MALACHITE is an ASX listed Australian resources company whose primary aim is to create shareholder wealth by the discovery of gold, silver, copper and tin ore deposits in eastern Australia and their subsequent development and operation as profitable mines.

The company’s strategy is to maintain its focus both geographically and in terms of its core commodities. While gold and silver have the highest priority, it is well known that in eastern Australia copper commonly occurs with gold, or in the same area as gold, and tin is commonly associated with silver deposits, both directly and indirectly. It is these strong associations that allow focus to be maintained while providing shareholders with exposure to a diversity of high value metals.

When the Company listed on the ASX in November 2002 it was purely an exploration play, focused on the steepest part of the mining industry value curve – the discovery phase. Since then, Malachite has committed itself to making the transition from successful explorer to emerging miner by seeking to develop a gold mine in the short term and to follow that with development of a long-life silver mine.

The company’s aspirations as a gold miner seem most likely to be fulfilled first by the development of its high grade Lorena Gold Project, which is located in northwest Queensland. Malachite completed the acquisition of Lorena in February, 2011, and is now in the process of boosting the mineral resource base sufficiently to allow a mining feasibility study to be undertaken. The aim is to develop an open pit gold mine producing 50,000 ounces of gold per annum for at least three years. Subject to continued success in resource delineation, production is targeted for early 2013.

It is the speed and relative simplicity of developing a mine at Lorena that gives it first ranking amongst Malachite’s project portfolio. However, the company’s Conrad Silver Project, located in northern New South Wales, is also seen as having scope for both short term development and long term, company-making mine potential. Through Conrad, Malachite remains strongly committed to silver and the intention is to utilise cash flow from Lorena to allow full evaluation of Conrad and its subsequent development as a wholly owned, underground silver mine (which would also produce tin, copper, lead and zinc).

Exploration will continue to play a key role in the Company’s growth plans, with emphasis on the core commodities of gold, silver, copper and tin in eastern Australia. At present, Malachite is targeting mineralisation in two principal geological/geographical environments. The first of these is represented by mineralisation associated with the intrusive rocks of the New England Fold Belt in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, as exemplified by Conrad and the company’s Pikedale and Tooloom projects. The other key environment is the Mount Isa province in northwest Queensland, specifically the so-called Eastern Succession, which is host to many gold and copper-gold deposits, especially the iron-oxide copper-gold type, such as the large Ernest Henry deposit. The Lorena Gold Project is located in the heart of this environment.

It is the company's intention to remain unhedged to the fullest extent possible so as to retain maximum leverage to the prices of gold, silver, copper and tin. In the longer term, Malachite envisages paying dividends to its shareholders.