premier gold mines limited technical report on the …€¦ · the south arturo minecontains the...

March 2 86, 201

RPA Inc. T55 University Ave. Suite 501 I Toronto, ON, Canada M5J 2H7 I + 1 (416) 947 0907 www.rpacan.com

PREMIER GOLD MINES LIMITED

TECHNICAL REPORT ON THESOUTH ARTURO , ELKO COUNTY,MINESTATE OF NEVADA, U.S.A.

NI 43-101 Report

Qualified Persons:Hugo Miranda, MBA, M.E., ChMC (RM).Philip A. Geusebroek, P.Geo.Brenna J.Y. Scholey, P.Eng.

Report Control Form Document Title Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine, Elko County,

State of Nevada, U.S.A.

Client Name & Address

Premier Gold Mines Limited Suite 200, 1100 Russell Street Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5N2

Document Reference

Project # 2955

Status & Issue No.

FINAL Version

Issue Date March 26, 2018 Lead Author Hugo Miranda

Philip A. Geusebroek Brenna J.Y. Scholey

(Signed) (Signed) (Signed)

Peer Reviewer Wayne Valliant

(Signed)

Project Manager Approval Hugo Miranda

(Signed)

Project Director Approval Deborah A. McCombe

(Signed)

Report Distribution Name No. of Copies Client RPA Filing 1 (project box)

Roscoe Postle Associates Inc.

55 University Avenue, Suite 501 Toronto, ON M5J 2H7

Canada Tel: +1 416 947 0907

Fax: +1 416 947 0395 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine, Project #2955

Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page i

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

1 SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................... 1-1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................... 1-1 Economic Analysis ......................................................................................................... 1-7 Technical Summary ..................................................................................................... 1-11

2 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 2-1

3 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS.................................................................................. 3-1

4 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION ................................................................ 4-1 Land Tenure .................................................................................................................. 4-1 Royalties ........................................................................................................................ 4-4 Environment and Risks .................................................................................................. 4-4

5 ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 5-1

Accessibility ................................................................................................................... 5-1 Climate .......................................................................................................................... 5-1 Local Resources ............................................................................................................ 5-1 Infrastructure .................................................................................................................. 5-1 Physiography ................................................................................................................. 5-2

6 HISTORY......................................................................................................................... 6-1 Prior Ownership ............................................................................................................. 6-1 Exploration and Development History ............................................................................ 6-1 Past Production ............................................................................................................. 6-3

7 GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND MINERALIZATION .......................................................... 7-1 Regional Geology .......................................................................................................... 7-1 Local and Property Geology ........................................................................................... 7-3 Mineralization ................................................................................................................. 7-6

8 DEPOSIT TYPES ............................................................................................................ 8-1

9 EXPLORATION ............................................................................................................... 9-1 Geochemistry ................................................................................................................. 9-1 Exploration Potential ...................................................................................................... 9-1

10 DRILLING .................................................................................................................... 10-1 Sampling Method and Approach .................................................................................. 10-5

11 SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSES, AND SECURITY ........................................... 11-1 Sample Preparation and Analyses ............................................................................... 11-1 Sample Security ........................................................................................................... 11-3 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ......................................................................... 11-3 Twinned Hole Data ...................................................................................................... 11-7

12 DATA VERIFICATION ................................................................................................. 12-1

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Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page ii

Barrick Samples ........................................................................................................... 12-1 Meridian Samples ........................................................................................................ 12-2 Dee/Glamis Samples ................................................................................................... 12-2

13 MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING ..................................... 13-1 Metallurgical Samples .................................................................................................. 13-1 Mineralogical Study ...................................................................................................... 13-8 Column Leach Tests .................................................................................................... 13-8 CIL Bottle Roll Tests .................................................................................................. 13-10 Bench Top Roaster/CIL Tests .................................................................................... 13-11 Bond Work Index ....................................................................................................... 13-13 Historical Dee Mine Data ........................................................................................... 13-13 Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................... 13-13

14 MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE ............................................................................. 14-1 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 14-1 Resource Database ..................................................................................................... 14-4 Topography.................................................................................................................. 14-4 Geological Interpretation .............................................................................................. 14-4 Open Pit Resource Estimation ..................................................................................... 14-5 Underground Resource Estimation ............................................................................ 14-13 Model Validation ........................................................................................................ 14-21 RPA Validation ........................................................................................................... 14-26

15 MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATE ................................................................................ 15-1 Whittle Analysis and Block Model Inputs ...................................................................... 15-4 Dilution ......................................................................................................................... 15-4 Cut-Off Grades ............................................................................................................ 15-5

16 MINING METHODS ..................................................................................................... 16-1 Open Pit ....................................................................................................................... 16-1 Underground Mining .................................................................................................. 16-10 Life of Mine Plan ........................................................................................................ 16-17 Mine Equipment ......................................................................................................... 16-18

17 RECOVERY METHODS .............................................................................................. 17-1 ROM Heap Leaching ................................................................................................... 17-1 Oxide Ore Milling/CIL ................................................................................................... 17-1 Roaster/CIL.................................................................................................................. 17-2

18 PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................. 18-1

19 MARKET STUDIES AND CONTRACTS ...................................................................... 19-1 Contracts ..................................................................................................................... 19-1

20 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, PERMITTING, AND SOCIAL OR COMMUNITY IMPACT ......................................................................................................................................... 20-1

Tailings Storage Facility ............................................................................................... 20-1 Permitting .................................................................................................................... 20-1 Social or Community Requirements ............................................................................. 20-2 Mine Closure Requirements ......................................................................................... 20-3

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Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page iii

21 CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS .......................................................................... 21-1 Capital Cost ................................................................................................................. 21-1 Operating Costs ........................................................................................................... 21-1

22 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 22-1

23 ADJACENT PROPERTIES .......................................................................................... 23-1

24 OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION ........................................................ 24-1

25 INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS .................................................................. 25-1

26 RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 26-1

27 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 27-1

28 DATE AND SIGNATURE PAGE .................................................................................. 28-1

29 CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFIED PERSON .................................................................... 29-1

LIST OF TABLES PAGE

Table 1-1 Mineral Resources - 40% Basis - December 31, 2017 ...................................... 1-2 Table 1-2 Mineral Reserves - 40% Basis - December 31, 2017 ........................................ 1-3 Table 1-3 Cash Flow Summary ......................................................................................... 1-8 Table 1-4 Sensitivity Analyses ........................................................................................ 1-11 Table 1-5 LOM Sustaining Capital Costs ........................................................................ 1-19 Table 1-6 LOM (2018-2022) Operating Costs ................................................................. 1-19 Table 4-1 Royalties on Barrick/Dee Mining Venture .......................................................... 4-4 Table 6-1 Annual Production from Dee Mine .................................................................... 6-3 Table 6-2 Annual Production from South Arturo Mine ....................................................... 6-4 Table 10-1 Drilling Summary ........................................................................................... 10-1 Table 11-1 Drilling QA/QC Sampling Summary – 2013-2014 .......................................... 11-4 Table 11-2 Drilling QA/QC Sampling Summary –2014-2017 ........................................... 11-4 Table 11-3 Standard Reference Samples ....................................................................... 11-5 Table 11-4 Twinned Holes of Interest ............................................................................. 11-8 Table 13-1 Metallurgical Sample Distribution .................................................................. 13-2 Table 13-2 Number of Additional Metallurgical Tests in 2017.......................................... 13-3 Table 14-1 Mineral Resources – 100% Basis – December 31, 2017............................... 14-2 Table 14-2 Mineral Resources – 40% Basis – December 31, 2017 ................................ 14-3 Table 14-3 Summary of Indicator Grade Thresholds ....................................................... 14-7 Table 14-4 Gold and Silver Grade Caps ......................................................................... 14-8 Table 14-5 Summary of Arturo Composite Weights ...................................................... 14-10 Table 14-6 Density Values by Rock Type ..................................................................... 14-11 Table 14-7 El Nino Underground Block Model Definitions ............................................. 14-14 Table 14-8 Gold Grade Caps ........................................................................................ 14-16 Table 14-9 Summary oF Composite Statistics .............................................................. 14-17 Table 14-10 Interpolation Parameters ........................................................................... 14-19 Table 14-11 El Nino Underground Classification Criteria .............................................. 14-21 Table 14-12 Comparison Of Composite And Block Grades .......................................... 14-22 Table 15-1 Mineral Reserves - 100% Basis - December 31, 2017 .................................. 15-2

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Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page iv

Table 15-2 Mineral Reserves - 40% Basis - December 31, 2017 .................................... 15-3 Table 15-3 Whittle and Block Value Input Parameter Summary ...................................... 15-6 Table 15-4 Effective Recoveries at Cut-off Grade ........................................................... 15-7 Table 15-5 Cut-off Grade Summary ................................................................................ 15-7 Table 16-1 Pit Design Parameters and Dimensions Summary ........................................ 16-1 Table 16-2 Button Hill PIt Slope Recommendations ........................................................ 16-8 Table 16-3 Waste Rock Disposal Facility Material Properties ......................................... 16-9 Table 16-4 Open Pit Life of Mine – Mine Production (100%) ......................................... 16-17 Table 16-5 Underground Life of Mine – Mine Production (100%) .................................. 16-18 Table 16-6 Open Pit Mining Equipment ........................................................................ 16-19 Table 20-1 Major Mine Permits ....................................................................................... 20-3 Table 21-1 LOM Sustaining Capital Costs ...................................................................... 21-1 Table 21-2 LOM (2018-2022) Operating Costs ............................................................... 21-1 Table 21-3 LOM (2018-2020) Manpower ........................................................................ 21-2 Table 22-1 Cash Flow Summary ..................................................................................... 22-3 Table 22-2 Sensitivity Analyses ...................................................................................... 22-6

LIST OF FIGURES PAGE

Figure 1-1 Sensitivity Analysis ........................................................................................ 1-10 Figure 4-1 Location Map ................................................................................................... 4-2 Figure 4-2 Claim Map ....................................................................................................... 4-3 Figure 7-1 Regional Geology ............................................................................................ 7-2 Figure 7-2 South Arturo Property Geology ........................................................................ 7-5 Figure 9-1 Soil Samples from 2015-2017 .......................................................................... 9-2 Figure 10-1 Drill Hole Location Map ................................................................................ 10-3 Figure 10-2 2013 to 2017 Drill Hole Location Map .......................................................... 10-4 Figure 11-1 RC vs. Core Twinned Hole Comparisons ..................................................... 11-8 Figure 13-1 Sample Distribution for Column Leach Tests ............................................... 13-4 Figure 13-2 Sample Distribution for CIL and Roaster Tests ............................................ 13-5 Figure 13-3 Sample Distribution for Dee Bottle Roll Tests .............................................. 13-6 Figure 13-4 Additional Metallurgical Drilling in 2017 ........................................................ 13-7 Figure 13-5 Crushed Ore Heap Leach Gold Recovery Data ........................................... 13-9 Figure 13-6 CIL Gold Recovery Data ............................................................................ 13-10 Figure 13-7 Roaster Gold Recovery Data ..................................................................... 13-12 Figure 14-1 Search Domains Used in Grade Interpolation .............................................. 14-6 Figure 14-2 Underground Isometric View of Domain Models ........................................ 14-15 Figure 14-3 Variography ............................................................................................... 14-18 Figure 14-4 Comparison of Block and Composite Gold Grades .................................... 14-23 Figure 14-5 Comparison of Block and Composite Gold Grades .................................... 14-24 Figure 14-6 Block Classification .................................................................................... 14-25 Figure 16-1 South Arturo Open Pit Design ...................................................................... 16-2 Figure 16-2 Plan View of El Nino Underground Reserves and Resources .................... 16-12 Figure 16-3 Isometric View of El Nino Underground Mine Reserves and Resources .... 16-13 Figure 17-1 ROM Heap Leach Process Flowsheet ......................................................... 17-3 Figure 17-2 Oxide Ore Treatment - Cortez ...................................................................... 17-4 Figure 17-3 Barrick Goldstrike Roaster Process Flowsheet ............................................ 17-5 Figure 18-1 Site Layout and Utilities ............................................................................... 18-4

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Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page ii

Figure 22-1 Sensitivity Analysis ...................................................................................... 22-5

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Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine, Project #2955 Technical Report NI 43-101 – March 26, 2018 Page 1-1

1 SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) was retained by Premier Gold Mines Limited (Premier)

to prepare an independent Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine (South Arturo or the

Mine), in Elko County, Nevada, USA. The purpose of this report is to support public disclosure

of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves at South Arturo as of December 31, 2017. This

Technical Report conforms to NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. RPA

visited the operations on March 8, 2018.

Premier is a Canadian publicly-traded mining company with a portfolio of exploration,

development, and operating mines and projects across North America. The South Arturo

operations are located in northeastern Nevada approximately 48 km northwest of Carlin,

Nevada, and 4.8 km northwest of Barrick Gold Corporation’s (Barrick) Goldstrike operation.

The South Arturo Mine contains the historical Dee pit that produced approximately 605,000

ounces of gold in the 1980s and 1990s. From 2015 to 2017, the South Arturo Mine has

produced 365,955 ounces of gold from the open pit.

The South Arturo Mine is a joint venture between Barrick’s wholly-owned subsidiary Barrick

Gold Exploration Inc. (60%) and Premier (40%). Mineralization is found throughout the South

Arturo Mine area, however, Mineral Reserves are confined to the Dee pit (Phase 1 - Arturo)

and El Nino underground.

Current infrastructure includes an open pit mine, waste rock storage facilities, roads, a 120 kV

powerline with substation, vertical dewatering wells, explosive storage facilities, fuel bay, and

main gate.

The open pit is a large-scale operation utilizing a conventional truck and shovel fleet and mining

approximately 110,000 tonnes per day (tpd) of ore and waste. Underground mining is

scheduled to commence in 2018 from the El Nino underground area. Oxide ore will be treated

at an oxide mill at Barrick’s Cortez site and the refractory ore will be treated at Barrick’s

Goldstrike operation. Heap leach mineralization will be segregated at the South Arturo site for

possible future processing.

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Table 1-1 summarizes Premier’s 40% portion of the South Arturo Mineral Resources as of

December 31, 2017.

TABLE 1-1 MINERAL RESOURCES - 40% BASIS - DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Category Tonnes Grade Contained Gold Tonnes Grade Contained Silver

(000 t) (g/t Au) (000 oz) (000 t) (g/t Ag) (000 oz) Measured 1,953.4 1.20 75.1 1,889.6 7.16 434.8 Indicated 5,612.4 1.18 211.1 5,576.9 6.14 1,101.8 Measured + Indicated 7,565.8 1.18 286.2 7,467.0 6.40 1,536.8

Inferred 578.1 1.66 30.9 499.6 3.83 61.5 Notes:

1. CIM (2014) definitions were followed for Mineral Resources. 2. Open pit and underground Mineral Resources are combined for the gold tonnes, however, the silver

tonnes only account for open pit Mineral Resource tonnage. 3. Mineral Resources are estimated using a long-term gold price of US$1,500 per ounce, a long term silver

price of US$20.50, and a C$/US$ exchange rate of 1.25. 4. Mineral Resources for open pit are reported using gold cut-off grades of 1.06 g/t (0.031 oz/st) Au for the

roaster, and 0.75 g/t (0.022 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill and refractory roaster. 5. Mineral Resources for the underground are reported using a gold cut-off grade of 5.07 g/t (0.148 oz/st)

Au. 6. Mineral Resources represent attributable ounces to Premier, equal to 40% of the Joint Venture

controlled ounces. Material from the Rossi property has been excluded. 7. Bulk density is specific to geological formation and varies from 2.00 t/m3 to 2.94 t/m3. 8. Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves. 9. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 10. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 11. Underground tonnes were not used in the silver grade calculations.

Table 1-2 summarizes Premier’s 40% portion of the South Arturo Mineral Reserves as of

December 31, 2017.

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TABLE 1-2 MINERAL RESERVES - 40% BASIS - DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Category/ Process Type Tonnes Gold Grade Contained Gold Tonnes Silver

Grade Contained

Silver (000 t) (g/t Au) (000 oz) (000 t) (g/t Ag) (000 oz)

Proven Reserves Mill (Oxide) 548.2 2.95 52.0 548.2 16.87 297.3 Roaster (Refractory) 594.5 4.01 76.6 594.5 16.64 318.0 Stockpile - Roaster 213.5 3.12 21.4 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 155.0 1.80 9.0 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 3.4 12.85 1.4 Total Proven 1,514.6 3.29 160.4 1,142.7 16.75 615.3

Probable Reserves Mill (Oxide) 454.7 2.40 35.1 454.7 15.70 229.5 Roaster (Refractory) 583.4 2.61 48.9 583.4 14.41 270.2 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 82.5 9.57 25.4 Total Probable 1,120.6 3.04 109.4 1,038.8 14.97 499.8

Total Proven and Probable Reserves Mill (Oxide) 1,002.9 2.70 87.1 1,002.9 16.34 526.8 Roaster (Refractory) 1,177.9 3.32 125.6 1,177.9 15.53 588.2 Stockpile - Roaster 213.5 3.12 21.4 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 155.0 1.80 9.0 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 85.9 9.70 26.8 Total Proven and Probable 2,635.2 3.18 269.8 2,180.8 15.90 1,115.1

Notes:

1. CIM (2014) definitions were followed for Mineral Reserves. 2. Stockpile reserves include open pit material. 3. Mineral Reserves estimated at $1,200/oz Au and $16.50/oz Ag. 4. Mineral Reserves for open pit are reported using gold cut-off grades of 1.27 g/t (0.037 oz/st) Au for the

roaster, and 0.93 g/t (0.027 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill and refractory roaster. 5. Mineral Reserves for the underground are reported using a gold cut-off grade of 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au. 6. Mineral Reserves represent attributable ounces to Premier, equal to 40% of the Joint Venture controlled

ounces. 7. Silver ounces are not reported in the Barrick Life of Mine (LOM) cash flow. 8. Cut-off grades are incorporated into the net block value calculation, which was used to determine the

processing method for each block.

CONCLUSIONS Based on the site visit and subsequent review, RPA offers the following conclusions:

GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

• The South Arturo deposits are Carlin-type deposits located in the north end of the Carlin Trend.

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• The drilling, sampling, sample preparation, analyses, security, and data verification meet or exceed industry standards and are appropriate for Mineral Resource estimation.

• The parameters, assumptions, and methodology used for Mineral Resource estimation are appropriate for the style of mineralization.

• Mineral Resources, at December 31, 2017, for the South Arturo Mine, exclusive of Mineral Reserves and adjusted to reflect 40% ownership by Premier, include Measured and Indicated Resources of 7.6 million tonnes grading 1.18 g/t Au containing 286,200 ounces of gold, including 7.47 million tonnes grading 6.40 g/t Ag containing 1,536,600 ounces of silver. Inferred Resources total 0.58 million tonnes grading 1.66 g/t Au containing 30,900 oz of gold, including 0.50 million tonnes grading 3.83 g/t Ag containing 61,500 oz of silver. Gold content is reported for total open pit and underground tonnages, whereas silver content is only reported for the open pit component of the Mineral Resource.

• The current drill hole database is reasonable for supporting a resource model for use in Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimation.

• Mineral Resource estimates have been prepared using acceptable interpolation strategies. The classifications of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources conform to Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves dated May 10, 2014 (CIM (2014) definitions).

• Gold and silver grades are not overly smoothed in higher grade areas. MINERAL RESERVES AND MINING

• The South Arturo Mine is located less than five kilometres from Barrick’s Goldstrike operation.

• Mining is scheduled to be completed by open pit at 110,000 tpd of ore and waste and by underground at approximately 40,000 tonnes per year (tpa) of ore.

• All Barrick Goldstrike systems (safety, geological control, mining, processing, administration, environmental) have been implemented for mining at South Arturo and are operating efficiently.

• Mineral Reserves are restricted to the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground areas.

• At December 31, 2017, adjusted to reflect 40% ownership by Premier, the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate is 2.6 million tonnes grading 3.18 g/t Au containing 269,800 oz of gold and 2.2 million tonnes grading 15.90 g/t Ag containing 1,115,100 oz of silver.

• Mining of the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground area is planned to begin in 2018. The Mine’s current mine life is estimated to be five years of open pit and seven years of underground mining.

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MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING • Ore will be processed via one of three routes:

o Carbon-in-leach (CIL) milling at Cortez for the oxide ores o Roasting and CIL at Goldstrike o Segregation for possible future run-of-mine (ROM) heap leaching at South

Arturo

• Ore trucks hauling refractory ore from Barrick’s Cortez operation to Goldstrike will be used to backhaul oxide mill material to Cortez.

• Historical operating data from the Dee Mine and the recent metallurgical test work indicate that the ore is amenable to processing. Processing of siliceous, carbonaceous, and sulphidic materials that are extracted from new deposits and deeper areas of existing deposits may not result in metallurgical responses that are similar to historical operations.

• The metallurgical test results determined the following: o Sulphide ore and ore containing preg-robbing organic carbon above the target

cut-off gold grade will be roasted. o Oxide ore above the target cut-off gold grade will be processed via ROM heap

leach. o Ore containing preg-robbing organic carbon below the cut-off gold grade for

roasting will be considered waste.

• The mill recovery ranges from 48% to 92% depending on the process employed. Recovery may be higher than predicted if the ore is ground finer than 74 µm in size. A gold deportment study completed by AMTEL and metallurgical test results indicated that a large portion of the gold is most likely encapsulated in silica, therefore, finer grinding could assist with improved gold liberation.

• The heap leach recovery and relationships between particle sizes and recovery may be different from the estimates because the samples tested are not in the same area of the mineralization that will be processed on the heap leach pads.

• Test results on the West Button Hill monthly composites showed a good correlation between head grade and gold recovery – similar to the predictive model used for estimating Goldstrike Roaster gold recovery performance.

• Metallurgical tests are currently in progress on drill core from the 2017 drilling program for the South Arturo and the Deep North/Dee areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

• During the mining operations the Mine will undertake concurrent reclamation on inactive portions of the waste rock facility.

