The Ollachea Gold Project (“Ollachea” or “the Project”) is located in the Puno Region, Southern Peru, about 250 kilometers north of Lake Titicaca in the Eastern Andes. The Company’s interest in the Project began in 2006, when the original Ollachea concessions were acquired from Rio Tinto. Since then, the Company has completed a number of exploration drilling programs and conducted different technical and financial studies to advance Ollachea, including a Feasibility Study produced by AMEC Peru and Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. in 2012.

Most recently, Australian engineering and mining consulting firm Mining Plus completed the Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for Ollachea in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The PEA was filed on September 1, 2021, and considers an underground mine, gravity concentration and Carbon-in-Leach (“CIL”) plant designed to treat 1,500 tonnes per day (“tpd”) over the first three years, and ramping up to 3000 tpd in year four.

The Project consists of 18 mining concessions with a total footprint of approximately 9899 hectares. Access is straightforward via the Southern Interoceanic highway. In addition, the Project site benefits from an accessible electricity source through the nearby San Gaban hydroelectric station and consistent water supply.

Upon the beginning of commercial production, Ollachea is expected to become a significant contributor to the economic and social development of the Ollachea community, and the Puno region in general.

• Strong Project Economics with low CAPEX.
  • At a base case gold price of $1,600/oz: Pre-Tax Net Present Value discounted at 7% (“NPV7%”) of $327 million and 54% Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”), and after-tax NPV7% of $189 million and 38% IRR.
  • Start-up CAPEX estimated at $89 million (including 25% contingency), with an after-tax payback period of 2.5 years.
• Updated Mineral Resource Estimate.
  • Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate of 10.7 million tonnes at 3.28 grams per tonne (“g/t”) containing 1.13 million ounces of gold.
  • Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 7.3 million tonnes at 2.7 g/t containing 0.6 million ounces of gold.
• Estimated life of 11 years projecting 876,200 recovered ounces.
  • Average annual production over a four-year ramp-up period of approximately 66,000 ounces of gold at 1,500 tpd, with an estimated peak of 111,000 ounces in year five following an expansion to 3,000 tpd.
  • Average recovery of 90.3% during the first three years, with average recovery of 86.2% over the remaining mine life.
  • Simplified process flowsheet demonstrating improved gold extraction through gravity concentration and carbon rejection, and high gold recoveries from leaching of gravity concentrate through a CIL plant.
  • Efficient use of available space with the inclusion of co-disposal of filtered tailings and mine waste rock, in addition to the novel implementation of Geotubes for additional risk reduction for the stacked tailings.
• Critical path milestones accomplished in advance of development.
  • 30-year surface rights agreement from 2012 that creates strong local ties and grants a five percent (5%) interest in Minera’s operating subsidiary to the community of Ollachea upon commencement of commercial production.
  • Long-lead and key construction permits and mining approvals already in hand, including an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.
  • Mine tunnel extending 1.2 kilometers and project site access roads completed in 2013 that compress development timeframe.

For the full highlights of Minera IRL’s flagship Ollachea Gold Project, please refer to the 2021 PEA Technical Report.

The Property hosts orogenic-style gold (Au) mineralization and quartz veining in the Minapampa area is the principal area of interest.

Globally, orogenic deposits are a major source of gold and there are numerous examples of such deposits that host in excess of 10 million oz Au, such as Hollinger-McIntyre, Dome, Sigma Lamaque and Norseman. Orogenic gold deposits often form in clusters and are mined as both open-pit lower-grade high-tonnage mines and higher-grade lower-tonnage underground mines. Clusters of orogenic deposits frequently align along regionally significant structures.

For further information regarding the geological features of Ollachea, please refer to Section 8 of the 2021 PEA Technical Report.

Mineral Resources at Ollachea are considered as potentially mineable by a sub-level stoping underground method and are estimated based on drilling conducted prior to the fourth quarter of 2016. The Mineral Resource includes an updated Resource for the Minapampa Zone and a maiden Resource for the Minapampa Far East Zone. The Mineral Resource is reported inside optimized underground stope shapes, which are based on a cut-off grade of 1.4 g/t gold and a gold price of $1,700.

