Exploration in the North Koolpin in particular and within the Quest 29 and Mt Bundey joint venture leases in general should provide sufficient ore to allow the dump leach operation to extend for 3 to 4 years. The life of the high grade trucking operation is dependent upon further exploration discoveries and how quickly the Tom's Gully underground operation is brought into production. It is planned to blend this ore with Quest 29 high grade ore. The Feasibility Study shows that this will produce about 20,000 ounces of gold in Year1. Description of the Existing Environment Quest 29 is characterised by low, flat-topped hills with moderate to gentle slopes.
Vegetation is characterised by eucalypt woodlands with tropical grass understoreys.
The project area lies on the northern flank of the Pine Creek Inlier within a transgressive marine sequence dominated by folded shallow marine sediments of the Early Proterozoic South Alligator Group. The most extensive land use in the vicinity of the project area is pastoral, involving the grazing of beef cattle over the woodland terrain. The industry is of low intensity with a few improvements made in regards to land tillage. Tom's Gully is an existing mine site with infrastructure well established to control all potential environmental hazards in accordance with all Government regulations. Controlled release in past wet seasons has been shown to be effective.