• To date, the most significant environmental impact is anticipated to be the pit lake water quality after the cessation of mining.

• Cultural sites were identified near the proposed mine area. The necessary mitigation was completed and approved prior to issuance of the Record of Decision.

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• It is expected that the two major, long-term environmental liabilities that will impact the Mine are the mitigation of damage to cultural sites within planned, disturbed areas and the presence of a pit lake that will be created from passive water inflow after the dewatering pumps are removed.

• Approximately 615 ha of disturbance will be created within the permit boundary for waste storage facilities and a heap leach pad.

• It is recognized that proper construction, operation, and closure techniques should minimize the long-term environmental liability.

RECOMMENDATIONS RPA makes the following recommendations:


• Investigate the use of traditional grade wireframes and mineralization trend surfaces in favour of indicator grade domains and search domains in future resource model updates.

• Collect additional density samples and incorporate into the Mineral Resource model.

MINERAL RESERVES AND MINING

• Create an overall Mine development schedule for tracking all of the significant South Arturo milestones.

• Compile the LOM Plan assumptions and parameters, including open pit and underground, into one document.

MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING

• Representative samples of each ore type should be collected and confirmatory test work conducted using these samples to ensure that the gold and silver recovery and anticipated operating costs are accurate. Particular emphasis should be placed on a range of gold and silver head grades for each of the ore types to be processed and test work at a range of particle sizes for both heap leaching and CIL processing.

• After additional metallurgical data is available, appropriate trade-off studies should be completed in order to determine the optimum processing alternatives under changes in gold and silver prices.


• Monitor sites to effectively manage potential environmental and geochemical issues.

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

ECONOMIC CRITERIA A Cash Flow Projection has been generated from the LOM production schedule and capital

and operating cost estimates and is summarized in Table 1-3. This cash flow is based on

revenue and costs for the Mine on a 100% basis. A summary of the key criteria is provided

below.

REVENUE

• Phase 1 Open Pit Mining 2018-2022: 110,000 tpd mining of ore and waste from the Dee pit area.

• Underground Mining 2018-2024: approximately 40,000 tpa. • Silver revenue was not included, and it is assumed to be non-material to the cash flow. • Metal price: US$1,200 per ounce gold. • Heap leach mineralization will be segregated for future processing. • Net Smelter Return (NSR) includes doré refining, transport, and insurance costs. • Revenue is recognized at the time of production.

COSTS

• Mine life: 7 years (2018-2024 with low-grade stockpile production from 2031-2037). • LOM production plan as summarized in Table 1-3. • Mine life capital totals US$21.3 million.

TAXATION AND ROYALTIES Nevada Net Proceeds tax was applied to the cash flow. An average royalty of 6% was applied

to the Gross Revenue. RPA relied on Premier for the taxes applied to the Mine.

CASH FLOW ANALYSIS Considering the Project on a stand-alone basis, the undiscounted pre-tax cash flow totals $79

million over the mine life.

The World Gold Council All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) is US$1,029 per ounce of gold. Total

gold production during the first five years of mine operation (2018-2022) is approximately

445,000 ounces, with an annual average of 89,000 ounces. The total gold production from

South Arturo open pit and underground on a 100% basis is estimated to be 544,000 oz.

The after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) at a 5% discount rate is $23 million, and the Internal

Rate of Return (IRR) is 11.3%.

INPUTS UNITS TOTAL 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037MININGOpen Pit

Production '000 tonnes 5,453 31 121 678 2,783 1,840 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Au Grade g/t 3.04 1.99 1.97 2.22 2.85 3.71 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste '000 tonnes 34,780 - - 14,240 18,366 2,174 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste - Capitalized '000 tonnes 101,708 10,611 36,986 54,112 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Total Moved '000 tonnes 141,941 10,642 37,106 69,030 21,148 4,014 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stripping Ratio 25.03 341.81 306.38 100.83 6.60 1.18 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Underground

Production '000 tonnes 215 1 23 62 35 65 19 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Au Grade g/t 9.70 4.07 9.13 9.25 9.54 10.41 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste '000 tonnes 93 24 52 6 4 7 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Total Moved '000 tonnes 308 25 75 67 39 72 20 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - -

OP StockpileOpening

Tonnes 921 '000 tonnes - 921 663 482 603 1,387 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,086 2,086 2,086 1,561 1,561 850 Au Grade 2.57 g/t - 2.57 2.30 1.93 1.87 1.80 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.81 1.81 1.81 1.68 1.68 1.66

Total MinedTotal Tonnes Mined '000 tonnes 6,589 290 325 619 2,033 1,139 19 9 - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Average Grade Au g/t 3.19 3.13 3.20 3.04 3.39 5.35 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - 2.19 - - 2.19 - 1.70 1.66

PROCESSINGOpen Pit Roaster (At Goldstirke)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 3,872 289 209 28 578 614 - - - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Contained Ounces 000 oz 392 29 21 3 81 132 - - - - - - - - 5 - - 37 - 39 46 Ounces Produced 000 oz 317 23 17 3 68 117 - - - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32 Grade Processed g/t 3.15 3.123 3.116 3.642 4.341 6.691 - - - - - - - - 2.188 - - 2.188 - 1.699 1.665 Recovery Rate % 80.9% 79.2% 79.2% 81.4% 83.8% 88.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 70.7% 70.4%Open Pit Mill (Oxide) (At Cortez)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 2,502 - 93 529 1,420 460 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contained Ounces 000 oz 217 - 6 39 130 42 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ounces Produced 000 oz 167 - 4 30 100 32 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grade Processed g/t 2.69 - 1.91 2.28 2.85 2.85 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Recovery Rate % 77.0% 0.0% 77.0% 77.0% 77.0% 77.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%Underground Roaster (At Goldstrike)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 215 1 23 62 35 65 19 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contained Ounces 000 oz 67 0 7 18 11 22 5 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ounces Produced 000 oz 60 0 6 16 10 20 5 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grade Processed g/t 9.70 4.07 9.13 9.25 9.54 10.41 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Recovery Rate % 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%TotalTonnes Processed '000 tonnes 6,589 290 325 619 2,033 1,139 19 9 - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Contained Ounces 000 oz 675 29 33 60 221 196 5 4 - - - - - - 5 - - 37 - 39 46 Ounces Produced 000 oz 544 23 27 49 177 169 5 3 - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32 Grade Processed g/t 3.19 3.127 3.199 3.035 3.386 5.352 8.724 12.428 - - - - - - 2.188 - - 2.188 - 1.699 1.665 Recovery Rate % 77.5% 79% 79% 78% 79% 84% 89% 89% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 74% 0% 0% 74% 0% 71% 70%

Average Recovery % 79.5% 79.2% 79.3% 78.4% 79.1% 84.0% 89.2% 89.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 70.7% 70.4%Total Recovered Au 000 oz 544 23 27 49 177 169 5 3 - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32

REVENUEMetal Prices Input UnitsAu 1,200$ US$/oz Au $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200

Payability - Gold 99.97% % 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97%Total Gross Revenue US$ '000 $652,225 $27,762 $32,409 $58,642 $212,604 $202,636 $5,840 $3,922 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,245 $0 $0 $32,801 $0 $32,922 $38,442

Selling Cost ($/oz) -$ US$ '000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Net Smelter Return US$ '000 $652,225 $27,762 $32,409 $58,642 $212,604 $202,636 $5,840 $3,922 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,245 $0 $0 $32,801 $0 $32,922 $38,442Nevada Net Proceeds 5% US$ '000 $14,057 $0 $0 $0 $5,706 $7,043 $32 $48 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $38 $0 $0 $599 $0 $285 $307Royalty NSR 6% US$ '000 $39,133 $1,666 $1,945 $3,519 $12,756 $12,158 $350 $235 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $255 $0 $0 $1,968 $0 $1,975 $2,306

Net Revenue US$ '000 $599,034 $26,096 $30,465 $55,123 $194,142 $183,436 $5,458 $3,638 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $3,953 $0 $0 $30,234 $0 $30,661 $35,828Unit NSR US$/t milled $91 $90 $94 $89 $95 $161 $280 $397 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $58 $0 $0 $58 $0 $43 $42

OPERATING COSTOpen Pit Mining Cost US$/t mined $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00Underground Mining Cost US$/t mined $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00Processing $23.30 $29.81 $24.90 $15.16 $17.85 $22.89 $29.81 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $29.81 $29.81

Roaster US$/t Roaster $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $29.81 $29.81Mill US$/t milled $12.68 $0.00 $12.68 $12.68 $12.68 $12.68 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Total Unit Operating Cost (Excluding G&A) US$/t milled $71.92 $112 $265 $230 $42 $43 $202 $197 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $34 $0 $0 $34 $0 $34 $34

Open Pit US$ '000 $215,783 $16,178 $56,411 $104,942 $32,151 $6,103 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Underground US$ '000 $43,557 $3,539 $10,615 $9,549 $5,453 $10,260 $2,842 $1,298 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Processing US$ '000 $153,551 $8,658 $8,090 $9,383 $36,290 $26,079 $580 $273 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,024 $0 $0 $15,634 $0 $21,195 $25,344

Roaster US$ '000 $121,811 $8,658 $6,908 $2,670 $18,279 $20,245 $580 $273 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,024 $0 $0 $15,634 $0 $21,195 $25,344Mill US$ '000 $31,740 $0 $1,182 $6,713 $18,012 $5,834 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

G&A US$ '000 $60,961 $4,189 $11,090 $18,289 $10,910 $6,266 $505 $232 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $299 $0 $0 $2,308 $0 $3,129 $3,742Total Operating Cost US$ '000 $473,853 $32,565 $86,206 $142,162 $84,805 $48,708 $3,928 $1,804 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,322 $0 $0 $17,943 $0 $24,325 $29,086

Other Costs (Exploration) US$ '000 $7,954 $2,972 $4,754 $228 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Sub-Total Op.+Exploration US$ '000 $481,807 $35,537 $90,960 $142,390 $84,805 $48,708 $3,928 $1,804 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,322 $0 $0 $17,943 $0 $24,325 $29,086

Operating Cashflow US$ '000 $117,226 -$9,441 -$60,495 -$87,267 $109,337 $134,728 $1,530 $1,834 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,631 $0 $0 $12,291 $0 $6,336 $6,742

TABLE 1-3 CASH FLOW SUMMARY (100% Basis)Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

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INPUTS UNITS TOTAL 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037CAPITAL COST

Sustaining Capital CostOpen Pit Sustaining US$ '000 $13,398 $4,429 $8,969 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Underground Sustaining US$ '000 $4,951 $3,101 $1,850 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Capitalized Drilling US$ '000 $2,983 $0 $0 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Sub-Total Sustaining Capital Cost US$ '000 $21,333 $7,530 $10,819 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Total Capital Cost US$ '000 $21,333 $7,530 $10,819 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Reclamation Payments US$ '000 $16,951 $16 $4 $339 $339 $617 $809 $749 $1,077 $1,587 $2,056 $2,091 $1,785 $1,255 $718 $516 $419 $227 $331 $481 $1,536

PRE-TAX CASH FLOWNet Pre-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 $78,943 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 134,110 $ 721 $ 1,085 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 913 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 12,065 ($ 331) $ 5,856 $ 5,206Cumulative Pre-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 ($ 16,988) ($ 88,305) ($ 178,895) ($ 69,897) $ 64,213 $ 64,935 $ 66,020 $ 64,943 $ 63,356 $ 61,300 $ 59,209 $ 57,424 $ 56,169 $ 57,082 $ 56,567 $ 56,148 $ 68,212 $ 67,881 $ 73,737 $ 78,943

Beginning Balance - Losses US$ '000 $0 $ 0 ($ 9,441) ($ 69,936) ($ 157,203) ($ 47,866) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Losses Added US$ '000 -$157,203 ($ 9,441) ($ 60,495) ($ 87,267) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Losses Utilized US$ '000 $157,203 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 109,337 $ 47,866 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Ending Balance - Losses US$ '000 $0 ($ 9,441) ($ 69,936) ($ 157,203) ($ 47,866) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Taxable OCF/EBITDA US$ '000 -$39,977 ($ 9,441) ($ 60,495) ($ 87,267) $ 0 $ 86,862 $ 1,530 $ 1,834 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 1,631 $ 0 $ 0 $ 12,291 $ 0 $ 6,336 $ 6,742Taxes at Effective Rate of X% of OCF/EBITDA: 21% US$ '000 $24,618 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 18,241 $ 321 $ 385 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 342 $ 0 $ 0 $ 2,581 $ 0 $ 1,331 $ 1,416

After-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 $54,326 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 115,869 $ 400 $ 700 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 570 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 9,483 ($ 331) $ 4,525 $ 3,791Cumulative After-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 115,869 $ 400 $ 700 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 570 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 9,483 ($ 331) $ 4,525 $ 3,791

All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) US$/oz $1,029 $1,934 $3,839 $3,053 $552 $364 $1,045 $853 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $931 $0 $0 $736 $0 $976 $1,028

PROJECT ECONOMICSPre-Tax IRR % 15.4%Pre-tax NPV at 5.0% discounting 5.00% US$ '000 $40,472Pre-tax NPV at 7.5% discounting 7.50% US$ '000 $27,277Pre-tax NPV at 10% discounting 10.00% US$ '000 $16,690

After-Tax IRR % 11.3%After-Tax NPV at 5.0% discounting 5.00% US$ '000 $23,306After-Tax NPV at 7.5% discounting 7.50% US$ '000 $12,581After-tax NPV at 10% discounting 10.00% US$ '000 $3,955

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SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS Project risks can be identified in both economic and non-economic terms. Key economic risks

were examined by running cash flow sensitivities on the following items:

• Gold price

• Contained gold ounces

• Operating costs

• Capital costs

• Metallurgical Recovery

NPV sensitivity over the base case has been calculated for -20% to +20% variations. The

sensitivities are shown in Figure 1-1 and Table 1-4. NPV is most sensitive to the revenue

changes including gold recovery, gold price, and contained ounces.

FIGURE 1-1 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

($60)

($40)

($20)

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

$140

-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30%

Pre-

Tax

NPV

at 5

% D

isco

unt R

ate

(US$

'000

)

Thou

sand

s

Percent Change From Base Case

Contained Au Ounces

Recovery

Au Price

Operating Cost

Capital Cost

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TABLE 1-4 SENSITIVITY ANALYSES Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Parameter Variables Units -20% -10% Base 10% 20%

Gold Price US$/oz 960 1,080 1,200 1,320 1,440 Contained Au Ounces oz (000) 540 608 675 743 811

Operating Cost US$ millions 387.0 434.4 481.8 529.2 576.6 Capital Cost US$ millions 17 19 21 23 26

Parameter Variables Units -10% -5% Base +5% +10%

Recovery (Recovery -/+ %Change) % 69.5% 74.5% 79.5% 84.5% 89.5%

Pre-tax NPV @ 5% Units -20% -10% Base 10% 20%

Gold Price US$ millions ($48) ($4) $40 $85 $129 Contained Au Ounces US$ millions ($48) ($4) $40 $85 $129

Operating Cost US$ millions $114 $77 $40 $4 ($33) Capital Cost US$ millions $44 $43 $40 $39 $37

Recovery US$ millions ($14) $13 $40 $68 $95

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION The Mine is located approximately 48 km northwest of Carlin, Nevada, on federal lands

administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The

Project includes development of an open pit mine and underground mine in the vicinity of the

past producting Dee open pit mine and Storm underground mine. Barrick is the manager and

operator of the Mine. All resources are on mining claims held on federal lands.

LAND TENURE The majority of the South Arturo mineral deposits occur on the Dee property with a smaller

portion extending onto the Rossi property. The Dee property is controlled by the Barrick/Dee

Mining Venture which is made up between Barrick Gold Exploration Inc., a wholly owned

subsidiary of Barrick (together Barrick) with an undivided interest of 60% and Premier with an

undivided 40% interest. The Rossi property is controlled by the Barrick/Storm Venture which

is made up between Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. with an undivided 60% interest and Barrick

Storm Inc. with an undivided 40% interest. Most of the Mineral Resources occur on the Dee

property.

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EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE The Mine is located on the site of the reclaimed Dee open pit mine. Most site facilities were

removed or reclaimed after cessation of mining activities in the late 1990s, except for the power

and water supply systems. In 2014, the Mine completed construction of a number of facilities

and made improvements to existing infrastructure. New mine roads, fuel bays, ore stockpiles,

storm water dam, perimeter fencing, dewatering wells, powerlines, explosive magazine,

communication system, and guard shack were completed in 2015.

Power is supplied from Nevada Energy to an existing mine substation. Surface rights are

sufficient for mine waste stockpiles, heap leach pads, and processing plants sites.

HISTORY Exploration work for barite and gold began in the Mine area in 1975. Prospecting exposed

barite in several trenches. Cordex Exploration Company conducted exploration activities in

the area from 1981 to 1983. While no economic barite was identified, two gold deposits were

discovered.

Within the South Arturo Mine area, four major companies, i.e., FMC Gold/Meridian Gold

Corporation (also referred to as Meridian), Dee Gold Mine/Rayrock Mines Inc. (Dee), Glamis

Gold Ltd. (Glamis), and Barrick, have been primarily responsible for exploration drilling,

geologic mapping, geophysics, and geochemistry that have defined the South Arturo

mineralization. Drilling consisted of a combination of core, mud rotary, and reverse circulation

(RC) methods for a total of approximately 55,000 m.

The Dee open pit mine was put into production by Rayrock in partnership with Dee Gold Mining

Co. (Dee Gold) in 1984. Over 16 years from 1984 to 1999, the Dee mine produced

approximately 605,000 ounces of gold from oxide ore. Underground production started in 1999

and continued until December 2000, when both open pit and underground operations were

shut down and surface facilities were reclaimed.

The South Arturo deposit was discovered by Barrick in July 2005 as a result of drilling beneath

the waste disposal facilities of the Dee open pit mine.

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In 1997, the Barrick Dee Mining Venture (BDMV) was formed when Barrick Gold Exploration

Inc. entered into an exploration agreement with Dee Gold (then a subsidiary of Glamis),

whereby Barrick held 60% and Dee Gold 40%, to explore the Dee mine property outside of the

active mining area. In 1999, Glamis acquired Rayrock, and became the operator of the Dee

mine. In 2007, Glamis was acquired by Marigold Mining Company (Marigold), a wholly owned

subsidiary of Goldcorp Inc. (Goldcorp). Marigold/Goldcorp is the successor of Dee Gold.

On June 2, 2015, Premier completed its acquisition of Goldcorp's 40% interest in the South

Arturo Mine.

GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION The Mine is located within the northern Carlin Trend in the Basin and Range physiographic

province in northeastern Nevada. A sequence of tectonic events have transformed the district

into large scale, north-northwest trending folds and northwest to northeast trending faults,

which expose “windows” of the lower tectonic plate rocks within the upper tectonic plate. The

northern Carlin Trend is defined by a north-northwest trending alignment of gold deposits in a

series of these windows. The structural windows in the Carlin Trend from south to north are

the Carlin, Lynn, and Bootstrap. The Mine is located within the Bootstrap Window.

The oldest formation known near the Mine is the Ordovician Hanson Creek dolomite,

intersected in a deep drill hole west of the deposit. A 215 m thick section of Silurian-Devonian

Roberts Mountains limestone occurs above the Hanson Creek dolomite. The Bootstrap

limestone is a grey, massive limestone deposited in a reef margin environment. The Bootstrap

limestone is overlain by the Devonian Popovich Formation, which is a carbonaceous

limestone. The contact between the Popovich Formation and Bootstrap limestone is

characterized by karst-type dissolution features and brecciation. The upper contact of the

Popovich Formation grades conformably into the Devonian Rodeo Creek Formation. The

Rodeo Creek Formation consists of siliceous mudstone and silty limestone. The top of the

Rodeo Creek is structurally terminated by the Roberts Mountain Thrust and is the top of the

lower plate sequence.

Upper plate rocks at the Mine consist of a sequence of mudstone, argillite, and bedded cherts

of the Vinini, Elder, and Slaven Chert formations. The Tertiary Carlin Formation, a sequence

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of tuffaceous sedimentary rocks and air-fall tuff, fills channels and depressions in the Dee mine

area.

While mineralization is widespread throughout the South Arturo Mine area, there are five zones

of high-grade gold mineralization, these zones are South Arturo, Dee Deep North, SW Dee,

West Button Hill, and Hinge.

EXPLORATION STATUS Barrick continues to conduct drilling programs to test for possible extensions to the South

Arturo mineralization at depth.

MINERAL RESOURCES The December 31, 2017 Mineral Resources adjusted to reflect Premier’s 40% ownership are

summarized in Table 1-1. The Mineral Resources were estimated using a gold price of

US$1,500 per ounce, and a silver price of US$20.50 per ounce. RPA is of the opinion that the

Mineral Resources are acceptable, reasonable, and conform to CIM (2014) definitions.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources increased from the 2014 Mineral Resource

estimate due to additional drilling conducted between 2014 and 2017 which allowed upgrading

Inferred Resources to higher classifications, as well as reclassification of Mineral Resources

to Mineral Reserves following changes in gold and silver prices.

For the open pit Mineral Resource estimate, wireframes were constructed to define geological

boundaries, in addition to nine search domains, representing areas of similar grade continuity

and orientation. Inverse distance squared (ID2) was employed to predict areas of low, medium,

and high grade areas for each search domain using indicator thresholds specific to each

domain. Gold and silver assays were capped prior to compositing and were interpolated in ten

nested estimation runs for each search/grade domain combination, using ID2. Search ellipse

orientations and ranges were defined using variogram models. Soft boundaries were used

between search domains, and weights were assigned to allow some influence of composites

across grade domains. Density was assigned by previously assigned rock type codes. Blocks

were classified by estimation run, and limited to 90% (Inferred) and 80% (Indicated) of the

variogram range for each search domain and to blocks directly intersected by a drill hole

(Measured).

