TOOLOOM GOLD PROJECT

History and Tenure

The Tooloom Gold Project encompasses an old and largely forgotten goldfield, located in the far north of New South Wales, about 40km east of the Queensland town of Stanthorpe and roughly 120km inland from the coast. Gold was first discovered at Tooloom as early as 1857 and within a few years there were up to 10,000 miners chasing the coarse grained free gold, including many nuggets, that could be found in the alluvial deposits of Tooloom Creek, its tributaries and other nearby drainages. The largest nugget recorded at Tooloom was found at Billy May’s Point on Tooloom Creek and contained 140 ounces of gold. Mining of alluvial gold continued intermittently at Tooloom until 2001.

Malachite’s interest in Tooloom was sparked by the widespread occurrence of the alluvial gold, the presence of gold/quartz vein composites as nuggets recovered in the then current alluvial mining operations in the district and the presence of large bodies of altered and mineralised intrusive rocks, some with minor old hard rock gold workings. Over the past ten years or so Malachite has conducted a systematic exploration program at Tooloom that has taken the project from the conceptual, grass roots stage to its present state, with numerous hard rock prospects identified, some with drilling, and a small gold resource outlined at the largest prospect, known as Phoenix.

The project is wholly owned by Malachite and encompasses about 150 km² of prospective ground in three mining leases and a surrounding exploration licence (EL 6263). Much of the Tooloom area is rugged, with up to 400m of relief. The southern part of the goldfield is forest covered, while in the north the topography is less severe and much of the land has been cleared. Cattle grazing is the main land use throughout, although some timber harvesting occurs in the wooded areas, crops are grown on a large alluvial flat in the north and some previously cleared areas have been converted to plantation timber.

All significant prospects at Tooloom are located on ground where native title has been extinguished. Even so, Malachite has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Githabul People, who are the traditional owners of the Tooloom area, setting out a basis for goodwill and cooperation for mutual benefit. A representative of the Githabuls provides cultural heritage clearance when required.