Fairplay

The Fairplay gold deposit (also referenced as 'Sugar Gum') is situated approximately 500 metres south-southwest of the Higginsville processing plant, within the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The terrain is characteristic of the broader Coolgardie district: flat to gently undulating lateritic plains with high concentrations of red fine-particle dust, imposing severe abrasion demands on all mechanical and filtration systems deployed across the site perimeter and access corridors.

Fairplay operated as a small-scale open pit integrated within the Higginsville Gold Operation under Alacer Gold Corporation — itself formed in early 2011 via the merger of Avoca Resources Limited and Anatolia Minerals Development Limited. The pit is currently classified as abandoned. A strategic evaluation was conducted to establish an underground portal at the Fairplay void to access the adjacent Corona deposit, indicating residual B2B opportunity for shaft-sinking and ground-support contractors. Local mechanical workshops remain critical to avoid costly unplanned downtime.

As a satellite open pit feeding the centralised Higginsville plant, Fairplay's operational model relied on:

• Conveyor-intensive material handling linking ROM pad to processing circuits
• Abrasion-resistant wear liners across transfer chutes and belt systems
• High-capacity filtration units to manage fine red-dirt ingress into drive mechanisms
• Mobile crushing and screening fleets subject to accelerated component wear
• Potential future decline development for underground Corona access

Within the Higginsville operational framework, tailings storage facility (TSF) management and progressive rehabilitation are governed by Western Australia's Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) standards. Key ESG obligations include:

• Proactive pit rehabilitation and void hazard management for the abandoned Fairplay open cut
• Dust suppression programmes addressing fine particulate dispersion across the laterite plain
• Structured TSF liner integrity monitoring and leachate containment
• Biodiversity offset compliance under WA Environmental Protection Act requirements