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The Mineral Resource estimate gold cut-off grades for the open pit range from 0.75 g/t (0.022

oz/st) Au (material for oxide mill treatment) to 1.06 g/t (0.031 oz/st) Au (material for roaster

treatment). Blocks were divided into different material types by assigning a revenue based on

geology, process route costs, and mining costs for each option, and optimized for maximum

revenue.

For the El Nino underground mine, the Mineral Resource was estimated using block models

constrained by three-dimensional models of the mineralized bodies and domains. The gold

grades are interpolated into the blocks using inverse distance to the fifth power (ID5) weighting.

The estimation used six passes in each domain. The mineralized domain models were

constructed from the drilling sample data, at 1.71 g/t (0.05 oz/st) Au and 3.43 g/t (0.10 oz/st)

Au cut-off grades. A combination of high yield restrictions for low-grade mineralized zones and

grade capping applied to all mineralized zones is used to reduce the influence of high-grade

assays. The drill samples were composited to 3.05 m (10 ft) lengths, with the mineralized

domains controlling the process prior to geostatistical analysis and grade interpolation.

Resource classification was based on a combination of the estimation passes in which each

block model cell received an estimate, distance to nearest mining area, and number of drill

holes used in the estimation.

Mineral Resources for the underground portion are reported using a cut-off grade of 5.07 g/t

(0.148 oz/st) Au.

MINERAL RESERVES The South Arturo Mineral Reserves stated for December 31, 2017 meet the necessary

Canadian and US requirements to be classified as Mineral Reserves.

On a 40% basis, the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate as of December 31, 2017

is 2.6 million tonnes grading 3.18 g/t Au containing 269,800 oz of Au and 2.2 million tonnes

grading 15.90 g/t of Ag containing 1,115,100 oz of Ag (see Table 1-2).

MINING METHOD South Arturo is an open pit and underground project. Mineral Reserves are restricted to the

the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground areas where mining is scheduled to commence

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in 2018. The open pit mine design includes 9.1 m to 12.2 m (30 ft to 40 ft) waste benches and

6.1 m (20 ft) high ore benches.

The current pit highwalls appear to have good rock mass characteristics, and this information

has been incorporated into the open pit mine design. Slope stability situations similar to those

found at the Goldstrike operation may occur, especially in the Carlin Formation.

El Nino underground will be accessed via a portal located at 1,536 m (5,040 ft) elevation above

sea level within the South Arturo Phase 2 Pit. The current design includes a twin portal decline

for accessing the ore. The current mine depth for Mineral Reserves is planned to extend down

to 1,477 m (4,845 ft) elevation above sea level.

The primary method of underground mining will be underhand cut and fill with cemented rockfill

as the fill material. The underhand drifts are nominally designed as 4.6 m (15 ft) wide by 4.6 m

(15 ft) high. The minimum width is 4.6 m (15 ft). The primary drift is driven with increased

ground support to hold the ground open, then backfilled with a high strength cemented rock fill

backhauled into the mine. Where the ore width exceeds the nominal drift width, subsequent

conventional underground mining equipment will be used to support the underground mining

activities.

The underground mining equipment is standard to the industry and has been proven on site.

The underground equipment fleet will be provided by an underground contractor with Barrick

oversight.

MINERAL PROCESSING Ore from South Arturo will be processed via one of three possible routes: ROM heap leaching

(possible in the future if economics warrant), milling and CIL, or roasting and CIL.

ROM material is stockpiled for future possible heap leach process if economics warrant. ROM

material will be placed on a permanent leach pad by haul trucks. Cyanide solution will be

distributed by drip emitters. The pregnant solution will then be collected and pumped to a

carbon adsorption circuit. The cyanide concentration and pH of the barren solution will be

adjusted, and the solution will be re-circulated via pumping to the heap leach pads. Loaded

carbon will be trucked to the existing autoclave carbon processing circuit for stripping and

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refining to recover the precious metals and the carbon will be regenerated prior to being

returned to the carbon adsorption columns at South Arturo for reuse.

The grinding and CIL circuits in the existing circuit at Cortez will be utilized to process the

oxidized mill grade South Arturo ore on a campaign basis. The treatment plant currently

includes crushing, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG), ball milling, grind thickening, carbon-in-

column (CIC) circuit for the grind thickener overflow solution, CIL circuit, tailings countercurrent

decantation (CCD) wash thickener circuit, carbon stripping and reactivation circuits, and a

refinery to produce gold doré.

Ore that is scheduled for roaster/CIL processing will be toll processed in the existing roaster

circuit at Goldstrike on a campaign basis. The roaster pre-oxidizes ore that contains refractory

carbonaceous and suphfidic material, so it can be effectively processed in a traditional CIL

circuit.

PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE Project infrastructure includes:

• Expansion of the Dee open pit and development of the El Nino underground and New Waste Rock Disposal Facilities

• Upgrades and widening segments of Bootstrap Haul Road, including light vehicle access, that are nearly complete

• Support facilities, including a communication site that has been installed

• New power transmission lines that have been installed

The Mine will require new operating facilities such as a maintenance shop for mine equipment

and administrative offices for the underground. Both water and electricity supply still exist on

site from previous operations.

Electrical power is provided by Nevada Energy at a substation near the previous Dee mill. A

new substation and associated power lines have been constructed to supply power to the site

facilities. The existing substation and a portion of the existing power line will be removed after

the cessation of mining and processing.

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Water will be supplied locally from deep wells installed with submersible pumps. The process

supply wells will provide process water and fire reserve water to a single head tank. Potable

water will be supplied to a separate water tank and the water will be treated.

MARKET STUDIES The principal commodities of gold and silver at South Arturo are freely traded, at prices that

are widely known, so that prospects for sale of any production are virtually assured. RPA used

a gold price of $1,200 per ounce gold for the Base Case cash flow.

ENVIRONMENTAL, PERMITTING AND SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS On May 8, 2014, Barrick received a favourable Record of Decision from BLM to proceed with

the Mine. Even though the South Arturo Mine is on the site of the previously operated Dee

Mine, there are no known environmental liabilities. It is important to note that the Dee Mine

has been substantially reclaimed.

To date, the most significant environmental impact is anticipated to be the pit lake water quality

after the cessation of mining.

No storage of tailings is required on site since the mill grade ore will be processed off site. All

ore that requires mill processing will be treated at the Barrick Goldstrike or Cortez facilities.

Tailings associated with the roaster circuit are permitted for disposal in the North Block Tailings

Disposal Facility (NBTDF), or for delivery to the Rodeo paste backfill plant.

The South Arturo Mine is bonded for approximately US$29 million at full permitted build out.

Closure costs for components that have been constructed to-date are estimated to total

approximately US$12 million based on the 2018 mine plan. During mining, concurrent

reclamation will take place on inactive portions of the waste rock facility when it is safe and

practical. Final reclamation is expected to be completed within three years after the end of

mining operations.

CAPITAL AND OPERATING COST ESTIMATES The sustaining capital costs for the South Arturo Mine are developed and revised on an annual

basis as part of the budget cycle.

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The 2018 LOM sustaining capital as developed at the site for approval by the BDMV is shown

in Table 1-5.

TABLE 1-5 LOM SUSTAINING CAPITAL COSTS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Capital Cost Totals 2018 2019 2020

US$(000) US$(000) US$(000) US$(000) Open Pit Mine Capital 13,398 4,429 8,969 - Underground Mine Capital 4,951 3,101 1,850 - Capitalized Drilling 2,983 - - 2,983 Totals 21,333 7,530 10,819 2,983

OPERATING COSTS The operating costs for South Arturo are developed annually as part of the Goldstrike site

budget process. The total direct operating costs estimated for the South Arturo Mine are

shown in Table 1-6 before inventory adjustments, deferred stripping, silver credits, and

adjustments.

TABLE 1-6 LOM (2018-2022) OPERATING COSTS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Operation Unit LOM Average

Mining Cost US$/tonne mined 1.52 Underground US$/tonne mined 141.57 Roaster US$/tonne processed 29.81 Mill US$/tonne processed 12.68

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2 INTRODUCTION Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA) was retained by Premier Gold Mines Limited (Premier)

to prepare an independent Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine (South Arturo or the

Mine), located in Nevada, USA. The purpose of this report is to support public disclosure of

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as of December 31, 2017. This Technical Report

conforms to NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Premier is a Canadian publicly-traded mining company with a portfolio of exploration,

development, and operating mines and projects across North America, including:

• 40% interest in the South Arturo Mine, Nevada, U.S.A.

• 50% interest in the Greenstone Gold Property, Geraldton, Ontario.

• 44% interest in the Rahill-Bonanza Project, Red Lake, Ontario.

• 100% interest in the Hasaga Property, Red Lake, Ontario.

• 100% interest in the McCoy-Cove Project, Nevada, U.S.A.

• 100% interest in the Mercedes Mine, Sonora State, Mexico.

The South Arturo operations are located in northeastern Nevada approximately 48 km

northwest of Carlin, Nevada, and 4.8 km northwest of Barrick Gold Corporation’s (Barrick)

Goldstrike operation. The South Arturo Mine contains the historical Dee pit that produced

approximately 605,000 ounces of gold in the 1980s and 1990s. From 2015 to 2017, the South

Arturo Mine has produced 365,955 ounces of gold from the open pit.

The South Arturo Mine is a joint venture between Barrick’s wholly-owned subsidiary Barrick

Gold Exploration Inc. (60%) and Premier (40%). Mineralization is found throughout the South

Arturo Mine area, however, Mineral Reserves are confined to the Dee pit (Phase 1 - Arturo)

and El Nino underground.

Current infrastructure includes an open pit mine, waste rock storage facilities, roads, a 120 kV

powerline with substation, vertical dewatering wells, explosive storage facilities, fuel bay, and

main gate.

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The open pit is a large-scale operation utilizing a conventional truck and shovel fleet and mining

approximately 110,000 tonnes per day (tpd) of ore and waste. Underground mining is

scheduled to commence in 2018 from the El Nino underground area. Oxide ore will be treated

at an oxide mill at Barrick’s Cortez site and the refractory ore will be treated at Barrick’s

Goldstrike operation. Heap leach mineralization will be segregated at the South Arturo site for

possible future processing.

The El Nino underground will be accessed via a portal located within the existing South Arturo

Phase 2 Pit. The current design includes a twin portal decline for accessing the ore deposit.

The primary method of mining will be underhand cut and fill with cemented rockfill as the fill

material.

RPA prepared previous internal Technical Reports on the South Arturo Mine Project in 2012

and 2015 for Barrick.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION A site visit was carried out by Philip Geusebroek, P.Geo., RPA Senior Geologist, and Hugo

Miranda, ChMC(RM), RPA Principal Mining Engineer, on March 8, 2018.

Discussions were held with personnel from Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc.:

• Jordan Anderson, Sr. Long Range Engineer

• Bridget Ball, Chief Minex Geologist

• Bonnie Beck, Resource Geologist II

• Jim Byars, Geology Superintendent, Open Pit

• Tricia Evans, Superintendent Underground Geology

• Sara Gilligan, Associate Site CFO

• Peter Haarala, Engineering Superintendent, Open Pit

• Zaheer Jamkhana, Chief Underground Engineer

• Janna Linebarger, Chief Resource

• Julian Manuel, Senior Resource Geologist

• Chris McCabe, Senior Environmental Engineer

• Andrew Siemon, Senior Process Metallurgist

• Sergei Smolonogov, Geology Manager

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• Kyle Tate, Environmental Engineer

• Derrick Thuringer, Long Range Design Engineer

• Evan Verkade, Engineering Superintendent, Underground

• Christina Sullivan, Senior Resource Geologist

Mr. Geusebroek is responsible for Sections 2 through 12, 14, 19, and 23 of this report and

contributed to Sections 1, 24, 25, 26, and 27. Mr. Miranda is responsible for Sections 15, 16,

18, 21, and 22 of this report and contributed to Sections 1, 24, 25, 26, and 27. Ms. Brenna

Scholey, P.Eng., RPA Principal Metallurgist, is responsible for Sections 13, 17, and 20 of this

report and contributed to Sections 1, 24, 25, 26, and 27.

The documentation reviewed, and other sources of information, are listed at the end of this

report in Section 27 References.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Units of measurement used in this report conform to the metric system unless otherwise

indicated. All currency in this report is US dollars (US$) unless otherwise noted.

a annum kWh kilowatt-hour A ampere L litre bbl barrels lb pound btu British thermal units L/s litres per second °C degree Celsius m metre C$ Canadian dollars M mega (million); molar cal calorie m2 square metre cfm cubic feet per minute m3 cubic metre cm centimetre µ micron cm2 square centimetre MASL metres above sea level d day µg microgram dia diameter m3/h cubic metres per hour dmt dry metric tonne mi mile dwt dead-weight ton min minute °F degree Fahrenheit µm micrometre ft foot mm millimetre ft2 square foot mph miles per hour ft3 cubic foot MVA megavolt-amperes ft/s foot per second MW megawatt g gram MWh megawatt-hour G giga (billion) oz Troy ounce (31.1035g) Gal Imperial gallon oz/st, opt ounce per short ton g/L gram per litre ppb part per billion Gpm Imperial gallons per minute ppm part per million g/t gram per tonne psia pound per square inch absolute gr/ft3 grain per cubic foot psig pound per square inch gauge gr/m3 grain per cubic metre RL relative elevation ROM run of mine ha hectare s second hp horsepower st short ton hr hour stpa short ton per year Hz hertz stpd short ton per day in. inch t metric tonne in2 square inch tpa metric tonne per year J joule tpd metric tonne per day k kilo (thousand) US$ United States dollar kcal kilocalorie USg United States gallon kg kilogram USgpm US gallon per minute km kilometre V volt km2 square kilometre W watt km/h kilometre per hour wmt wet metric tonne kPa kilopascal wt% weight percent kVA kilovolt-amperes yd3 cubic yard kW kilowatt yr year

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3 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS This report has been prepared by RPA for Premier. The information, conclusions, opinions,

and estimates contained herein are based on:

• Information available to RPA at the time of preparation of this report, • Assumptions, conditions, and qualifications as set forth in this report, and • Data, reports, and other information supplied by Premier, Barrick, and other third

party sources.

For the purpose of this report, RPA has relied on ownership information provided by Premier

and Barrick. RPA has not researched property title or mineral rights for the Mine and

expresses no opinion as to the ownership status of the property.

RPA has relied on Premier for guidance on applicable taxes, royalties, and other government

levies or interests, applicable to revenue or income from the Mine.

Except for the purposes legislated under provincial securities laws, any use of this report by

any third party is at that party’s sole risk.

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4 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION The Mine is located approximately 48 km northwest of Carlin, Nevada. The Project comprises

development of an open pit mine and underground mine in the vicinity of the past producing

Dee open pit and Storm underground mine. Barrick Goldstrike Mines Inc. operates the Mine

on behalf of the Barrick/Dee Mining Venture (BDMV), which is a joint venture between Barrick

Gold Exploration Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Barrick, and Premier. The Mine lies within

Townships 36 & 37 North and Range 49 East, MDM, within Elko and Eureka Counties. The

Mine is located near latitude 41°01’58” N and longitude 116°25’10” W, NAD 27. The property

location is illustrated in Figure 4-1.

LAND TENURE The majority of the South Arturo mineral deposits occur on the Dee property with a smaller

portion extending onto the Rossi property. The Dee property is controlled by the BDMV which

is made up between Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. with an undivided interest of 60% and

Premier with an undivided 40% interest. Barrick acts as manager of the venture. The Rossi

property is controlled by the Barrick/Storm Venture which is a joint venture between Barrick

Gold Exploration Inc. with an undivided 60% interest and Barrick Storm Inc. with an undivided

40% interest. Most of the Mineral Resources occur on the Dee property.

The BDMV is composed of approximately 4,909 acres of surface and mineral rights on federal

lands administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

These rights are controlled by ownership of 391 unpatented lode mining and mill-site claims

and are held subject to the paramount title of the USA. Unpatented lode mining and mill-site

claims are maintained on an annual basis, and do not expire if the annual maintenance fee

payments are filed on a timely basis. All mining leases are reviewed on an annual basis and

all payments and commitments are paid as required by the specific agreements. Details on

the claims are a matter of public record and are available at the BLM Land & Mineral Legacy

Rehost System (LR2000 website). The property boundary is illustrated in Figure 4-2.

80Pershing

Washoe

Elko

EsmeraldaNye

Mineral

Clark

Eureka

White Pine

Lander

Churchill

Humboldt

Lincoln

Douglas

Lyon

Sto

rey

Wells

Tonopah

Hawthorne

Lovelock

Reno

CARSON CITY

Eureka

Ely

BattleMountain

ElkoWestWendover

Austin

McDermitt

Winnemucca

Carlin

Fallon

Las Vegas

N E V A D A

OREGON

CA

LIF

OR

NIA

CALIFO

RNIA

SOUTH ARTURO MINE

ARTURO

N

Major Highway

Legend:

County Boundary

Road

Town/City

Capital City

UTA

H

IDAHO

AR

IZO

NA

0 25 50 75 100 Miles

0 50 200 Kilometres150100

N

March 8201

Premier Gold Mines Limited

South MineArturo

Location Map

Elko County State of Nevada, U.S.A.,

Figure 4-1

4-2

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N

Arturo Plan of Operation

Legend:

Barrick/Dee Venture Property

Rossi Property

Franco Nevada Royalty Boundary

Township

Section

Counties

March 2018 Source: Barrick, 2018.


South MineArturo

Claim Map


0 .25

Mile

.5 .75 1.0

Figure 4-2

4-3

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On June 2, 2015, Premier announced that it had completed its acquisition of Goldcorp Inc.’s

(Goldcorp) 40% membership interest in the BDMV and South Arturo Project.

Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition from Goldcorp, Premier paid US$20 million, transferred

5% of its interest in the Rahill-Bonanza Joint Venture in Red Lake to Goldcorp, and has granted

Goldcorp a right of first refusal for a period of three years on any proposed sale or joint venture

transaction by Premier on Premier's McCoy-Cove Project located in Nevada.

In connection with the acquisition, Premier also reimbursed Goldcorp US$16.6 million for costs

and contributions paid by Goldcorp with respect to the South Arturo Mine since March 16,

2015. Goldcorp also agreed to contribute $12.5 million to Premier in financing, to be completed

within the one month period commencing on the closing date of the acquisition.

ROYALTIES The BDMV contains the majority of the South Arturo deposits that reside on leased claims and

therefore are subject to royalties. Royalties are paid to Franco-Nevada U.S. Corporation

ranging from 4% to 9% of gross proceeds indexed to ore values, daily production rates, ore

characteristics, and other factors. Table 4-1 lists a range of possible royalties for the BDMV.

TABLE 4-1 ROYALTIES ON BARRICK/DEE MINING VENTURE Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Ore Grade (oz/st) Royalty Percent By Ore Type

From To Oxide Non-Oxide 0.00 0.13 4% 6% 0.13 0.26 6% 6% 0.26 No Limit 9% 6%

In order to maintain the lease in good standing, annual advanced royalty payments of

US$200,000 are required and are recoupable against future production royalties.

ENVIRONMENT AND RISKS RPA is not aware of any environmental liabilities on the property. The BDMV has all required

permits to conduct the proposed work on the property. RPA is not aware of any other

significant factors and risks that may affect access, title, or the right or ability to perform the

proposed work program on the property.

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5 ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY ACCESSIBILITY Regional access from Elko and Reno, Nevada, is provided by Interstate Highway 80. Local

access to the South Arturo Mine is via paved and improved gravel roads. Gravel road access

is available from Barrick’s Goldstrike Mine property, approximately 4.8 km to the southeast.

Access is also available over gravel road from the Dunphy exit on Interstate Highway 80,

approximately 40 km to the south.

CLIMATE The climate is semi-arid with an annual average precipitation of 255 mm. There are, on

average, 90 frost-free days, and the air temperature ranges from an average of -5°C in January

to an average of 21°C in July, producing a year-round operating climate.

LOCAL RESOURCES Operating labour and mining services are available from Elko, located 56 km southeast of the

Mine, and several other communities within a 97 km radius.

INFRASTRUCTURE The Mine is located on the site of the reclaimed Dee open pit mine. Most site facilities were

removed or reclaimed after cessation of mining activities in the late 1990s, except for the power

and water supply systems. In 2014, the Mine completed construction of a number of facilities

and made improvements to existing infrastructure. New mine roads, fuel bays, ore stockpiles,

storm water dam, perimeter fencing, dewatering wells, powerlines, explosive magazine,

communication system and guard shack were completed in 2015.

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Power is supplied from Nevada Energy to an existing mine substation. Surface rights are

sufficient for mine waste stockpiles, heap leach pads, and processing plants sites.

PHYSIOGRAPHY The Mine is situated within an area of low, broad, northwest-southeast trending ridges. The

elevations in the area range from 1,615 MASL to 1,830 MASL. Within the Mine area, there

are several ephemeral stream drainages. Common vegetation found in the area includes

cheat grass, foxtail chess, mustard grass, shadscale, green rabbitbrush, sagebrush, western

wheatgrass, and sedge.

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6 HISTORY PRIOR OWNERSHIP The South Arturo deposit is located on the site of the past producing Dee open pit mine which

was put into production by Rayrock Mines Ltd. (Rayrock) in partnership with Dee Gold Mining

Co. (Dee Gold) in 1984.

In 1997, BDMV was formed when Barrick entered into an exploration agreement with Dee Gold

(at the time, a subsidiary of Rayrock), in which Barrick held 60% and Dee Gold held 40%, to

explore the Dee Mine property outside of the active mining area. In 1999, Glamis acquired

Rayrock and became the operator of the Dee Mine. In October 1999, the Glamis Dee Mining

Company began underground production from the Dee Deep North deposit, which is accessed

by a decline from the bottom of the Dee pit. Both the Dee open pit and the Dee Deep North

underground operations were shut down in December 2000 due to a period of low gold prices.

Reclamation and closure activities were initiated in 2000 on the heap leach pads, tailings

disposal facilities, Waste Rock Disposal Facility (WRDF), and ancillary facilities. At this time,

all surface facilities were reclaimed except for the power and water supply systems.