The Mineral Resource is summarized as of June 30, 2021, and has been estimated in alignment with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (“CIM”) Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines (CIM, 2019) and reported in accordance with NI 43-101.

Mining Plus has estimated an Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.13 million ounces of gold contained in 10.7 million tonnes at 3.28 g/t Au. The Inferred Mineral Resource comprises 0.6 million ounces of gold contained in 7.3 million tonnes at 2.7 g/t Au within the Ollachea property limits. The details of the Mineral Resource Estimate are shown in the table below:

Mineral Resource Estimate for the Minapampa and Minapampa Far East (“MFE”) zones within the Ollachea Project - June 2021

1. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
2. All figures have been rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates.  Totals may not sum due to rounding.
3. The Mineral Resource was estimated by Ms. Maria Muñoz and reviewed by Dr. A. Fowler, MAusIMM, CP(Geo), Independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101, of Mining Plus Consultants who takes responsibility for it. 
4. Composites were capped, where appropriate.
5. Mineral Resources have been diluted and reported within optimized underground stope shapes.
6. The optimization was based on a cut-off grade of 1.4 g/t Au, considering metal prices of $1,700 per ounce of gold, assuming metal recovery of 87% for gold, and total operating costs of $61.18/t.
7. Tonnages reported are metric tonnes and ounces of contained gold are troy ounces.
8. Mining Plus is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

The Resource Estimate was under the supervision of Andrew Fowler, PhD, AusIMM CP(Geo). Dr. Fowler is a full-time employee of Mining Plus and is an independent Qualified Person (“QP”) as defined by the NI 43-101.

For further information regarding the Mineral Resource Estimate completed for Ollachea, please refer to Section 14 of the 2021 PEA Technical Report.

A financial model was completed based on the mine plan, which assumes the commencement of production in 2023, in addition to other inputs such as mining inventory and rates, processing throughputs and metallurgical recoveries, capital and operating costs, the outstanding debts with COFIDE and Rio Tinto, net smelter return (“NSR”) royalties, government royalty and taxation parameters.

The economic analysis shows that using a base case gold price of $1,600/oz, the Pre-Tax NPV discounted at 7% (“NPV7%”) is $327 million with a 54% IRR, and the after-tax NPV7% is $189 million with a 38% IRR.

Sensitivities of pre-tax and post-tax NPV and IRR to gold prices per ounce are presented in the following table.

For further information regarding Ollachea project economics, please refer to Section 22 of the 2021 PEA Technical Report.

The PEA estimates an initial CAPEX of $89 million to start with a design production capacity of 1,500 tpd. A plant expansion is anticipated during the fourth year to increase production capacity to 3,000 tpd. The expansion capital cost estimate is approximately $37 million. Both estimates include a 25% contingency.

A summary of the Ollachea capital cost estimates is shown in the table below:

1. Includes mine development and plant construction with a design capacity of 1,500 tpd.
2. Includes EPCM costs.  Also applicable to expansion.
3. Includes Tailings Storage Facility construction and process plant ramp-up with a design capacity of 3,000 tpd.

For further information regarding capital costs for Ollachea, please refer to Section 21 of the 2021 PEA Technical Report.

Mining Plus identified high-grade areas within the deposit that can be mined preferentially in an efficient manner at 1,500 tpd, without compromising the remaining mineralized material. This higher-grade section can be mined at an elevated cut-off grade without breaking it up into isolated stopes, making it an ideal area to target early in the mine life and deliver the highest possible grade to the processing plant during the first three years.

The plant design includes a crushing and grinding circuit, followed by gravity concentration.  The gravity concentrate is processed in a CIL circuit and gold is recovered from the loaded carbon in a conventional elution - electrowinning plant with smelting of the gold to a Dore bullion. The process also includes effluent treatment, tailings filtration and preparation of cemented paste backfill required during mining operations.

Overall gold recoveries are shown below and are based on metallurgical test work completed between 2017 and 2021 by Sepro Laboratories (Met-Solve).

For further information regarding mining and recovery methods considered for Ollachea, please refer to Sections 16 and 17 of the 2021 PEA Technical Report.