, partially decomposed by the chemical and physical processes of oxidation and weathering.

satellite imagery The images produced by photography of the Earth’s surface from satellites.

schist A crystalline metamorphic rock having a foliated or parallel structure due to the recrystallisation of the constituent minerals.

scree The rubble composed of rocks that have formed down the slope of a hill or mountain by physical erosion.

sedimentary A term describing a rock formed from sediment.

sericite A white or pale apple green potassium mica, very common as an alteration product in metamorphic and hydrothermally altered rocks.

shale A fine grained, laminated sedimentary rock formed from clay, mud and silt.

sheared A zone in which rocks have been deformed primarily in a ductile manner in response to applied stress.

sheet wash Referring to sediment, usually sand size, deposited over broad areas characterised by sheet flood during storm or rain events. Superficial deposit formed by low temperature chemical processes associated with ground waters, and composed of fine grained, water-bearing minerals of silica.

silica Dioxide of silicon, SiO2, usually found as the various forms of quartz.

sill Sheet of igneous rock which is flat lying or has intruded parallel to stratigraphy.

siltstone Fine-grained sediments, with a grain size between those of sand and clay.

soil sampling The collection of soil specimens for mineral analysis.

specific gravity measure of density or relative mass stock A small intrusive mass of igneous rock, usually possessing a circular or elliptical shape in

plan view.

strata Sedimentary rock layers.

stratigraphic Composition, sequence and correlation of stratified rocks.

stream sediment sampling The collection of samples of stream sediment with the intention of analysing them for trace elements.

strike Horizontal direction or trend of a geological structure.

subcrop Poorly exposed bedrock.


sulphide A general term to cover minerals containing sulphur and commonly associated with mineralization.

supergene Process of mineral enrichment produced by the chemical remobilisation of metals in an oxidised or transitional environment.

syenite An intrusive igneous rock composed essentially of alkali feldspar and little or no quartz and ferromagnesian minerals.

syncline A fold in rocks in which the strata dip inward from both sides towards the axis.

Talc A hydrous magnesium silicate, usually formed due to weathering of magnesium silicate rocks.

tectonic Pertaining to the forces involved in or the resulting structures of movement in the Earth’s crust.

tenement An area of property or land held by a mining company for the purpose of exploration or mineral extraction

thrust fault A reverse fault or shear that has a low angle inclination to the horizontal.

tremolite A grey or white metamorphic mica of the amphibole group, usually occurring as bladed crystals or fibrous aggregates.

tuff rock made up of very small volcanic fragments compacted together Ultramafic Igneous rocks consisting essentially of ferromagnesian minerals with trace quartz and

feldspar.

unconformity a break in the sedimentary record where the rock layers do not remain parallel Veins A thin infill of a fissure or crack, commonly bearing quartz.

volcanoclastic Pertaining to clastic rock containing volcanic material.

volcanics Formed or derived from a volcano.

volatiles water and other compounds such as hydrocarbons that escape as fluids or gases from cooling igneous rocks

Weathered used to describe rocks that have been physically or chemically changed by the action of the weather

Zinc A lustrous, blue-white metallic element used in many alloys including brass and bronze.

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