In July 2005, drilling by Barrick beneath the dumps of the Dee open pit mine led to the discovery

of the South Arturo deposit. In 2007, Glamis was acquired by Marigold Mining Company

(Marigold), a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldcorp. Marigold/Goldcorp was the successor of

the Dee Gold Mining Company. On June 2, 2015, Premier acquired Goldcorp’s 40% interest

in the South Arturo Mine.

In 2009, the West Button Hill deposit was discovered. The Project consists of these new

discoveries and the remaining resources surrounding the Dee pit.

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT HISTORY Exploration along the Carlin Trend has been ongoing since the early 1900s, and it is well

documented.

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Exploration work for barite and gold began in the Mine area in 1975. Prospecting exposed

barite in several trenches. Cordex Exploration Company conducted exploration activities in the

Mine area from 1981 to 1983. While no economic barite was identified, two gold deposits were

discovered.

Within the South Arturo Mine area, four major companies, i.e., FMC Gold/Meridian (further on

referred to as Meridian), Dee Gold, Glamis, and Barrick, have been primarily responsible for

exploration drilling, geologic mapping, geophysics, and geochemistry that have defined the

South Arturo mineralization. Geologic mapping has occurred via mapping the Dee open pit,

mapping and sampling of 1,200 m of trenches, mapping of nearby barite open pits, and

mapping of the Dee and Storm underground workings. Drilling consisted of a combination of

core, mud rotary, and reverse circulation (RC) methods conducted on the surface, within the

Dee open pit and from within the Storm underground workings.

The South Arturo Mine deposits lie primarily on the BDMV side of the property, and secondarily

on the Rossi property. Barrick entered into the Rossi Joint Venture in 1998 and acquired the

remainder in 2007. Extensive property-wide exploration had been carried out on both

properties since the discovery of the Dee deposit in 1981. These exploration activities included

several generations of drill testing, geologic mapping, geophysics, and geochemistry.

Barrick’s exploration activity since the inception of the BDMV and Rossi Joint Venture has

included:

• Re-evaluation and assembling pertinent data from both properties into a combined data

set.

• Property wide detailed geologic mapping at a scale of 1:2400.

• Geologic mapping of the Dee open pit at a scale of 1:1200.

• Geologic mapping at 1:600 and sampling of approximately 12,000 m of trenches.

• Geologic mapping at 1:1200 and sampling the Queen and Sagehen Barite open pits.

• Geologic mapping of the Dee and Storm underground workings at 1:240.

• Acquisition and evaluation of 210 line km of magnetotelluric and Induced Polarization (MT/IP) data (property wide survey) on lines spaced 300 m apart.

• Acquisition and evaluation of 140 line km of ground magnetics.

• Acquisition and evaluation of 27 line km of Controlled Source Audio-frequency y Magnetotelluric (CSAMT) data, a frequency-based electromagnetic sounding geophysical survey technique that uses a remote synchronous signal source.

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• Collection of 1,035 gravity stations on a 150 m x 150 m survey.

• Collection and analysis of more than 2,500 soil samples on various grid spacings.

• Completion of a 3D Vulcan/Geocad property wide geologic model.

• Reprocessing and detailed Geophysical analysis of property wide geophysical data.

• Detailed geochemical analysis of property wide geochemical data.

• More than 338,473 m of combined RC, mud rotary, sonic, and core drilling.

A description of the drilling programs is included in Section 10 Drilling.

PAST PRODUCTION Over 16 years, the Dee Mine produced approximately 605,000 ounces of gold from oxide ore.

Annual production from 1984 to 1999, when the Dee Mine was shut down, is shown in Table

6-1. From 2015 to 2017, the South Arturo mine has produced 365,955 ounces of gold as

summarized in Table 6-2.

TABLE 6-1 ANNUAL PRODUCTION FROM DEE MINE Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Year Mill

(oz) Heap Leach

(oz) Total Gold

(oz) 1984 6,388 0 6,388 1985 42,613 7,019 49,632 1986 43,351 7,682 51,033 1987 43,657 9,377 53,034 1988 43,698 6,090 49,788 1989 35,193 10,467 45,660 1990 37,035 11,029 48,064 1991 37,058 4,988 42,046 1992 29,900 8,918 38,818 1993 6,568 19,204 25,772 1994 9,093 16,541 25,634 1995 28,829 14,954 43,782 1996 28,829 9,789 38,618 1997 33,977 5,655 39,632 1998 25,070 3,453 28,523 1999 17,224 841 18,065 Total 468,482 136,006 604,488

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TABLE 6-2 ANNUAL PRODUCTION FROM SOUTH ARTURO MINE Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Year Mill

(oz) Roaster

(oz) Total Gold

(oz) 2015 0 0 0 2016 1,121 222,023 223,144 2017 0 142,811 142,811 Total 1,121 364,834 365,955

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7 GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND MINERALIZATION REGIONAL GEOLOGY The South Arturo Mine is located within the northern Carlin Trend in the Basin and Range

physiographic province in northeastern Nevada (Figure 7-1). Late Devonian-Mississippian

continental arc collision (Antler Orogeny) juxtaposed a siliceous deep-water assemblage over

the favorable shelf and slope facies carbonate assemblage. A sequence of compressional

and extensional tectonic events have transformed the district into large scale, north-northwest

trending folds, and northwest to northeast trending faults, which expose “windows” of the lower

plate rocks within the upper plate. The northern Carlin Trend is defined by a north-northwest

trending alignment of gold deposits in a series of these windows. The windows in the Carlin

Trend from south to north are the Carlin, Lynn, and Bootstrap. The South Arturo Mine is

located within the Bootstrap Window.

Igneous activity along the Carlin Trend has occurred periodically from the Jurassic through the

Tertiary with the emplacement of medium size diorite stocks, diorite, dacite, and lamprophyre

dikes and sills, and a very large deep-seated intrusion at Mary’s Mountain. A two mile wide

northwest trending lamprophyre dike swarm defines the overall axis of the Carlin Trend.

Regional Geology Legend

Gold Deposits

Cover

Undifferentiated Tertiary Volcanics

Hornfels

Jurassic Granodiorite

Devonian Popovich

Devonian Rodeo Creek

Silurian-Devonian Bootstrap

Silurian-Devonian Roberts Mtn.

Ordovician Hanson

Ordovician Eureka

Western Assemblage

Barrick/Dee Venture Property

Source: Barrick, 2018.March 2018


South MineArturo

Regional Geology


Figure 7-1

7-2

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LOCAL AND PROPERTY GEOLOGY In general, the South Arturo deposits are sediment- and intrusive-hosted gold and silver

deposits hosted mainly in silicified breccias. Oxide gold mineralization in the existing Dee pit

mine area is structurally controlled, dominantly paralleling the north-south striking Dee Fault

Zone. Gold was emplaced simultaneous to several pulses of silica alteration, which converted

mineralized wall rocks into massive silica or silica breccia. Enriched zones are found where

the Dee Fault Zone intersects northwest trending faults. Minor gold mineralization can be

traced along northwest, northeast, and east-west structures trending away from the Dee Fault

Zone.

The oldest formation known near the South Arturo Mine is the Ordovician Hanson Creek

dolomite, intersected in a deep drill hole west of the deposit. A 215 m thick section of the

Silurian-Devonian Roberts Mountains limestone occurs above the Hanson Creek dolomite.

There is a gradational contact between the Roberts Mountains Formation and the overlying

Silurian-Devonian Bootstrap limestone. The Bootstrap limestone is a grey, massive limestone

deposited in a reef margin environment. The thickness of the Bootstrap limestone ranges from

less than 60 m to more than 120 m along a north-northwest trend. West of the reef margin is

a full section of Devonian Popovich Formation slope-facies carbonates. East of the reef

margin, the Popovich carbonates thin to less than 30 m above the Bootstrap limestone. The

upper contact of the Popovich Formation grades conformably into the Devonian Rodeo Creek

siliceous argillite and mudstone sequence, which ranges in thickness from 60 m to 750 m north

of the Mine. The stratigraphic section west of the Mine is consistent with the type sections

described by Newmont Mining Corporation (Newmont) at Bootstrap/Capstone/Tara and with

the Popovich section described by Barrick at Rodeo/Goldstrike. The stratigraphic section east

of the Mine is consistent with the type section described by Barrick at Meikle (Barrick, 2009).

Upper plate rocks at the South Arturo Mine consist of a sequence of mudstone, argillite, and

bedded cherts of the Vinini, Elder, and Slaven Chert formations. The Tertiary Carlin Formation,

a sequence of tuffaceous sedimentary rocks and air-fall tuff, fills channels and depressions in

the Dee Mine area.

At least three generations of dikes occur at South Arturo. The most notable zone is a 2.5 km

wide northwest trending lamprophyre dike swarm that includes the Jurassic Arturo dike. Other,

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possibly Tertiary, intrusive rocks include a quartz-bearing biotite dacite dike in the Dee Fault

and an andesite dike along the northeast Flower structure.

North-south striking Basin and Range faulting is prominent throughout the deposit. The Dee

Fault Zone controls mineralization in the Dee area (Phase 1). Northeast and northwest striking

faults act as secondary controls on mineralization. The Hinge fault controls mineralization in

the Hinge zone; West Button Hill mineralization is coincident with mapped structures

encountered in the Phase 2 mining.

Legend:

Regional Geology

Barrick/Dee Venture Property Boundary

Arturo Pit OutlinePotential

Gold Mineralization

Faults

Cover

Undifferentiated Tertiary Volcanics

Jurassic Granodiorite

Devonian Popovich

Devonian Rodeo Creek

Silurian-Devonian Bootstrap

Silurian-Devonian Roberts Mtn.

Ordovician Hanson

Ordovician Eureka

Western Assemblage



South MineArturo

South Arturo Property Geology


Figure 7-2

7-5

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MINERALIZATION The South Arturo gold-silver deposits can be divided into five mineralized areas. These areas

are the South Arturo, West Button Hill, Southwest Dee pit, Deep North, and Hinge. The

majority of these deposits are classified as “Meikle Type” breccia-hosted Carlin-type deposits.

A complex set of breccias occur at the upper contact of the Bootstrap limestone. These

breccias can be generalized into four basic types: silicified heterolithic breccias, silica-sulphide

breccia, dolomite breccia, and cavity-fill breccia. The oldest breccias are the silicified

heterolithic breccias and the dolomite breccias which have been crosscut and replaced by

mineralized silica-sulphide breccias. The youngest breccias are the post mineral cavity-fill

breccias.

While mineralization is widespread throughout the South Arturo Mine area, localized high-

grade gold mineralization drives the economics and mine locations.

SOUTH ARTURO The northern extent of South Arturo mineralization lies approximately 60 m southeast of the

Dee pit and under 180 m of waste rock. An overall north-south orientation to mineralization is

inferred from the grade thickness contours, which define an area 520 m in a north-south

direction by 100 m to 115 m wide in an east-west direction. The mineralization and Tertiary

contact dip 15° to 20° to the south. Drilling has shown that rocks are oxidized to a depth of up

to 600 m. Paleozoic rocks host the mineralization mainly in multi-stage, multi-lithic breccias

with gold values ranging from 0.2 g/t Au to more than 35 g/t Au with an average grade of

approximately 2.0 g/t Au. These breccias are commonly formed by karsting or dissolution of

carbonate rock and subsequent collapse and cavity fill. In general, decalcification is followed

by weak to strong silicification with local argillization. Silver to gold ratios are generally 1:1 at

grades of greater than 2.06 g/t Au but increase to 5:1 at lower gold grade values.

DEE DEEP NORTH Dee Deep North is a north-northeast trending pod of mineralization that plunges slightly north

and is approximately 180 m long, 45 m wide, and 45 m thick. The majority of high-grade

refractory mineralization is in silica-sulphide breccia within a flat to west-dipping silicified, multi-

lithic breccia body above the Bootstrap limestone between 1,494 MASL and 1,554 MASL. The

principal controls are the north-northeast trending high angle EB fault and southwest dipping

low angle structures.

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SOUTHWEST DEE The Southwest Dee pit mineralization is along the north-northeast trending, west dipping Dee

Fault Zone. The mineralization is carbonaceous, partially oxidized, variably silicified

mudstone/ siltstone breccia approximately 100 m in a north-south strike length, 30 m wide, and

45 m in thickness. The mineralization sits between 1,494 MASL and 1,554 MASL, with a small

portion exposed along the southwest high wall at the bottom of the Dee pit.

WEST BUTTON HILL The West Button Hill mineralization trends north-northeast for over 600 m in strike length, in

pods that vary up to 120 m wide and 15 m thick. The majority of high-grade refractory

mineralization is in the lower Rodeo Creek Formation and multi-lithic breccias above the

Bootstrap limestone. The principal controls are the north-northeast and north-south trending

high angle structures and favorable host rocks. The mineralization has been shown to extend

375 m below pre-mining surface elevation, as it is offset on the northeast striking, down-to-the-

east Tara West Fault.

HINGE The Hinge zone is a north-south striking zone that lies between the Arturo zone to the south

west and West Button Hill to the northeast and is due east relative to the existing Dee pit. It is

approximately 425 m long and up to approximately 90 m wide, lying between elevations of

1,450 MASL and 1,600 MASL at depths from 100 m to 270 m below surface. Mineralization is

hosted in the lower portion of the Rodeo Creek Formation and silicified breccias of the Basal

Rodeo Creek and Popovich Upper Muds units. Breccia bodies drape the Bootstrap limestone.

Mineralization in the Hinge zone is controlled by the Hinge fault, a steeply east dipping north-

south structure that appears to be a northerly extension of faults in Newmont’s Bootstrap pit to

the south. Intersecting faults that influence mineralization have not been clearly identified.

Much of the mineralization is partially to completely oxidized, even in the more deeply buried

zones.

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8 DEPOSIT TYPES The South Arturo Mine is located in the northern end of the Carlin Trend, a 60 km long north-

northwest alignment of sedimentary rock-hosted gold deposits. These deposits are generally

known as Carlin-type deposits named after the Carlin deposit. More than 50 million ounces of

gold have been mined from the Carlin Trend since 1980. Characteristically, the gold

mineralization in Carlin-type gold deposits is dispersed, micron-sized, and found commonly on

the rims of pyrite grains in predominately carbonate-bearing host rocks. Decalcification,

silicification, and dolomitization are the most dominant alteration features. Generally, there is

negligible base metal content, low silver to gold ratios, and a geochemical enrichment in

arsenic, antimony, and mercury.

Carlin-type gold deposits represent a spectrum of deposit types including the classic

stratigraphic hosted deposit end member, collapse breccia hosted deposit end member, and

structurally controlled deposit end member. Most, if not all, of these deposit types contain

individual components of the end members. Most of the South Arturo gold mineralization is

considered to be of the breccia hosted Carlin-type with structural controls, similar to Barrick’s

Meikle deposit located approximately 6.5 km to the southeast.

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9 EXPLORATION Premier has not conducted exploration at South Arturo. Exploration conducted by Barrick and

previous owners is summarized in Section 6 History and Section 10 Drilling.

GEOCHEMISTRY From 2015 to 2017, a soil sampling program for geochemical analysis was conducted within

the BDMV property and is shown in Figure 9-1. The purpose of the soil sampling program was

to identify sources of gold mineralization beyond the current limits of known mineralization.

EXPLORATION POTENTIAL In addition to the Mineral Resources described in Section 14, the South Arturo property hosts

additional mineralization that is not economically extractable at the current gold price,

operating cost, and metallurgical recovery. There is potential to increase the Mineral

Resources if these conditions improve.

Drill: Rec BottleLegend

March 2018 Source: Barrick, 201 .8


South MineArturo

Soil Samples from 2015-2017


Figure 9-1

NAD27 UTM Zone 11N

0

0

2000 Metres1000

2,000 4,000 6,000 Feet

9-2

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Arturo Pit OutlineBarrick/Dee Venture Property BoundarySampling Locations

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10 DRILLING Barrick, Glamis (Dee Gold), and Meridian completed most of the exploration and development

drilling for gold in the South Arturo Mine area, with the most recent drilling conducted by

Barrick. Data from these drilling programs is stored in the South Arturo Mine database that is

maintained by Barrick. The database contains 3,713 drill holes with an aggregate length of

621,900 m in the Project area. Table 10-1 summarizes drilling activity by company and by

drilling method.

TABLE 10-1 DRILLING SUMMARY Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Project

Company Holes RC (m) Core (m) Rotary/

Other (m) Total (m) Barrick 1,557 234,519 102,471 1,482 338,473 Glamis/Dee 1,754 98,534 4,130 64,321 166,985 Haliburton 29 3,566 1,377 - 4,943 Meridian/Rossi 364 78,801 11,175 12,137 102,113 Trio Gold 9 - 9,386 - 9,386 Total 3,713 415,420 128,539 77,940 621,900

Of the approximate 621,900 m drilled, approximately 21% was core, 67% was RC holes, and

12% was rotary/other drilling. Overall, 96% of the holes within the potential pit had downhole

surveys conducted. Drill spacing varies throughout the Mine area with drilling density

increasing in mineralized zones. Drill spacing in the Dee Deep North area can be found as

close as 15 m, while the nominal drill spacing within the South Arturo area is approximately 30

m to 50 m.

The drill hole database used to create the model originates from an acQuire database

maintained by the onsite Barrick Geology group. This acQuire database contains holes for the

entire district, including areas outside the South Arturo block model area. Approximately 3,266

valid drill holes, within or immediately adjacent to the South Arturo block model area, were

extracted from this database for use in the mineral resource estimation. Figure 10-1 shows

the location of these drill holes. Figure 10-2 shows drill holes completed during 2013 to 2017

that were added to the Mineral Resource database.

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The acQuire database contains ten tables and associated fields and they are as follows:

Collar Fields: HOLEID, NORTH, EAST, ELEV, TD

Survey Fields: DEPTH, AZM, DIP

Assay Fields: FROM, TO, AUOPT, AUCAP, AGOPT, AGCAP, AUCN, AGCN, AURAT, AGRAT, FLAG1, PIT, TYPE, MISC1, SAMPID, AUIND, MAUIND, AUIN2, MAUIN2, , DOMAIN, SUBDOM, FORM, REDOX

Lithology Fields: FROM, TO, LITH, PROTO

Stratigraphy Fields: FROM, TO, FORM, UNIT, SBUNIT

ALTER1 Fields: FROM, TO, SIL, SIL2, ARG, CO3_LG, CCI, FEOX, REDOX, BRNZPY, BRSSPY

ALTER2 Fields: FROM, TO, QTZ, CCV, PYV

MET Fields: FROM, TO, ANP, BLCH, TPR, AS, HG

LECO Fields: SAMPID, FROM, TO, CO3, S2, TS, TC, TCM, ANP, APP, NCV

RMR Fields: FROM, TO, RQD, RMR, Q, METHOD, FF

Collars in or drill hole partially in the JV boundary

Collars outside the JV boundary

JV Boundary

Contour Lines (5ft interval)

Legend:

0 4000

Feet

1000 2000 3000

N

Figure -10 1


Drill Hole Collar Location


South MineArturoElko County State of Nevada, U.S.A.,

1-3

0

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

2013 within the JV boundaryCollars





JV boundary

Contour Lines (50ft interval)

Legend:

0 4000

Feet

1000 2000 3000

Figure -10 2


2013 to 2017 Drill HoleLocation Map



N

1-4

0

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

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SAMPLING METHOD AND APPROACH The following description of sampling methods of the various drill campaigns is taken largely

from Barrick’s internal procedures. The sample preparation, analyses, and security are

appropriate for the style of mineralization and for mineral resource estimation.

BARRICK DRILLING SURFACE REVERSE CIRCULATION DRILLING

1. Samples are collected from 1.5 m (5 ft) intervals in a five-gallon bucket placed below the rotating wet splitter. The bucket is replaced with a clean bucket after each sample.

2. Samples are thoroughly mixed. A small representative sample is taken for inclusion in

a chip box for geologic logging.

3. Remaining contents of the sample (approximately 7 lb to 10 lb) are poured into a 10 in. by 17 in. pre-numbered sample bag. Sample numbers are pre-assigned.

4. From 1999 to 2003, non-certified standards were inserted every 61 m (200 ft) into the

sample stream. From 2004 onward, certified standards (CRMs) and blanks purchased from reputable CRM vendors, along with a field duplicate sample, are inserted randomly within every 30 samples in the sample stream.

5. Samples are delivered to a third party assay laboratory by a Barrick employee at the

completion of each hole.

6. The utmost care is taken to ensure clean, non-contaminated sampling at the drill rig. Holes are blown out every 6.1 m (20 ft, rod change) until discharge is clear and the rotating wet splitter is sprayed clean.

7. All collars are surveyed, and all holes are downhole surveyed to measure deviation.

8. Holes are logged according to a convention developed by Barrick. The Header

included Drill Hole ID, Collar Information, Azimuth and Dip, Date Drilled, Contractor, and Logger. The body of the Log included Footage Intervals, Colour, Codes for Intensity of Alteration and Veining, Fault Codes, Metallurgical Codes, Formation Codes, Lithology Codes, Graphic Logs for Lithology and Structure, and Lithologic Description.

SURFACE AND UNDERGROUND DIAMOND (CORE) DRILLING

1. Core is usually drilled at HQ size, although occasionally increases to PQ or reductions to NQ are necessary.

2. Core is placed in labelled boxes at the drill site; boxes are transported to logging facility.

3. Core is subsequently washed and photographed.

4. Sampling/assay intervals are assigned every 1.5 m (5 ft), with geologic boundaries

taken into account.

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5. Sampling numbers are assigned to intervals. From 1999 to 2003, non-certified standards were inserted into the sampling stream approximately every 61 m (200 ft). From 2004 onward, certified standards and blanks purchased from reputable CRM vendors as well as a half core field duplicate are inserted into the sampling stream.

6. Holes are logged according to Barrick convention. Header information included Hole

ID, Coordinate Information, Bearing and Dip, Logger, Total Depth, and Contractor. The Body of the Log included Depth, Intervals, Assays, Codes for Intensity of Alteration, Codes for Veins, Formation Codes, Protolith Codes, Metallurgical Codes, Lithology Codes, Graphic Logs for Structure, Lithology, Core Photos, Colour, Percent Recovery, and Percent RQD.

7. Core is photographed by digital camera in natural light.

8. Samples are sawn in half at Barrick Goldstrike. One half of each sample is put in a 10

in. by 17 in. sample bag and the other half is put back in the core box in its original orientation. Samples are delivered to the assay laboratory by a Barrick employee, while the remaining core is stored at the GSOP Core Laydown facilities.

9. All drill hole collars are surveyed. Downhole surveys are completed for all surface

holes. Maxibore downhole surveys are completed for underground holes in excess of 91.4 m (300 ft) in depth.

SURFACE SONIC (CORE) DRILLING

1. Sonic drilling is completed utilizing a seven inch core barrel.

2. The drilled material is bagged in clear heavy plastic tubes as 0.61 m (2 ft) intervals and zip tied on both ends. The sample ID and footage is recorded in permanent marker for each interval.

3. Each hole is laid out at the drill location in sequential order to verify sample IDs and

length.

4. Samples from the laid-out hole are picked up by a Barrick representative and transported to the Goldstrike core shed where they are verified and put into bins. The pre-assigned standards (CDN Resource Labs) are included with the bagged samples.

5. Sampling/assay composites are based on 1.22 m (4 ft) and 1.83 m (6 ft) intervals due

to the size of the sample (0.61 m, or 2 ft).

6. Due to the need for compositing of the material, blanks and standards are inserted every four to eight composites.

7. Samples are sent to ALS for compositing and assay.

SURFACE SOIL/ROCKCHIP/TRENCH SAMPLING

1. Surface sample points are designated on a grid pattern (soils) or as areas of geologic interest (alteration, lithological, etc.)

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2. The sample location is recorded with a handheld GPS unit and given an ID related to the unique card recorded in the field. All descriptions are also recorded on the same card.

3. Samples are chipped/scraped into bags and labeled with the unique ID from the

sample cards. The samples are then transported to the Goldstrike lab by a Barrick representative, sorted and put into transport bins.

4. Standards and blanks (purchased from Shea-Clark Smith and CDN Resource

Laboratory) are inserted every 25 to 30 samples and stored with the samples for shipment.

5. The cards are catalogued in the office and recorded in a single Excel file for each

program.

6. The Excel files are sent electronically to the Exploration office for review and sample analysis dispatching.

7. All samples are picked up by ALS and processed (Prep-31) and assayed (ME-

MS61m).

8. Any mappable surfaces (trenches and outcrops) are digitized utilizing AutoCAD with the unique sample ID and georeference.

UNDERGROUND REVERSE CIRCULATION DRILLING The same procedures are followed as those described for surface RC drilling, however, the

holes are smaller diameter and samples are taken on five-foot intervals.

MERIDIAN DRILLING All of the drill holes completed by Meridian were collared at the surface and consisted primarily

of RC and minor conventional mud rotary (less than 3% of drill holes) drilling with some HQ

core in areas with suspected ore zones.

REVERSE CIRCULATION DRILLING

1. Samples were collected from five-foot intervals in a five-gallon bucket placed below the rotating wet splitter. The bucket was replaced with a clean bucket after each sample.

2. The sample was thoroughly mixed. A small representative sample was taken from the mix for inclusion into a chip box for geologic logging.

3. Remaining contents of the sample (5 lb to 7 lb) were poured into a 7.5 in. by 12 in. sample bag.

4. An additional bag was filled every tenth sample (every 15.2 m, or 50 ft), and often

through suspected ore zones, as a check sample.

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5. Sample bags were pre-numbered, with the first five characters of the sample number representing the hole number and the last three numbers, when multiplied by five, denoting the ending footage (e.g., RS150031 represented the sample from the drill footage of 45.7 m (150 ft) to 47.2 m (155 ft) from drill hole RS150).

6. Sample bags were placed on dry plywood. Samples were picked up by a laboratory representative at the completion of the drill hole.

7. The utmost care was taken to ensure clean non-contaminated samples at the drill rig. The hole was blown out every 6.2 m (20 ft; rod change) until discharge was clear. The rotary wet splitter was sprayed off thoroughly.

8. All drill hole collars were surveyed. Most holes (more than 95%) were surveyed by downhole survey companies using gyro methods for determination of deviation.

9. Drill cuttings were logged by Meridian geologists according to logs designed by Meridian. Header information includes Drilling Method, Location, Contractor, Driller, Rig, Hole Size, Start-Finish, Logger, Collar Coordinates, Sample Sequence, Mineralized Intervals, and Geologic Summary. The body of the log includes From-To (depth), Individual Sample Numbers, Assays, Graphic Logs of Alteration, Lithology, and Oxide/Sulfide, Comments, and Lithology and Intensity of Alteration and Mineralization Fields.

CONVENTIONAL MUD-ROTARY DRILLING

1. Samples were collected in an aluminum hopper below the shaker screen.

2. At conclusion of each 1.5 m (5 ft) drill interval, the shaker screen was rinsed into hopper and the contents split and diverted into a five-gallon bucket. Steps 3 through 9 were the same as those described for RC drilling.

DIAMOND (CORE) DRILLING

1. Core was usually drilled at HQ size, but some minor reductions to NQ were necessary.

2. Core was placed in labelled boxes at the drill site and the boxes were transported to the logging facility.

3. Core was washed.

4. Sampling/assay intervals were assigned according to geologic boundaries.

5. Sample numbers were sequential and continued from the end of the rotary pre-collar. The last three numbers do not denote drill footage.

6. Core was logged according to a convention developed by Meridian. The same Header information as that described for RC drilling was noted for the pre-collar. The body of the Log includes Run Interval, Percent Recovery, Percent RQD, Assays, Alteration Description, Graphic Logs of Alteration, Structure, Lithology, Oxidation, Sulfides, Description of Metallization/Geology, Lithology Codes, and Codes for Intensity of Alteration and Mineralogy.

7. Core photos were taken for each box with colour film under natural light.

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8. Mineralized or otherwise interesting core was sawn in half. The remaining core was split using a hydraulic splitter. One half of the core was returned to the core box in its original orientation, while the other was placed in a 10 in. by 17 in. cloth sample bag with an appropriate number. These samples were shipped to the assay laboratory. The remaining core was stored at the Meridian warehouse. Barrick took custody of this core in 2002.

GLAMIS/DEE MINING COMPANY DRILLING Dee drill holes were labelled with the letter” D”, then two numbers denoting year drilled and

three digits denoting the sequence of the hole drilled that year. For example, the third hole

drilled in 1997 would be labelled D97003 and the tenth hole drilled in 2000 would be labelled

D00010. Samples were labelled by drill hole and footage. Prior to 1999, RC holes were drilled

from surface with five-foot sampling intervals. In 1999 and 2000, underground RC drilling was

carried out. The same procedures were followed as in surface RC drilling, but the holes were

smaller diameter and samples were taken at six-foot intervals.

Sampling procedures for Dee drilling from 1992 through 2000 were similar to those used by

Barrick/Goldcorp at the Marigold mine (later operated by Silver Standard Resources Inc.). The

following is a brief summary of the Goldcorp procedures.

1. Prior to drilling, geological technicians labelled each bag with the hole number, sample footage, and the consecutive sample number. Duplicate samples were collected from each five-foot interval down the hole; for example, "MRA-1234, 0-5', 1". The smaller of these sample splits, nominally approximately 5 lb, was the "assay" sample, and the larger sample, approximately 10 lb, was the "bulk" sample.

2. When drilling dry, the drill cuttings passed through a riffle-type splitter and dropped into

a pan. Every five-foot sample in the pan was stirred thoroughly before being scooped with a grain scoop and placed in the bags. After each pair of samples was collected, the sampler placed a second pan in the splitter for collection of the next samples and blew out the pan just used with high pressure air to be ready for the following sample.

3. When drilling wet, in areas of groundwater or broken ground where water injection was

necessary, a hydraulically driven rotary cone wet-type splitter was used in place of the dry splitter. The retained split of the sample dropped into a 12-gal heavy rubber feed bucket, where it was stirred and bagged as described in (2). A second tub was placed in the sample stream and the one used for the previous sample was washed with water.

4. A small split of every 1.2 m (5 ft) of cuttings was washed in a sieve and placed into 20-

compartment hinged plastic chip-trays.

5. All reasonable efforts were made to minimize wet drilling but, in most cases, it was necessary in order to collect a suitable volume of sample.

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6. Samples were taken to the drilling field office trailers and “blind” samples were inserted into the drill string as described below. The bulk bags were hauled to a nearby "bag dump" and lined up on the ground in order by sample and hole number.

7. Blind-Sample Program:

o Approximately 2% to 5% of “blind” samples were inserted. The purpose of the

procedure was to check for possible laboratory sequence errors.

o The technician arbitrarily selected two to five samples per 100 in the assay string to be substituted with blind material. The original assay sample was transferred from the original bag into a new bag labelled with the hole number and identifier, such as B-1, B-2, B-3, etc. The original bag was refilled with “blind” material. To better resemble drill cuttings, this “blind” material is a truckload of low-grade material that was ran through a crusher.

o The blinds and their associated samples were assayed in one job. If the “blind”

values did not occur in proper sequence, the laboratory either reassayed the pulps for the range of samples in question or re-prepped and assayed the samples from the bulk bags.

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11 SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSES, AND SECURITY In RPA’s opinion, the sample preparation, analysis, security, and Quality Assurance/Quality

Control (QA/QC) procedures at the South Arturo Mine are adequate for use in the estimation

of Mineral Resources.

SAMPLE PREPARATION AND ANALYSES In RPA’s opinion, the sample preparation, analysis, and security procedures at the Mine are

adequate for use in the estimation of Mineral Resources.

BARRICK SAMPLES The primary assay laboratories for the Mine are ALS Chemex Labs (ALS Chemex) and

American Assay Labs (American Assay) in Reno, Nevada. All ALS geochemical hub

laboratories are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025/2017 for specific analytical procedures.

American Assay is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory. Minor assay work, including check

assays, was performed at Inspectorate Labs (Inspectorate) in Reno, Nevada. The following is

the procedure used for Barrick’s sample preparation and assay.

1. Submittal form is filled out by the geologist/geotechnician and submitted with samples to the laboratory.

2. Samples are catalogued and checked against submittal sheet. Barrick geologists are

notified of any discrepancies.

3. The entire sample is weighed and then oven dried.

4. The entire sample is crushed to 75% passing 10 mesh.

5. 250 g of material is riffle split from the –10 mesh material and pulverized to 80% passing 200 mesh.

6. Pulps are assayed for gold using a 30 g aliquot by lead fire assay with an atomic

absorption spectrometry finish (FA-AAS) and for silver by AAS after an aqua regia digestion.

7. Samples with FA-AAS gold assays greater than 10 ppm (0.292 oz/st) Au are reassayed

by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Samples from 2013 to 2015 used a 7 ppm (0.204

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oz/st) Au threshold for gravimetric fire assay and samples from 2004 to 2013 used a 5 ppm (0.146 oz/st) Au threshold for gravimetric fire assay.

8. Pulps are returned to Barrick and stored at the Goldstrike core shed, lay down yard, or

connexes. Mineralized coarse rejects are returned or discarded after one year.

MERIDIAN SAMPLES Meridian used Chemex Labs in Sparks, Nevada (Chemex), for the majority of assays. Assay

checks were run by Bondar Clegg, Monitor, and Assayers laboratories. The following was the

procedure used by Chemex for Meridian’s sample preparation and assay.

1. Submittal form was filled out by the Meridian geologist and delivered with the samples to Chemex.

2. Samples were catalogued, and the entire sample was oven dried.

3. A riffle split was taken to obtain a 250 g sub-sample, which was pulverized using a

chrome-steel ring mill to greater than 90% passing 100 µm (150 mesh).

4. Standard fire assay methods using a 30 g pulp sample were utilized to determine total gold content. Samples assaying greater than or equal to 5.0 ppm Au using FA-AAS were reassayed (FA) with a gravimetric finish for accuracy.

5. Selected sample intervals were composited into five samples for multi-element

geochemistry using a 32-element standard inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) package.

6. Pulps and mineralized coarse rejects (greater than 1.0 ppm Au) were returned to

Meridian and stored at a warehouse in Sparks, Nevada. Barrick took possession of the pulps and remaining core samples in 2002.

DEE/GLAMIS SAMPLES Dee drill samples were assayed on the mine site at the Dee laboratory.

The analytical procedures used at the Dee laboratory were similar to those used by

Barrick/Goldcorp at the Marigold mine (now operated by Silver Standard Resources Inc.).

Since nearly all drilling at Marigold involves oxidized rocks, the standard exploration sample

procedure was to analyze visibly oxidized rocks using the atomic absorption (AA) method first.

For samples where 0.14 g/t (0.004 oz/st) Au or higher was reported, the samples were fire

assayed (FA). Moreover, if the rock in the sample during sample prep was grey or black,

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samples are initially fire assayed. If anomalous values appeared in the results, the samples

were analyzed by AA.

SAMPLE SECURITY

BARRICK SAMPLES RC drilling samples and half core samples are delivered to the ALS assay laboratory by a

Barrick employee or picked up by ALS personnel. Half core samples are picked up at the

Goldstrike core shed at the completion of sawing.

MERIDIAN SAMPLES RC drilling samples were picked up at the completion of drilling by the laboratory and core

samples were delivered to the laboratory by Meridian geologists.

DEE/GLAMIS SAMPLES No documentation was available describing sample security for the Dee/Glamis samples.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL The following description of QA/QC is taken largely from Barrick’s internal procedures and

supplemented by discussions and data collected during the March 2018 site visit by RPA.

BARRICK SAMPLES The QA/QC system employed by Barrick at South Arturo includes the insertion of standard

samples, blank samples, and duplicate samples into the sample stream. From 1999 to 2003,

non-certified standard and blank material was inserted approximately every 40 samples. Since

2004, certified standards, blanks, and field duplicates have randomly been inserted into the

sample stream. Assay results are electronically e-mailed from the assay laboratory to Barrick

Goldstrike office. Upon passing a QA/QC protocol, the results are downloaded into Barrick’s

assay database. Check analyses are done on pulps and/or rejects at American Assay in Reno,

Inspectorate in Reno, and ALS Chemex in Reno and Vancouver.

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RPA reviewed the results of the 2013-2014 and 2014-2017 QA/QC programs. During the 2013-

2014 drilling campaign, 14,241 samples were received by the laboratory including 1,237

(8.7%) QA/QC samples as summarized in Table 11-1.

TABLE 11-1 DRILLING QA/QC SAMPLING SUMMARY – 2013-2014 Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Sample Type Nominal Frequency

Action Limits

Source Total Failures

Blanks 1:50 0.06 g/t Au Barren Drill Core Rejects

269 1

Standards – Au 1:50 2 SD Rocklabs or CDN Resource Laboratory

294 10

Duplicates 1:20 Varies by grade range

RC & Lab Duplicates

674 31

During the 2014-2017 drilling campaign, 17,970 samples were received by the laboratory

including 1,853 (10.3%) QA/QC samples as summarized in Table 11-2.

TABLE 11-2 DRILLING QA/QC SAMPLING SUMMARY –2014-2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Sample Type Nominal Frequency

Action Limits

Source Total Failures

Blanks 01:30 0.06 g/t Au Barren Drill Core Rejects

480 38

Standards – Au 01:30 2 SD Rocklabs or CDN Resource Laboratory

836 33

Duplicates 01:30 Varies by grade range

RC & Lab Duplicates

537 58

STANDARD SAMPLES Certified Reference Standard (CRM) samples are purchased from Rocklabs, CDN Resource

Laboratories Ltd., ALS or Shea-Clark-Smith as pulps that were assayed in a round robin of 12

to 28 laboratories or made from bulk samples sent from Barrick’s Nevada operations to CDN

Resource Laboratories Ltd. to make reference material after a 14 laboratory round robin. The

average value and its standard deviation (SD) for the round robins are certified for gold. The

variation from the standard’s mean value in standard deviations defines the QA/QC variance

and is used to determine acceptability of the standard sample assay. Approximately 150 g of

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sample material is submitted per QA/QC sample. The database administrator maintains

documents for these samples. The criteria for pass or failure are as follows.

• Assay value <certified mean ±2 SD → Pass

• Assay value ≥ mean ±2 SD and ≤mean ±3 SD → Warning or Failure

• Assay value > mean ±3 SD → Failure

A failure is declared when the same standard exceeds two consecutive ±2 SD warnings or

when an individual result exceeds ±3 SD from the expected result.

The geologist in charge is notified when a standard failure occurs. The geologist then

determines if the failure can be accepted or if the laboratory needs to re-run the failing batch.

The standard reference samples used for Barrick’s 2013-2017 drilling campaigns are

summarized in Table 11-3.

TABLE 11-3 STANDARD REFERENCE SAMPLES Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Sample Number Expected Value (g/t Au) Standard Deviation (g/t Au)

BCH-DR-01 ~1.14 ~0.045 BCH-DR-02 7.76 0.21 BCH-DR-03 15.58 0.46 BCH-OX-01 0.214 0.01 BCH-OX-02 0.338 0.011 BCH-OX-03 2.26 0.095 BCH-OX-04 6.45 0.165 BCH-OX-06 0.283 0.014 BCH-SR-02 4.26 0.11 BCH-SR-03 15.98 0.355 BCH-SR-05 2.08 0.05 BCH-SR-06 4.13 0.11 CDN-CGS-13 1.01 0.055 SJ80 2.656 0.057 SK78 4.134 0.138 SP73 18.17 0.42

During the 2013-2014 drill campaign, Barrick inserted 294 standard reference samples,

approximately 2% of the total 14,241 samples submitted. Six failures were reported. During

the 2014 to 2017 drill campaign, Barrick inserted 836 standard reference samples,

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approximately 4.7% of the total 17,970 samples submitted. Thirty-three failures were reported

and remediated.

BLANK SAMPLES Blank QA/QC samples are used to assess the level of analytical “background noise” and to

identify “smearing” or sample carryover in subsequent samples caused by improper sample

preparation techniques and lack of equipment cleaning. Blanks are prepared from barren drill

hole reject cuttings of various colours and are submitted as one kilogram pulps. The blanks

contain no detectable gold (<0.005 ppm Au). They are assigned to the sample stream series

using a prescribed number of samples according to the anticipated mineralized intervals.

A warning occurs when a blank returns an assay in the range of 0.03 g/t Au to 0.06 g/t Au. A

failure is declared when a blank returns an assay greater than 0.06 g/t Au. Special attention

is paid to blanks inserted within or following mineralized samples.

The geologist in charge is notified when a blank failure occurs. The geologist then determines

if the failure can be ignored or if the laboratory needs to re-run the failing batch.

During the 2013 to 2014 drill campaign, 294 blank samples were inserted, approximately 2%,

and ten failures were recorded. During the 2014-2017 drill campaign, 480 blank samples were

inserted, approximately 2.7%, and 38 failures were recorded and remediated.

DUPLICATE SAMPLES Duplicate or check samples are used primarily to identify problems with field sampling

procedures. A prescribed number of samples are allocated according to the anticipated

mineralized intervals. The RC drill crew collects duplicate samples in a five-gallon bucket with

splitter baffles adjusted to allow for adequate sample collection. The sample is homogenized

and then split in two equal, approximately three kilogram portions and placed in the assigned

sample bags.

The assay results of the duplicates are analyzed by preparing relative difference plots that

compare the difference of grade of the pairs to the mean grade of the pairs.

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While there is no procedure in place now to flag problem holes, drill holes that have a large

assay discrepancy (e.g., 0.5 g/t Au to 2.0 g/t Au) and no other problems are flagged for metallic

screen assays, while problem sample intervals with larger discrepancies are re-assayed.

During the 2014 to 2017 drill campaign, Barrick inserted 537 field duplicate samples,

approximately 3.0% of the total 17,970 samples submitted.

MERIDIAN SAMPLES No certified standards and blanks were used. Field duplicate samples were taken every 10th

sample at the rotary drill, mud rotary drill, or RC drill and submitted for analyses. No field

duplicate core samples were taken.

DEE/GLAMIS SAMPLES Approximately 5% to 10% of the samples were selected for re-assaying to check initial results,

usually while drilling was slow or inactive during the winter, however, for holes with significant

mineralization the check assaying was expedited. Samples for this procedure include a

combination of original assay pulps and ''bulk bag" samples. Generally, samples originally sent

through the Glamis laboratory were sent to off-site commercial laboratories, and samples

originally run off-site were run through the on-site assay laboratory. The blind sample

procedure was also employed for the checks.

The Glamis internal laboratory also participated in a round-robin assay checking arrangement

with several other commercial and mine laboratories, assaying known standard grade material

and comparing results. They routinely inserted known, low-level control samples at every

fifteenth sample in the AA string. Approximately 50 randomly chosen blast hole samples were

re-assayed by AA and FA each month and checked for reproducibility as internal checks.

TWINNED HOLE DATA Two holes closely spaced together (twinned holes) can be used to examine the difference

between two drilling types. Within the Mine bounds, several twinned hole pairs can be found

and examined. The twinned holes of interest are listed in Table 11-4. For a select set of

twinned holes, gold grades were visually compared from relatively close spaced core and RC

type exploration holes (Figure 11-1).

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TABLE 11-4 TWINNED HOLES OF INTEREST Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Core Hole RC Hole BD-283CW BD-283 BD-284CW BD-284 BD-285CW BD-285 BD-052CW BD-052

FIGURE 11-1 RC VS. CORE TWINNED HOLE COMPARISONS

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12 DATA VERIFICATION RPA reviewed all available reports and interviewed the relevant personnel on site to verify data

collection procedures, QA/QC, and data analyses, and is of the opinion that database

verification procedures for the Mine comply with industry standards and are adequate for the

purposes of Mineral Resource estimation. RPA did not collect independent samples, as the

historical production of gold is considered sufficient demonstration of the presence of economic

mineralization.

The following description of previous data verification is taken largely from internal Barrick

procedures. In RPA’s opinion, the data verification undertaken by the current and previous

owners was adequate for inclusion in this Technical Report.

BARRICK SAMPLES Lynda Bloom, a consultant with Analytical Solutions Ltd., reviewed Barrick’s Storm Resource

Area assay quality control program and results for 1999 through 2004. No evidence of serious

issues with accuracy, bias, or analytical procedures were noted (Bloom, 2005).

In 2018, Todd Wakefield of Mine Technical Services Ltd. (MTS) reviewed the assay quality

control results for all South Arturo control samples submitted from April 7, 2014 to March 5,

2018. MTS found that most of the blank failures are related to blank BL-46 that was introduced

as a blank in July 2015. MTS recommends that the Mine source blank material from a

reputable SRM provider or source blank material locally after sufficient testing to ensure the

material will assist the Mine to adequately control carryover contamination in the sample

preparation process.

Standard and blank failures are remediated on a batch basis by Barrick, therefore all assay

batches have been approved by the project geologist and are considered acceptable for use

in resource estimation.

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MERIDIAN SAMPLES Meridian holes were assayed at Chemex in Sparks, Nevada. Meridian transmitted Barrick

assay results digitally and they were loaded into Barrick’s assay database. Original hard copies

of the assay results from the laboratory are available for most of the holes. Both Chemex and

Monitor commonly ran in-house checks. Chemex results for four holes (RS-107, RS-108, RS-

123, RS-125), all drilled in 1996, had every tenth sample sent to Bondar-Clegg for check

analyses. The results showed overall good correlation.

DEE/GLAMIS SAMPLES The 1992 through 2000 Dee drill samples were usually assayed at the Dee Mine laboratory.

Dee Mine transferred the assay results to Barrick digitally and they were loaded into Barrick’s

assay database. They are in binders in the Barrick open pit office, with Dee drill logs and hard

copies of the original Dee assay laboratory results. The Dee laboratory commonly ran in- house

QA/QC as well as outside laboratory check assays. The QA/QC results are not available.

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13 MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING Background information on mineral processing and metallurgical testing for the South Arturo

Mine was assembled from several sources:

• Barrick-Dee Mining Venture, South Arturo Project Feasibility Study or 2012 Feasibility Study (Barrick, 2012);

• Report on Arturo metallurgical re-assaying (Porter, 2013); and

• Presentation on sample pull for metallurgical assays (Barrick, 2014).

Ore samples from the South Arturo deposit were tested using gold processing technologies,

such as heap leaching, oxide milling, and roasting. The ore from the South Arturo deposit can

be categorized into four distinct types based on gold grade, sulphide grade, and expected

recovery. AMTEL Ltd. (AMTEL) completed a mineralogical study of the gold deportment in

2007. McClelland Labs Inc. (McClelland) in Sparks, Nevada, performed column leach tests to

estimate the heap leaching performance, and Barrick’s Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab performed

carbon-in-leach (CIL) and roaster/CIL tests to estimate the CIL and roaster/CIL recovery for

the South Arturo deposit.

A new drilling program completed in 2017 for the South Arturo and North Deep/Dee areas

generated additional drill core for metallurgical testing. Mined ore from the West Button Hill

area was processed in the Roaster at Goldstrike, and tests were also conducted on monthly

composites of this material.

METALLURGICAL SAMPLES Gold recovery via cyanide leaching processes, i.e., heap leaching or CIL, is commonly a

function of cyanide solubility of the gold. Gold assaying using cyanide solubility assays (AA)

and fire assay (FA) methods are performed on drill core intervals. From these assays, the

cyanide solubility ratio (AA/FA) is used to estimate gold recovery for all ore samples. In the

case of the South Arturo Mine, gold recovery via cyanide leaching appears to be a function of

both the cyanide solubility ratio and the amount of silica contained in the samples based on

data generated from early metallurgical testing. The roaster recovery has been previously

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shown to be a function of only the silica concentration. However, Bench-Top Roasting Tests

(BTR) on monthly composites from West Button Hill ore has not shown a strong correlation

between gold recovery and silica, but the recovery continues to be a function of the head

grade.

The samples used for the column leaching tests were HQ (6.25 cm diameter) half core

uncrushed samples in 2006, and PQ (8.25 cm diameter) samples crushed to less than 3.13

cm in 2007. The column leaching tests were conducted by McClelland in Sparks, Nevada

(Barrick, 2012). The samples for the CIL/roaster tests were crushed reject material from the

assay laboratory. Bottle roll tests to assess oxide mill grade and roaster ore characterization

were conducted at the Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab. The samples for both test programs were

selected on the basis of location (Figures 13-1 and 13-2) in relation to the previous pit design

(Barrick, 2012), oxidation state, and degree of silicification. Table 13-1 shows the sample

distributions that were used for the testing programs as compared to the proportion of

contained gold in each of the classifications. Bond Work Index (BWI) tests were also

performed on a number of the samples tested at the Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab.

TABLE 13-1 METALLURGICAL SAMPLE DISTRIBUTION

Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Location Oxidation State Degree of Silicification

South Arturo

Deep North

West Button

Hill Oxide Non-oxide Carbon

None Code 0

Weak Code 1

Moderate Code 2

Strong Code 3

Heap Leach Column Tests Gold ounces, % 33 67 --- 86 14 --- 28 13 24 35 Column Tests 12 12 --- 18 6 --- 5 3 4 12 CIL and Roaster Tests Gold ounces, % 37 36 28 55 29 16 16 18 28 38 Bottle Roll Tests 25 16 21 27 26 9 12 11 17 22

The oxidation state refers to whether the sample is classified as oxide or non-oxide and the

degree of silicification refers to the potential for quartz encapsulation/attachment as signified

by the silica code (0 = none, 1 = weak, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong). As shown in Table 13-1, no

column tests were completed using samples from West Button Hill and the ratios of the

numbers of tests performed on each of the classifications of material shown in the table do not

necessarily correspond to the proportion of gold ounces that correspond to the same

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classifications. This observation implies that the samples are not necessarily representative

of the ore that will be processed over the life of the mine.

Additional CIL bottle roll tests were performed during active Dee operations. The sources of

the samples were varied and were restricted to known resources on the north end of the

deposit (Figure 13-3). The tests were conducted at a grind target of 80% passing 400 mesh.

Additional sample analysis was conducted in 2013 and 2014. Some 39 composite pulp

samples from previous 32 RC and diamond drill holes were re-analyzed and good correlation

between old and new assays were observed (Porter, 2013). In early 2014, the number of

LECO/metallurgical assays were increased for waste characterization and mineralogical study.

Additional metallurgical tests were performed on both drill core and plant composite samples

in 2016 and 2017. Figure 13-4 illustrates the sources of these samples. The 2017 drilling

program for the South Arturo and the Deep North/Dee areas generated core for bottle roll,

column, and BTR tests. Mining and processing of the West Button Hill ore in 2016 through

2017 generated monthly composites for BTR tests. Table 13-2 below shows the number of

metallurgical tests performed on the samples from each of the defined areas.

TABLE 13-2 NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL METALLURGICAL TESTS IN 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Test ID Deep North South Arturo West Button Hill

Bottle Rolls 30 30 0 Leach 6 mesh 25 22 0 Column Tests 5 8 0

BTR 0 6 17

All of the tests above were conducted at the Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab with the exception of

the column leach tests. The column leach tests are being performed at McClelland in Sparks,

Nevada. All column and BTR tests (for South Arturo) are in progress at the time of this report

update.

< 0.500

Drill: Rec Column

0.600 - 0.700

0.500 - 0.600

0.700 - 0.800

0.800 - 0.900

> 0.900

March 2018


South MineArturo

Sample Distribution forColumn Leach Tests


Figure 13-1

13-4

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Source: Barrick, 201 .2

< 0.500

Drill: Rec Bottle

0.600 - 0.700

0.500 - 0.600

0.700 - 0.800

0.800 - 0.900

> 0.900

< 0.500

Drill: Rec Bottle

0.600 - 0.700

0.500 - 0.600

0.700 - 0.800

0.800 - 0.900

> 0.900

March 2018


South MineArturo

Sample Distribution forCIL and Roaster Tests


Figure 13-2

13-5

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Source: Barrick, 201 .2

< 0.500

Drill: Rec Bottle

0.600 - 0.700

0.500 - 0.600

0.700 - 0.800

0.800 - 0.900

> 0.900

< 0.500

Drill: Rec Bottle

0.600 - 0.700

0.500 - 0.600

0.700 - 0.800

0.800 - 0.900

> 0.900

March 2018 Source: Barrick, 201 .2


South MineArturo

Sample Distribution forDee Bottle Roll Tests


Figure 13-3

13-6

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1,000 feet

Figure -13 4


Additional MetallurgicalDrilling in 2017



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MINERALOGICAL STUDY AMTEL analyzed a sample from South Arturo in 2007. The grade was 11.5 g/t Au, with 0.68%

total sulphur and the cyanide solubility ratio of 0.78. The sample had two major rock

components, quartz (70%), and mica/clays (25%). AMTEL’s gold deportment study concluded

that native gold accounts for 90% of the total gold in the sample. At 80% passing 125 µm,

only 22% of the gold is liberated. The gold particles are predominantly small, averaging five

microns and ranging in size up to 36 µm.

Unliberated native gold, averaging two microns in size, is primarily associated with the host

rock while there is a minor association with pyrite (1%). Most of the unliberated gold (80%) is

partially exposed, while 20% is locked or enclosed in rock. The remaining 10% of the gold is

submicron gold which is mainly locked in pyrite.

Although the grade of the sample analyzed is significantly higher than the grades that will be

processed from South Arturo, the results appear to be consistent with the gold recovery results

seen in the metallurgical tests and historically experienced on the site. In order to confirm this

observation, RPA recommends that additional gold deportment analyses also be performed

on lower-grade samples. No additional mineralogical tests were performed in 2017.

COLUMN LEACH TESTS Twenty-four column leach tests were performed at McClelland during 2006 and 2007. The

data from the column leach tests showed that the gold recovery demonstrated a moderate

correlation to cyanide solubility and a strong negative correlation to the degree of silicification.

When a multiple regression using both cyanide solubility and silica were used to predict

recovery, a strong correlation was noted, as shown in Figure 13-5. It was also observed that

head grade did not produce a meaningful correlation with gold recovery.

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FIGURE 13-5 CRUSHED ORE HEAP LEACH GOLD RECOVERY DATA

The resulting multi-regression formula for crushed ore heap leaching, as reported in the 2012

Feasibility Study is:

Crush – Leach Gold Recovery = (0.801 x Cyanide Solubility Ratio) + (-0.142 x silica) + 0.204

One run-of-mine (ROM) bulk column test in a three-foot diameter by ten-foot tall column was

completed by McClelland. It was not possible to access a typical leach feed bulk sample so

this sample had a high silica, low cyanide solubility, which resulted in a ROM recovery of 8.7%

compared to a crushed leach recovery of 12.7%. Therefore, an analysis of the historical Dee

Mine operating data was used to estimate the recovery for ROM leaching. The ROM leach

recovery is estimated using 85% of the crushed ore heap leaching recovery. The resulting

formula is: Gold Recovery = 0.85 x [(0.801 x Cyanide- Solubility Ratio) + (-0.142 x silica) + 0.204]

Due to the near-refractory nature of the material, testwork on a bulk sample near the Storm

deposit, northwest of South Arturo, did not respond well to either coarse (10 cm size) crush or

two finer crush sizes (Barrick, 2012). This formula must be confirmed with additional testing.

Silver recovery in the column leach tests is very low. The average silver recovery in the column

tests was 7%, which was used to model the leach pad silver production. RPA recommends

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that additional ROM and crushed ore column tests be completed using samples that are

representative of the material that will be leached over the life of the mine.

A total of 13 column leach tests are underway at McClelland from the drilling program

completed in 2017 (Deep North and South Arturo areas). Results from these tests are

expected to be available early in Q2 of 2018.

CIL BOTTLE ROLL TESTS The CIL bottle roll test work was performed at Barrick’s Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab in 2007,

2008, and 2009 using a targeted grind of 80% passing 74 µm. The gold recovery for the

samples tested showed a strong correlation to the cyanide solubility and a moderate negative

correlation to the degree of silicification. A multiple regression analysis that estimates gold

recovery as a function of both cyanide solubility and silica content results in a slightly stronger

correlation, as shown in Figure 13-6. It was also observed that head grade did not produce a

meaningful correlation with gold recovery.

FIGURE 13-6 CIL GOLD RECOVERY DATA

The resulting multi-regression formula for CIL leaching is:

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CIL Gold Recovery = (0.355 x Cyanide Solubility Ratio) + (-0.027 x Silica) + 0.601

The CIL bottle roll tests did not yield much information about silver recovery because the silver

head grades were low. The estimated silver recovery is based on bottle roll tests from samples

with the highest silver head grades and historic Dee data, as shown in the formula:

CIL Silver Recovery = (0.080 x Silver Cyanide Solubility) + 0.298

Additional tests should be completed using samples that are representative of the material that

will be leached over the life of the mine.

Additional CIL bottle roll leach tests are underway at both the Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab and

McClelland from the drilling program completed in 2017 (Deep North and South Arturo areas).

A series of tests were conducted using a targeted grind of 80% passing -74µm, and another

series at a fine crush size of 6 mesh. Results from these tests are expected to be available in

late Q1/early Q2 of 2018.

BENCH TOP ROASTER/CIL TESTS BTR tests were performed at Barrick’s Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab on the same sample set

as the CIL test work using a targeted grind of -74 µm. In these tests, cyanide solubility did not

influence BTR gold recovery, as expected. It was also observed that head grade did not

produce a meaningful correlation with gold recovery. The data is shown in Figure 13-7.

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FIGURE 13-7 ROASTER GOLD RECOVERY DATA

The resulting formula for predicting the roaster gold recovery is:

Roaster Gold Recovery = (-0.025 x Silica) + 0.879

Again, the silver head grade of the samples was so low that little information about silver

recovery was gained from the BTR/CIL tests. However, the tests which used the samples with

the 12 highest head grades yielded an average silver recovery of 36%, which is used to

estimate silver recovery in the model.

Standard BTR tests were conducted on the 17 monthly composite samples from West Button

Hill. Tests were conducted at a target grind of 80% passing 74 microns. Gold recoveries were

on par with the predictive equation used to estimate gold recovery from ore processed in the

Goldstrike Roaster facility and is a function of head grade (HG).

Roaster Gold Recovery = 92.401391 – 39.35297 x exp(-11.99358 x HG)

Test results showed gold recoveries ranging from 82.3% to 93.0% at head grades ranging

from 3.46 g/t (0.101 oz/st) to 12.31 g/t (0.359 oz/st) Au. The average gold recovery was 87.9%

and the average gold head grade was 6.27 g/t (0.183 oz/st). The test results also showed

that the ore from West Button Hill did not have a correlation with silica encapsulation, unlike

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earlier tests had shown. The amount of gold associated with silica at the 80% passing 74 µm

particle size ranged from 0.14 g/t (0.004 oz/st) to 0.31 g/t (0.009 oz/st) Au and averaged only

0.21 g/t (0.006 oz/st) Au.

BTR tests for the South Arturo area are currently in progress and results should be available

in the first part of Q2 2018.

BOND WORK INDEX BWI tests were performed at the Goldstrike Metallurgical Lab. The BWI ranged from 15.4

kWh/t to 22.0 kWh/t, with an estimated average of 19.3 kWh/t. Additional BWI tests in 2016

and 2017 showed similar results to those previously reported.

HISTORICAL DEE MINE DATA Historical operating data were also used in the evaluation of the South Arturo Mine, however,

data regarding the cyanide solubility and the silica content of the ore were not available.

Therefore, assumptions and estimates were needed to evaluate the data. Although no fatal

flaws were identified during the analysis due to missing relevant information, RPA is of the

opinion that the information has limited value in predicting future metallurgical performance.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The metallurgical test results determined the following:

• Sulphide ore and ore containing pre-robbing organic carbon above the target cut-off gold grade would be roasted.

• Oxide ore above the target cut-off gold grade would be processed via ROM heap leach.

• Ore containing pre-robbing organic carbon below the cut-off grade gold grade for

roasting will be considered waste.


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• Additional sampling and column leach tests of material from the West Button Hill deposit would provide additional metallurgical data for analysis.

• BTR results on the West Button Hill monthly composites showed a good correlation between head grade and gold recovery – similar to the predictive model used for estimating Goldstrike Roaster gold recovery performance. Silica encapsulation was not found to negatively influence recovery results.

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14 MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATE SUMMARY Table 14-1 summarizes Barrick’s December 31, 2017 Mineral Resource estimate and

represents 100% of the Mineral Resources for the deposit. Table 14-2 summarizes the 40%

attributable to Premier. Cut-off grades for the Mineral Resources were established using a

gold price of US$1,500 per ounce and a silver price of US$20.50 per ounce.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources increased from the 2014 Mineral Resource

estimate due to additional drilling conducted between 2014 and 2017 which allowed upgrading

of Inferred Resources to higher classifications, as well as reclassification of Mineral Reserves

to Mineral Resources following changes in gold and silver prices.

Estimation of Mineral Resources was completed by Barrick personnel using Maptek’s Vulcan

software. All work was completed using imperial units.

RPA examined the December 31, 2017 Mineral Resource estimate and is of the opinion that

it meets industry standards, and is acceptable to support reserve work.

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TABLE 14-1 MINERAL RESOURCES – 100% BASIS – DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Category/Process Type Tonnes (000 t)

Gold Grade

(g/t Au)

Contained Gold

(000 oz) Tonnes (000 t)

Silver Grade

(g/t Ag)

Contained Silver

(000 oz) Measured Resources ROM Leach 3,647.0 0.51 60.1 3,647.0 6.76 793.0

Mill 685.2 2.13 46.8 685.2 8.49 187.1

Roaster 397.4 5.85 74.7 391.8 8.49 106.9

AMW 154.0 1.23 6.2 - - -

Total Measured Resources 4,883.5 1.20 187.7 4,724.0 7.16 1,087.0 Indicated Resources ROM 10,900.8 0.44 155.8 10,900.8 6.05 2,118.8

Mill 2,074.9 2.58 171.8 2,074.9 6.01 401.2

Roaster 1,055.3 5.90 200.2 966.6 7.55 234.5

AMW - - - -

Total Indicated Resources 14,031.0 1.17 527.8 13,942.3 6.14 2,754.5 Total Measured and Indicated 18,914.5 1.18 715.5 18,666.3 6.40 3,841.5 Inferred Resources ROM 962.8 0.38 11.4 962.8 4.02 124.4

Mill 67.4 1.58 3.4 67.4 4.83 10.5

Roaster 227.5 8.28 60.6 31.1 3.45 3.5

AMW - - - - - -

Crush Leach 187.6 0.31 1.9 187.6 2.54 15.3

Total Inferred Resources 1,445.3 1.66 77.7 1,249.0 3.83 153.7 Notes:




roaster, and 0.75 g/t (0.022 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill and refractory roaster. 5. Mineral Resources for the underground are reported using gold cut-off grades of 5.07 g/t (0.148 oz/st)

Au. 6. Material from the Rossi property has been excluded. 7. Bulk density is specific to geological formation and varies from 2.00 t/m3 to 2.94 t/m3. 8. Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves. 9. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 10. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 11. Underground tonnes were not used in the silver grade calculations.

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TABLE 14-2 MINERAL RESOURCES – 40% BASIS – DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Category/Process Type Tonnes(000 t)

Gold Grade

(g/t Au)

Contained Gold

(000 oz) Tonnes(000 t)

Silver Grade

(g/t Ag)

Contained Silver

(000 oz) Measured Resources ROM Leach 1,458.8 0.51 24.0 1,458.8 6.76 317.2

Mill 274.1 2.13 18.7 274.1 8.49 74.8

Roaster 158.9 5.85 29.9 156.7 8.49 42.8

AMW 61.6 1.23 2.5 - - -

Total Measured Resources 1,953.4 1.20 75.1 1,889.6 7.16 434.8

Indicated Resources ROM 4,360.3 0.44 62.3 4,360.3 6.05 847.5

Mill 830.0 2.58 68.7 830.0 6.01 160.5

Roaster 422.1 5.90 80.1 386.6 7.55 93.8

AMW - - - - -

Total Indicated Resources 5,612.4 1.18 211.1 5,576.9 6.14 1,101.8 Total Measured and Indicated 7,565.8 1.18 286.2 7,466.5 6.40 1,536.6 Inferred Resources ROM 385.1 0.38 4.6 385.1 4.02 49.8

Mill 27.0 1.58 1.4 27.0 4.83 4.2

Roaster 91.0 8.28 24.2 12.4 3.45 1.4

AMW - - - - - -

Crush Leach 75.0 0.31 0.7 75.0 2.54 6.1

Total Inferred Resources 578.1 1.66 30.9 499.6 3.83 61.5 Notes:




roaster, and 0.75 g/t (0.022 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill. 5. Mineral Resources for the underground are reported using gold cut-off grades of 5.07 g/t (0.148 oz/st)

Au. 6. Mineral Resources represent attributable ounces to Premier, equal to 40% of the Joint Venture

controlled ounces. Material from the Rossi property has been excluded. 7. Bulk density is specific to geological formation and varies from 2.00 t/m3 to 2.94 t/m3. 8. Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves. 9. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 10. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 11. Underground tonnes were not used in the silver grade calculations.

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RESOURCE DATABASE For resource estimation, the drill hole data was limited to holes within or immediately adjacent

to the block model boundaries. The final resource database contains a total of 3,266 drill holes

over 1,871,795 ft (570,523.1 m) and containing 287,686 gold assays and 241,014 silver

assays. The drill hole database comprises surface RC, and surface and underground diamond

drilling. There are almost 6,500 assays (2%) with a cyanide assay value and but no fire assay

value, all of which were excluded from the final resource composite file.

RPA completed a variety of validation routines in Vulcan software and exploratory database

queries. RPA notes that the data provided is of sufficient quality to facilitate the Mineral

Resource estimate. RPA is of the opinion that the information provided meets industry

standards.

TOPOGRAPHY Barrick has updated the surface topography at regular intervals. RPA compared the

topographic surface used in the Whittle work to the drill collars (in Vulcan software) and found

that they coincided except where later excavation occurred. RPA is of the opinion that the

surface holes are positioned accurately and appropriate for inclusion in the Mineral Resource

estimate.

GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION Wireframes were constructed using Maptek’s Vulcan software for the Bootstrap Limestone

(Bootstrap), Devonian Rodeo Creek Formation (DRC), Vinini Formation (VF), Tertiary Carlin

Formation (TC), Tertiary Volcanics (TV), and the Breccia Zone. The last update of the

geological model was in 2017. Redox surfaces were constructed to define the oxide and

refractory ore limits, and additional solids were built to define low and high-grade silica areas.

A topographic surface limited the vertical extent of the wireframe surfaces.

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OPEN PIT RESOURCE ESTIMATION

MINERALIZATION MODELLING Mineralization is widespread throughout South Arturo, and the Mine area is broken into six

domains: Arturo, Dee, Hinge, West Button, Central, and Upper Dee. The Dee zone is further

broken into four subdomains: Discovery, Forty Niner, Dee, and End Zone, for a total of nine

domains. These domains represent areas of similar grade continuity and orientation and were

defined considering grade breaks derived from statistical analysis of gold distributions in

conjunction grade continuity analysis, and lithological and structural elements derived from

geological logs. An overview of the search domains at South Arturo are shown in Figure 14-

1.

Within these search domains, there are five zones of high-grade gold mineralization that drive

the open pit and underground economics and define their locations. These zones are South

Arturo, End Zone, Dee Deep North, SW Dee, and West Button Hill.

RPA reviewed the wireframe models with respect to drilling, and is of the opinion that they are

of sufficient quality to support Mineral Resource estimation.

5,000 feet

N

March 2018 Source: , 2018.Barrick

Search Domains Used inGrade Interpolation


South MineArturoState of Nevada, U.S.A.

Figure 14-1

14-6

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INDICATOR INTERPOLATION Barrick applied Inverse Distance Squared (ID2) for the estimation of mineralized and

unmineralized, and high and low-grade indicators at South Arturo. First, a mineralization

indicator was estimated within each search domain using gold and silver grade thresholds of

0.003 oz/st (0.10 g/t) and 0.15 oz/st (5.14 g/t), respectively, and 20 ft (6.1 m) composites,

capped prior to compositing, to separate the block model into mineralized and unmineralized

domains for each metal.

The initial (mineralized/unmineralized) indicator estimation was interpolated in a single pass

using varying search ellipse dimensions and orientations, in line with variography and domain

shape. A minimum of six and a maximum of 12 composites were required to estimate each

block, and a minimum of two samples per drill hole. Composite samples were not restricted

by subdomain. Blocks were divided into mineralized and unmineralized using a probability

threshold of 0.4. Domains were back-flagged to the drill hole database.

Following the mineralization indicator estimation, a high-grade indicator estimation was

interpolated within the mineralized area using 10 ft (3.05 m) composites and similar

interpolation criteria to the low-grade indicator estimation. Grade thresholds are listed in Table

14-3. Search ellipse dimensions were smaller, however, but also in line with variography.

Mineralized blocks were categorized into low and high-grade domains at a probability of 0.4.

Domains were back-flagged to the drill hole database.

TABLE 14-3 SUMMARY OF INDICATOR GRADE THRESHOLDS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Subdomain LG Indicator Threshold HG indicator Threshold Au (oz/st) Ag (oz/st) Au (oz/st) Ag (oz/st)

10 Arturo 0.003 0.15 0.045 1.00 22 Dee 0.003 0.15 0.100 0.50 23 Forty Niner 0.003 0.15 0.200 2.00 24 Discovery 0.003 0.15 0.200 2.00 25 End Zone 0.003 0.15 0.200 2.00 30 Hinge 0.003 0.15 0.090 0.40 40 West Button 0.003 0.15 0.070 0.60 50 Central 0.003 0.15 0.050 0.35 60 Upper Dee/Arturo 0.003 0.15 0.040 0.35

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GRADE CAPPING AND COMPOSITING Raw gold and silver assays were capped for outliers based on examination of cumulative

probability plots and histograms by Barrick. The capped assays were composited using

downhole 10 ft (3.05 m) lengths in the mineralized zone and 20 ft (6.1 m) lengths in the

unmineralized zone. Composites were flagged by search domain and grade domain from the

block model. A summary of gold grade caps is shown in Table 14-4.

TABLE 14-4 GOLD AND SILVER GRADE CAPS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Subdomain Au (oz/st) Ag (oz/st)

0 Default 0.30 0.70 10 Arturo 1.00 3.00 22 Dee 1.00 3.60 23 Forty Niner 2.00 12.00 24 Discovery 1.80 10.00 25 End Zone 1.40 12.00 30 Hinge 0.30 0.70 40 West Button 1.20 2.00 50 Central 0.30 1.00 60 Upper Dee 0.30 0.70

90 DRCU (UG) 1.10 92 SSBX (UG) 1.60 95 Mineralized (UG) 0.21

Missing assays and intervals with poor recovery that could not be sampled were excluded from

the compositing routine and estimation, as were selected drill holes identified by the onsite

team as having poor location, sampling, or drilling angle to mineralized structures.

RPA performed independent statistical analyses of the raw gold assay and composite data

and agrees with Barrick’s approach. RPA reviewed Barrick’s capping levels, and is of the

opinion that the thresholds applied are generally appropriate to each domain, and are

reasonable for grade interpolation.

VARIOGRAPHY Omnidirectional and directional variograms were developed for gold and silver and used to

establish search distances for the different estimation domains.

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BLOCK MODEL CONSTRUCTION Estimation of gold, silver, and accessory elements was performed in Maptek’s Vulcan software

by Barrick personnel. Initial indicator routines (to separate mineralized and unmineralized

material) were performed on a 30 ft x 30 ft x 20 ft (9.1 m x 9.1 m x 6.1 m) block model. Minimum

sub-block size was 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft (3.05 m x 3.05 m x 3.05 m). All blocks within the

mineralized domain were subsequently limited to the minimum sub-block size. Final grade

estimation was performed on a 40 ft x 40 ft x 20 ft (12.2 m x 12.2 m x 6.1 m) sub-blocked

model limited to 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft (3.05 m x 3.05 m x 3.05 m) within the mineralized domains

for high-grade indicator interpolation and grade estimation. Following grade estimation, the

South Arturo block model was re-blocked to 40 ft x 40 ft x 20 ft (12.2 m x 12.2 m x 6.1 m) for

use in mine planning. Contained tonnes and depleted block ounces were calculated for each

mineralized block, which were summed in the re-blocked model. Grade variables of the re-

blocked model were determined by dividing the summed block ounces by the summed tonnes.

All other variables were assigned based on majority.

In RPA’s opinion, the block sizes are appropriate for the drill hole spacing and proposed mining

method, and are suitable to support the estimation of Mineral Resources.

GRADE INTERPOLATION Gold and silver grades were interpolated using ID2, employing varying search criteria

(directions and distances) customized to each search domain and grade domain within the

model. Select composite weights were assigned manually by Barrick to allow limited influence

of composites across grade domain boundaries (Table 14-5). The unmineralized domain was

estimated using hard boundaries but weighted at 0.5 in the low-grade domain.

The interpolation approach at South Arturo, within the mineralized domains, included ten

nested estimation runs; the first and smallest being a box search equal to the block

dimensions, with a minimum of one and maximum of 99 composites, and only one composite

per hole. Search ellipse dimensions were set to the lag distance at 80% of the variogram sill

for each search domain for the second and fourth passes, and 90% of the variogram sill for

each search domain for the sixth and eighth passes. These were each followed by a pass

using a half size search ellipse with fewer composite restrictions. The second, fourth, sixth,

and eighth estimation runs required a minimum and a maximum of two and three composites.

Minimum required composites were decreased to one in the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth

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pass. Pass 2 through pass 9 were ran individually for the low or high-grade domains within the

mineralized domain. Pass 10, a final estimation pass using a large search ellipse over each

search domain was performed in the mineralized domain across high and low-grade zones.

Pass 10 required a minimum and a maximum of two and three composites respectively. Blocks

estimated in the final pass were not classified. Grade interpolation was limited to below the

upper Vinini Formation contact. The unmineralized domain was estimated in a single pass

similar to Pass ten but only using composites from the unmineralized domains.

Additional interpolation routines for cyanide leach gold/fire assay gold ratios, silica, arsenic,

CO3, mercury, redox, and several metallurgical variables were also completed for use in

material type definition. Nearest neighbour (NN) interpolation was run for gold in parallel to

ID2 for validation purposes.

RPA reviewed the 2017 end of year Vulcan project provided by Barrick, visually inspected the

databases and block estimates, reviewed the estimation parameter files, flagging, block

calculation scripts, and run scripts. RPA is of the opinion that the grade interpolation strategy

is reasonable and conforms to industry standards.

TABLE 14-5 SUMMARY OF ARTURO COMPOSITE WEIGHTS

Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Subdomain Weight Subdomain Weight Code Search Mineralization Low High Code Search Mineralization Low High

10 Arturo 30 Hinge Unmineralized 0.5 0.0 Unmineralized 0.5 0

Low 1.0 0.75 Low 1 0.25

High 0.5 1 High 0.5 1 22 Dee 40 West Button

Unmineralized 0.5 0 Unmineralized 0.5 0

Low 1.0 0.25 Low 1 0.75

High 0.5 1 High 0.5 1 23 Forty Niner 50 Central


Low 1.0 0.25 Low 1 0.75

High 0.5 1 High 0.5 1 24 Discovery 60 Upper Dee


Low 1.0 0.5 Low 1 0.75

High 0.5 1 High 0.5 1 25 End Zone

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Subdomain Weight Subdomain Weight Code Search Mineralization Low High Code Search Mineralization Low High Unmineralized 0.5 0 Low 1.0 0.5 High 0.5 1

DENSITY Density values were determined by performing acrylic-seal volume displacement tests for the

various rock formations. Barrick adjusted the rock bulk density to reflect in-situ cavities that

do not yield core for bulk density determination. Density values were then assigned to each

block according to previously assigned rock type codes in the model as illustrated in Table 14-

6.

TABLE 14-6 DENSITY VALUES BY ROCK TYPE Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Rock Type Density (t/ft3) Number of Samples

Carlin Formation 0.0625 Goldstrike Default Non-silicified Ov and Drc 0.07315 22 Silicified Ov and Drc 0.07893 40 Bootstrap Limestone 0.08333 17 Fill 0.0549 Rock density with 20% swell

Notes:

1. Ov = Ordovician Vinini Formation 2. Drc = Devonian Rodeo Creek Formation

RPA is of the opinion that the densities used for Mineral Resource estimation are valid. RPA

recommends that Barrick continue to take density measurements at regular intervals over the

life of the mine.

CLASSIFICATION Definitions for resource categories used in this report are consistent with those defined by CIM

(2014) and adopted by NI 43-101. In the CIM classification, a Mineral Resource is defined as

“a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust

in such form, grade or quality and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual

economic extraction”. Mineral Resources are classified into Measured, Indicated, and Inferred

categories. A Mineral Reserve is defined as the “economically mineable part of a Measured

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and/or Indicated Mineral Resource” demonstrated by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility

level as appropriate. Mineral Reserves are classified into Proven and Probable categories.

The Measured component of the Mineral Resource is assigned to blocks directly intersected

by drill holes used in the interpolation and estimated during the initial box search. Indicated

Mineral Resources are those blocks estimated in the second or third pass, equal to a maximum

distance range of 80% of the variogram sill. Inferred Mineral Resources are those blocks

estimated in the fourth and fifth passes, where the search ellipse dimensions are equal to, or

smaller than, a distance range of 90% of the variogram sill for each area.

RPA reviewed the classification criteria and performed a visual inspection of the results on

cross sections. RPA is of the opinion that the classification technique is appropriate.

POST PROCESSING Underground mine workings were flagged, and their density and grade adjusted. Following the

estimation of all variables, the block model was exported to QPit for optimization. Blocks were

divided into different material types by assigning a revenue based on geology, process route

costs, and mining costs for each option. Final routing and material code for each block was

assigned based on maximizing revenue.

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UNDERGROUND RESOURCE ESTIMATION A portion of the West Button area (El Nino underground), below the 5,140 ft (1,567 m) elevation

was being developed into an underground mine. The estimation process is explained below.

The underground Mineral Resource was estimated by Barrick personnel using block models

constrained by three-dimensional models of the mineralized bodies and domains. The gold

grades are interpolated into the blocks using inverse distance to the fifth power (ID5) weighting.

The models are constructed using Maptek Vulcan 3D software version 9.110.0 supplemented

by in-house custom Barrick programs used for capping and other statistics derived from

geostatistical software.

DOCUMENTATION The methodology used in creating the December 31, 2017 underground resource model has

been well documented by Barrick personnel. They have created several documents that list

model notes and step by step procedures.

BLOCK MODELS The block models comprise parent blocks measuring 40 ft by 40 ft by 20 ft (12.2 m x 12.2 m

x 6.1 m), with sub-blocks measuring 10 ft by 10 ft by 10 ft (3.05 m x 3.05 m x 3.05 m), and

down to 5 ft by 5 ft by 5 ft (1.52 m x 1.52 m x 1.52 m).. The parent (40 ft) blocks are used to

assign a 0.001 oz/st (0.0034 g/t) Au grade to the unmineralized and unestimated material,

while the smaller blocks are used in the mineralized zones. Model construction parameters

are shown in Table 14-7.

The principal economic component estimated into the blocks is gold. In addition, estimates of

accessory components were made, which includes sulphur, carbonate, arsenic, and total

carbonaceous material (TCM).

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TABLE 14-7 EL NINO UNDERGROUND BLOCK MODEL DEFINITIONS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Origin (ft) Extent (ft) Rotation

X Coordinate -7,500 9,600 Bearing 90 (absolute bearing of X asxis around Z axis) Y Coordinate 27,160 9,840 Plunge 0 (absolute bearing of X asxis around Y axis) Z Coordinate 3,200 3,100 Dip 0 (absolute bearing of Y asxis around Z axis)

Notes:

1. Rotation follows left hand rule (Maptek) 2. Local Mine Coordinate System used

In RPA’s opinion, the block sizes are appropriate for the drill hole spacing and proposed mining

method, and are suitable to support the estimation of Mineral Resources. Comparisons

between wireframe and block model volumes are reasonable.

MINERALIZED DOMAIN MODELS The mineralized domain models are constructed from the drilling sample data, at 0.05 oz/st

(1.71 g/t) Au and 0.10 oz/st (3.43 g/t) Au cut off grades. The general approach is to build a

“mineralized” zone at the lower cut-off grade, which encompasses higher grade zones built at

the higher cut-off grade. This allows for reasonable estimates of the dilution grade surrounding

the higher-grade zones. Figure 14-2 provides a 3D view of the main underground domain

models by mineralized zones.

RPA reviewed the wireframe models with respect to drilling, and is of the opinion that they are

of sufficient quality to support Mineral Resource estimation.

1,000 feet


Underground Isometric Viewof Domain Models



Figure -14 2

OBLIQUE VIEW LOOKING NORTH EAST

1-

54

1

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

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Mineralized domains are generated based on grade, informed by geological features such as

faults and lithological boundaries. The interpretations are drawn as polylines on cross-section,

using a minimum horizontal mining width constraint of ten feet. Section spacing is a division

of 20 ft (6.1 m), with a maximum spacing of 40 ft (12.2 m) for highly mineralized lenses and 60

ft for mineralized lenses. The average spacing of sections is 20 ft (6.1 m) but can be as little

as five ft or less in areas where complex grade boundaries exist. The polylines are linked

together to create the solid models.

When completed, the domain models are reviewed, updated, and validated by the geology

staff. They are validated and checked again by a resource geologist prior to inclusion in the

Mineral Resource block model. The domains are used for estimation of domain volumes and

tonnages for validation against previous models. The domains are then used to assign domain

codes to both the block model and the samples. This controls compositing and also provides

the ability to control samples used for estimation of a particular domain.

GRADE CAPPING A combination of high yield restrictions for low-grade mineralized zones and grade capping

applied to all mineralized zones is used to reduce the influence of high-grade assays. The

capping method employs in-house Barrick software and is applied to raw assay data prior to

compositing. Capping thresholds are determined from log-probability grade distributions in

each domain. Outlier high-grade populations are identified from a disruption in the grade

distribution. The highest grade that is part of a smooth or continuous distribution is usually

taken as the capping threshold. The capping grade is applied to the assays in each domain

and statistics are examined to ensure the coefficient of variation (CV) and/or Grade-Thickness

Lost (GT lost %) for the capped assays are less than approximately 2 and 10%, respectively.

Grade capping is provided in Table 14-8.

TABLE 14-8 GOLD GRADE CAPS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Subdomain Number of Samples

Mean Au (oz/st)

Min Au (oz/st)

Max Au (oz/st)

Au cap (oz/st)

Samples CAPPED

% CAPPED

ELINO_DRCU 90 723 0.226 0 2.427 1.10 14 1.90 ELINO_SSBX 92 978 0.249 0 3.457 1.60 7 1.70 ELINO_MINERALIZED 95 2,420 0.039 0 0.572 0.21 5 0.20

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RPA performed independent statistical analyses of the raw gold assay and composite data

and agrees with Barrick’s approach.

COMPOSITES Drill results from diamond drill holes and RC drill holes are used for block model estimation.

The drill samples were composited to 10 ft (3.05 m) lengths, with the mineralized domains

controlling the process prior to geostatistical analysis and grade interpolation. Compositing is

configured to start and stop at the boundary of domain models. Remnant composites, of less

than the requisite ten-foot length, located at the boundaries of these zones are retained in the

database. Length weighting is applied in the interpolation to account for shorter intervals.

Composites are checked visually to confirm that they were properly generated. Statistics are

also generated and compared with capped assays of the previous year’s composites.

Composite statistics are provided in Table 14-9. RPA reviewed Barrick’s capping, and is of

the opinion that the thresholds applied are generally appropriate to each domain, and are

reasonable for grade interpolation.

TABLE 14-9 SUMMARY OF COMPOSITE STATISTICS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Subdomain Number of Samples

Au cap Mean (oz/st)

Std Dev

Min (oz/st)

Max (oz/st) Range Variance CV Median

ELINO_DRCU 90 387 0.22 0.201 0.002 1.1 1.098 0.041 0.92 0.155 ELINO_SSBX 92 525 0.232 0.283 0 1.6 1.6 0.08 1.22 0.142 ELINO_MINERALIZED 95 1326 0.037 0.029 0 0.21 0.21 0.001 0.77 0.033

VARIOGRAPHY Geostatistical analyses were conducted on the composite data to confirm or refine the search

parameters for each domain. The analyses were carried out using Vulcan and other software.

Directional correlograms were generated for each of the domains, and the search orientations

and ranges derived from covariance models derived from these correlograms. The covariance

models were also used for classification of the Mineral Resources. An example of a

correlogram for DRCU Upper is shown in Figure 14-3.

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FIGURE 14-3 VARIOGRAPHY

INTERPOLATION STRATEGY Grades were estimated into the blocks using inverse distance to the fifth power (ID5)

methodology, with a search ellipse consistent with the correlogram and geological controls on

mineralization in each domain. The estimation used six passes in each domain.

TABLE 14-10 INTERPOLATION PARAMETERS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Search Orientation Search Distances (ft) Number of Samples Subdomain Pass # Bearing

(Z) Plunge

(Y) Dip (X) Major Semi

Major Minor Min Max Min Samples per hole Description

ELINO_SSBX UPPER i922_1 360 0 0 5 5 5 1 99 99 Box Serach i922_2 20 30 35 54 30 72 2 4 1 85% sill i922_3 20 30 35 27 15 36 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i922_4 20 30 35 96 54 130 2 4 1 95% sill i922_5 20 30 35 48 27 65 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i922_6 20 30 35 122 66 162 1 4 4 Filled, unclassified

ELINO_DRCU UPPER i902_1 360 0 0 5 5 5 1 99 99 Box Serach i902_2 -10 -10 50 52 28 52 2 4 1 85% sill i902_3 -10 -10 50 26 14 26 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i902_4 -10 -10 50 100 54 98 2 4 1 95% sill i902_5 -10 -10 50 50 27 49 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i902_6 -10 -10 50 128 68 124 1 4 4 Filled, unclassified

ELINO_SSBX LOWER i921_1 360 0 0 5 5 5 1 99 99 Box Serach i921_2 -10 -10 0 64 28 30 2 4 1 85% sill i921_3 -10 -10 0 32 14 15 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i921_4 -10 -10 0 140 60 66 2 4 1 95% sill i921_5 -10 -10 0 70 30 33 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i921_6 -10 -10 0 213 90 98 1 4 4 Filled, unclassified

ELINO_DRCU LOWER i901_1 360 0 0 5 5 5 1 99 99 Box Serach i901_2 -10 -10 0 64 28 30 2 4 1 85% sill i901_3 -10 -10 0 32 14 15 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i901_4 -10 -10 0 140 60 66 2 4 1 95% sill i901_5 -10 -10 0 70 30 33 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i901_6 -10 -10 0 213 90 98 1 4 4 Filled, unclassified

ELINO_Mineralized i951_1 360 0 0 5 5 5 1 99 99 Box Serach i951_2 -10 -10 50 42 50 48 2 4 1 85% sill i951_3 -10 -10 50 21 25 24 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i951_4 -10 -10 50 80 96 54 2 4 1 95% sill i951_5 -10 -10 50 40 48 27 1 4 1 Fill in, half range i951_6 -10 -10 50 119 107 134 1 4 4 Filled, unclassified

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Premier G

old Mines Lim




arch 26, 2018 Page 14-18

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The first pass comprised a box search of 5 ft by 5 ft by 5 ft (1.52 m by 1.52 m by 1.52 m), which

reflected a block model cell which uses all composites data that were found within the block

being evaluated. The second pass estimated blocks at 85% of the sill range, with a minimum

of two, a maximum of four samples and a maximum of one sample per drill hole. The third

pass selected samples at half the 85% sill range and the minimum number of samples was

reduced to one. This pass was run to fill blocks that did not meet the minimum two samples

needed in the second pass and is referred to as a “donut” pass.

The fourth and fifth passes were similar to the third and fourth, but 95% of the sill range was

used for the fourth pass and half the 95% range was used for the fifth pass. The sixth pass

used search distances equal to the full range of the correlograms, a minimum of one, and a

maximum of four samples per drill hole. The model cells estimated with the sixth pass were

between 95% and 100% of the sill range and are therefore unclassified. The 0.100 oz/st (3.43

g/t) and 0.050 oz/st (1.71 g/t) domains represented hard boundaries, across which composites

were restricted for both correlogram modelling and composite selection during estimation. The

blocks in the mineralized domains were used to calculate external dilution.

Wireframe solids of the mined-out areas and sterilized pillars are used to determine the

proportion remaining of each block. Blocks with more than 50% of their volumes sterilized and

more than 50% mined out were tagged as completely mined. Portions of blocks mined were

not allowed to contribute any material to the mineral resource.

The combination of the ID5 weighting and the four-composite maximum per block is designed

to reduce smoothing and generate more accurate local grade estimates. This estimation

approach has evolved with the benefit of production data over the years.

RPA reviewed the 2017 end of year Vulcan project provided by Premier, visually inspected the

databases and block estimates, reviewed the estimation parameter files, flagging, block

calculation scripts, and run scripts. RPA is of the opinion that the grade interpolation strategy

is reasonable and conforms to industry standards.

CLASSIFICATION Resource classification was based on a combination of the estimation passes in which each

block model cell received an estimate, distance to nearest mining area and number of drill

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holes used in estimation. These were used to establish a level of confidence for resource

classification. Criteria for Measured, Indicated, and Inferred classification are summarized in

Table 14-11.

For block model cells inside a high-grade domain, Measured Resource was defined as any

model cell estimated within the first pass (Pass 1). Indicated Resource was determined from

correlogram ranges at 85% of the sill, estimated with Pass 2 or Pass 3. Criteria for Inferred

Resource was determined from correlogram ranges at 95% of the sill, estimated with Pass 4

or Pass 5. For block model cells inside a low-grade domain, Indicated Resource was

determined by all block model cells estimated with Pass 1, Pass 2, or Pass 3. Inferred

Resource was determined by all block model cells estimated with Pass 4 or Pass 5. All block

model cells estimated with Pass 1 through to Pass 5 below the 3,000 (bottom of model)

elevation were set to Inferred Resource. Block model cells that were previously mined were

removed from resource.

TABLE 14-11 EL NINO UNDERGROUND CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Estimation Pass # Classification

Number of Samples Category Remarks

Min Max Per Hole

1 Measured 1 99 99 1 Box Search 2 Indicated 2 4 1 2 Indicated, 85% Sill 3 Indicated 1 4 1 2 Indicated Fill in, half 85% range 4 Inferred 2 4 1 3 Inferred, 95% Sill 5 Inferred 1 4 1 3 Inferred Fill in, half 95% range 6 Unclassified 1 4 4 5 Filled beyond search ranges,100% Sill

Source: Barrick 2018

RPA reviewed the classification criteria and performed a visual inspection of the results on

cross sections. RPA is of the opinion that the classification technique is appropriate.

MODEL VALIDATION Checks and validation performed by Barrick included:

• Examination of the interpolation scripts and comparison to the interpolation plan

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• Visual comparisons of interpolated gold and silver grades relative to drill hole composite values on sections and plans.

• Visual inspections to confirm all block coding completed properly at each estimation

step

• Comparison of block model grades and gold and silver assays using histograms and cumulative frequency plots

• Comparison of the ID2 estimation to the NN estimation model, and the mid-year 2013

model.

Barrick conducted visual comparisons of assay, composite and block gold values in cross-

section and plan and found good spatial correlation. An example cross-section of composite

and block gold grades, restricted to the mineralized domains within Arturo is shown in Figures

14-4 and 14-5. An example of classification validation is shown in Figure 14-6.

Basic statistical comparison of composites and blocks in a volume (approximately 100 million

m3) overlying the West Button open pit and encompassing mineralized and unmineralized

domains. Gold grades compared well. Results are shown in Table 14-12.

TABLE 14-12 COMPARISON OF COMPOSITE AND BLOCK GRADES Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Gold (oz/st) Silver (oz/st) Gold (oz/st)

10 ft

Comp Subblock

Au Reblock

Au 10 ft

Comp Subblock

Ag Reblock

Ag 10 ft Comp

(UG) Block Statistic Au Cap Au Est Au Est Ag Cap Ag Est Ag Est Au Cap Auid5_20 Mean 0.020 0.024 0.008 0.122 0.171 0.064 0.027 0.004 Std Dev 0.079 0.054 0.027 0.412 0.338 0.165 0.092 0.026 Min 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.001 0.000 Max 2.000 2.000 1.116 12.000 12.000 5.233 2.994 1.261 Variance 0.006 0.003 0.001 0.170 0.114 0.027 0.009 0.001 CV 385.9 221.2 323.7 338.1 198.0 258.1 343.2 591.3 Median 0.001 0.009 0.001 0.013 0.060 0.016 0.002 0.001 Source: Barrick 2017

Notes:

1. Data does not include negative or zero values 2. Data from exported databases: 10ft Au comps, 10ft Ag comps and three block models

Facing East: Section -2,500 E

Resource S

hell

< .0 50

Gold ( )opt

< .0 10

< 0.05-99.00 < =

0.05 < =

0.10 < =

0.15 < =

0.20 < =

0.50 < = < 99.00

< .0 15

< .0 20

0 100 200 300 400 500 Feet

0 50 100 150 Metres

March 2018

Note: Grid Coordinate System is in Imperial Units

Source: Barrick, 2018.

South MineArturo

Comparison of Block andComposite Gold Grades



Figure 14-4

14-

32

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

Facing : SectionNorth 32850 NNote: Model is displaying gold values >= 0.004 opt for display purposes

< .0 20

Gold ( )opt

< .0 05

< 0.004-99.00 < =

0.004 < =

0.05 < =

0.10 < =

0.15 < =

0.20 < =

0.50 < =

< 0.50

< 99.00

< .0 10

< .0 15

0 100 200 300 400 500 Feet

0 50 100 150 Metres

March 2018


Source: Barrick, 2018.

South MineArturo

Comparison of Block andComposite Gold Grades



Figure 14-5

14-

42

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

Facing North: Section 33,300 N

Original Subblocked Model

Reblocked Model

Measured

Classification

Inferred

Indicated

0 500 1000 1500 2000 Feet

0 100 400 500 Metres300200

March 2018


Source: , 2018.Barrick

South MineArturo

Block Classification



Figure 14-6

14-

52

ww

w.rp

acan

.co

m

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RPA VALIDATION The December 31, 2017 resource estimation is appropriate for the style of gold mineralization,

in RPA’s opinion. The following is a list of some of the checks performed on the resource

model by RPA:

• Checked for duplicate drill hole traces, twinned holes.

• Checked collar locations for zero/extreme values.

• Checked assays in database for: o missing intervals o long intervals o extreme high values o blank/zero values o reasonable minimum/maximum values

• Ran validity report to check for:

o out of range values o missing interval o overlapping intervals, etc.

• Checked for overlapping wireframes to determine possible double counting.

o Solids have priority levels in block definition file. o Diamond drill hole domains are likewise flagged by priority.

• Checked orebody/wireframe extensions beyond last holes to see if they are reasonable

and consistent.

• Compared basic statistics of assays within wireframes with basic statistics of composites within wireframes for both uncut and cut values.

• Checked for capping of extreme values.

• Checked for reasonable compositing intervals.

• Checked that composite intervals start and stop at wireframe boundaries.

• Checked that assigned composite rock type coding is consistent with intersected

wireframe coding.

• Checked if block model size and orientation is appropriate to drilling density, mineralization, and mining method.

• Checked search volume radii and orientations against available variography.

• Checked interpolation parameters against available variography.

• Visually checked block resource classification coding for isolated blocks.

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• Generation of an independent Mineral Resource report to compare with the Barrick estimate.

• Compared block statistics (zero grade cut-off) with assay/composite basic statistics.

• Swath plots of composites versus blocks and drilling.

• Visually compared block grades to drill hole composite values on sections and/or plans.

• Visually checked for grade banding, smearing of high grades, plumes of high grades, etc., on sections and/or plans.

RPA is of the opinion that the block model is suitable to support Mineral Resource and Mineral

Reserve estimation.

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15 MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATE Mineral Reserves were estimated by Barrick and reviewed by RPA. Mineralization is

widespread throughout the South Arturo area. The mineralized areas include the South Arturo,

Dee Deep South, Southwest Dee, Hinge, and the West Button Hill. Based on current operating

costs, process recoveries, and metal prices, the only areas that comprises Mineral Reserves,

as of December 31, 2017, are the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground.

Metal prices used for Mineral Reserves are based on consensus, long term forecasts from

banks, financial institutions, and other sources. For Mineral Resources, metal prices used are

higher than those for Mineral Reserves.

RPA has reviewed the reported Mineral Resources, dilution factors, production schedules, and

economic analysis used for conversion of Indicated Mineral Resources to Probable Mineral

Reserves. In RPA’s opinion, the basis for the conversion is appropriate and the estimate of

Probable Mineral Reserves is acceptable.

Table 15-1 summarizes Barrick’s December 31, 2017 Mineral Reserve estimate and

represents 100% of the Mineral Reserves for the deposit. Table 15-2 summarizes the 40%

attributable to Premier.

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TABLE 15-1 MINERAL RESERVES - 100% BASIS - DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Category/ Process Type Tonnes Gold Grade Contained

Gold Tonnes Silver Grade

Contained Silver

(000 t) (g/t Au) (000 oz) (000 t) (g/t Ag) (000 oz) Proven Reserves Mill (Oxide) 1,370.5 2.95 129.9 1,370.5 16.87 743.3 Roaster (Refractory) 1,486.3 4.01 191.6 1,486.3 16.64 795.1 Stockpile - Roaster 533.9 3.12 53.6 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 387.5 1.80 22.4 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 8.4 12.85 3.5 Total Proven 3,786.6 3.29 401.0 2,856.8 16.75 1,538.3 Probable Reserves Mill (Oxide) 1,136.7 2.40 87.7 1,136.7 15.70 573.9 Roaster (Refractory) 1,458.5 2.61 122.3 1,458.5 14.41 675.5 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 206.3 9.57 63.5 Total Probable 2,801.5 3.04 273.5 2,595.1 14.97 1,249.4 Total Proven and Probable Reserves

Mill (Oxide) 2,507.2 2.70 217.6 2,507.2 16.34 1,317.1 Roaster (Refractory) 2,944.8 3.32 313.9 2,944.8 15.53 1,470.6 Stockpile - Roaster 533.9 3.12 53.6 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 387.5 1.80 22.4 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 214.8 9.70 67.0 Total Proven and Probable 6,588.0 3.18 674.5 5,451.9 15.90 2,787.7

Notes:


roaster, and 0.93 g/t (0.027 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill and refractory roaster. 5. Mineral Reserves for the underground are reported using a gold cut-off grade of 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au. 6. Silver ounces are not reported in the Barrick LOM cash flow. 7. Cut-off grades are incorporated into the net block value calculation, which was used to determine the


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TABLE 15-2 MINERAL RESERVES - 40% BASIS - DECEMBER 31, 2017 Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Category/ Process Type Tonnes Gold Grade Contained

Gold Tonnes Silver Grade

Contained Silver

(000 t) (g/t Au) (000 oz) (000 t) (g/t Ag) (000 oz) Proven Reserves Mill (Oxide) 548.2 2.95 52.0 548.2 16.87 297.3 Roaster (Refractory) 594.5 4.01 76.6 594.5 16.64 318.0 Stockpile - Roaster 213.5 3.12 21.4 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 155.0 1.80 9.0 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 3.4 12.85 1.4 Total Proven 1,514.6 3.29 160.4 1,142.7 16.75 615.3 Probable Reserves Mill (Oxide) 454.7 2.40 35.1 454.7 15.70 229.5 Roaster (Refractory) 583.4 2.61 48.9 583.4 14.41 270.2 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 82.5 9.57 25.4 Total Probable 1,120.6 3.04 109.4 1,038.8 14.97 499.8 Total Proven and Probable Reserves

Mill (Oxide) 1,002.9 2.70 87.1 1,002.9 16.34 526.8 Roaster (Refractory) 1,177.9 3.32 125.6 1,177.9 15.53 588.2 Stockpile - Roaster 213.5 3.12 21.4 Stockpile – Roaster Arturo OP 155.0 1.80 9.0 Underground - El Nino (Roaster) 85.9 9.70 26.8 Total Proven and Probable 2,635.2 3.18 269.8 2,180.8 15.90 1,115.1

Notes:


roaster, and 0.93 g/t (0.027 oz/st) Au for the oxide mill and refractory roaster. 5. Mineral Reserves for the underground are reported using a gold cut-off grade of 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au. 6. Mineral Reserves represent attributable ounces to Premier, equal to 40% of the Joint Venture controlled

ounces. 7. Silver ounces are not reported in the Barrick LOM cash flow. 8. Cut-off grades are incorporated into the net block value calculation, which was used to determine the


It should be noted that the Mineral Reserves correspond to the Mine Plan of Operations that

was submitted to the BLM for approval. Approval to mine South Arturo has been formally

granted by the BLM for the West Button Hill area of the Mine. Mining of the West Button Hill

pit area was completed in 2017.

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The South Arturo mine is an expansion of the historic Dee pit, which was profitably mined in

the 1980s and 1990s by previous owners of the property.

WHITTLE ANALYSIS AND BLOCK MODEL INPUTS Whittle, a Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm commercial software package for analyzing the

profitability of open pit mining, was used to evaluate the South Arturo Mine. Table 15-3 defines

the Whittle parameters and block value inputs used to generate the ultimate pit shell. Costs

were generated by Barrick personnel from Goldstrike historical costs, and the slope inputs

were supplied by Piteau Associates Engineering Limited (Piteau) of North Vancouver, British

Columbia.

A net block value was generated for each 12 m x 12 m x 6 m block for each of the processing

methods available at the existing Barrick operations, which are the following:

• Run of Mine (ROM) Heap Leaching;

• Oxide Milling (CIL);

• Roasting.

The processing method that returned the highest net value was selected as the processing

method for the block, and its net value was exported to Whittle for the pit optimization. If all

processing methods returned a negative net value, the block was classified as waste.

DILUTION Barrick determined that the dilution was accounted for in the generation of the open pit block

model for the Mineral Reserve tonnes and grade and incorporated into the mining schedule.

In RPA’s opinion, given the disseminated type of gold mineralization, the large selective mining

unit (SMU) dimensions, the historical reconciliations at the Dee Mine, and the experience of

the adjacent mines on the Carlin Trend in addressing dilution factors, the appropriate measures

have been employed for the dilution in the Mineral Reserves. In addition, a whole-block

analysis was done for each block, which incorporated lower grade and lower recovery portions

for each block.

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CUT-OFF GRADES Typical South Arturo cut-off grades for different processing methods at an US$1,200 gold price

are shown in Table 15-4. It should be noted that the block value calculation incorporates more

variables than the cut-off grades shown in Table 15-5, however, the cut-off grades shown in

Table 15-4 are typical for the South Arturo ores.

Due to the complexity of material segregation from UG and availability of existing material

storage facilities, currently there is not an economical or practical way to segregate material

based on grade. Therefore, any incremental material above 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au will be

blended in and shipped with the ore production. This material may be classified as Reserve

to be consistent with accounting principles and standard practices. Hence any development

material below 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au will be regarded as waste.

TABLE 15-3 WHITTLE AND BLOCK VALUE INPUT PARAMETER SUMMARY Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Input Value Units ROM Heap Leach Oxide Mill TCM-Acid TCM-Alkaline Roaster Gold Price US$/oz Au 1,200 1,200 1,200 Silver Price US$/oz Ag 16.50 16.50 16.50Selling Costs US$/st 0.005 0.003 0.003 Net Proceeds Royalty % 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% Processing Cost US$/st - Processed 1.62 23.91 26.96 Mining Cost US$/st - Mined 1.34 1.34 1.34 REDOX Limits redox < 2.5 redox < 2.5

LOM Gold Recovery Equations Equations ROM Heap Leach Recovery = ((0.801*Cyanide Solubility Ratio)+(-0.142*Silica)+0.204)*0.85 Oxide Mill Recovery = (0.509*Cyanide Solubility Ratio)+(-0.030*Silica)+0.482 Roaster Recovery = (92.401391-39.35297*Exp(-11.99358*HG))-(2.6*Silica)

Pit Slope Angles

Angles (deg.) Pit Slope Angles

Angles (deg.)

Pit Slope Angles

Angles (deg.)

Zone 0 30 Zone 13 32 Zone 26 23 Zone 1 35 Zone 14 32 Zone 27 26 Zone 2 33 Zone 15 32 Zone 28 20 Zone 3 22 Zone 16 30 Zone 29 38 Zone 4 30 Zone 17 32 Zone 30 24 Zone 5 33 Zone 18 36 Zone 31 30 Zone 6 22 Zone 19 30 Zone 32 30 Zone 7 22 Zone 20 35 Zone 33 30 Zone 8 24 Zone 21 34 Zone 9 35 Zone 22 27 Zone 10 34 Zone 23 38 Zone 11 28 Zone 24 37 Zone 12 34 Zone 25 32

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Effective recoveries utilized at the cut-off grade are shown in Table 15-4.

TABLE 15-4 EFFECTIVE RECOVERIES AT CUT-OFF GRADE Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Process Method Gold

(%) Silver

(%) Roaster 62.84 10.00 Oxide Mill 77.01 33.00 ROM Leach 48.50 7.00 UG Roaster 88.12 -

TABLE 15-5 CUT-OFF GRADE SUMMARY Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Process Method Gold

(opt Au) Gold (g/t)

Roaster 0.037 1.27 Oxide Mill 0.027 0.93 ROM Leach 0.003 0.10 UG Roaster 0.185 6.34

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16 MINING METHODS OPEN PIT

OPEN PIT DESIGN Ultimate design pit limits were determined by generating Whittle pit shells based on the net

cash block values generated in Vulcan general mine planning software, and the pit slopes

recommended by Piteau. Based on these results, Barrick designed the final pit with haul ramps

and appropriate catch benches. The system of units used at the mine is imperial.

Haul ramps are designed to be 42.7 m (140 ft) wide, including the safety berm for double lane

traffic accommodating the 263 t (302 st) class haul trucks. From approximately 171 m (560 ft)

above the final pit bottom, haulage ramps reduce down to single lane traffic at a width of 12.2

m to 16.8 m (40 ft to 55 ft) wide. For both double and single lane traffic, haulage ramps have

a maximum of a 10% grade. All pits are designed to be mined on 6.1 m (20 ft) high benches

in ore, with 9.1 m to 12.2 m (30 ft to 40 ft) wide catch benches for every other production bench.

The South Arturo Mine ultimate pit is shown in Figure 16-1 and includes the Phase 1 reserve

pit, Phase 3 resource pit, and Phase 2 which completed mining November 2017.

Table 16-1 summarizes the Phase 1 pit dimensions.

TABLE 16-1 PIT DESIGN PARAMETERS AND DIMENSIONS SUMMARY Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Open Pit Overall Slopes

(degrees) Length

(m) Width

(m) Depth

(m) Pit Bottom Elevation

(MASL) Phase 1 (Reserves) 28 - 36 866 1,154 320 1,512 Phase 3 (Resources) 20 - 38 1,051 1,073 311 1,487

Phase 2

West Button Hill

Phase 1

Dee

Phase 3South Arturo

0 500 1000 1500 2000 Feet

0 100 400 500 Metres300200


N


Open Pit DesignSouth Arturo



Figure 1 -6 1

1 -26

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OPEN PIT MINING The South Arturo operation is an open pit mine with production sourced from several

interconnected phased pits that are designed to optimize both mill feed and dewatering

campaigns. The average mining rate will be 110,000 tpd of ore plus waste over the mine life.

The current mine life is five years (2018-2022), however, if the price of gold increases, the

mine life will be re-evaluated. Mining of the West Button Hill pit was completed in 2017.

Mining is carried out with a Barrick owned fleet of mining equipment including 263 t (302 st)

class rear dump haul trucks, electric shovels, hydraulic excavators, a front-end loader, and

blast hole drills for 222 mm to 251 mm (8-3/4 in. to 9-7/8 in.) diameter blast holes. Pit benches

are 6.1 m (20 ft) in height in ore and 12.2 m (40 ft) in waste. Track dozers, graders, front end

loaders, and service vehicles support the mining operation.

Overburden is transported by off-highway, 263 t (302 st) trucks from the open pit to adjacent

overburden storage areas, which are approximately 0.9 km from the pit exit. Mined ore is

trucked over existing and proposed haul roads to appropriate stockpiles, depending on ore

type. Ore that requires milling is transported to a pre-determined stockpile location for

transportation to Barrick’s Goldstrike facilities for processing located approximately five

kilometers from the South Arturo Mine. Mill-grade ore is transported to Barrick’s Goldstrike

facilities. Approximately 1.63 million tonnes of refractory ore are planned to be transported

from South Arturo to Goldstrike. Sub-grade ore material may be placed in stockpiles, or on a

selected portion of the overburden storage areas for possible future processing. Oxide mill

ore is transported by truck to Barrick’s Cortez operation for processing, which is located

approximately 118 km (73 mi) from South Arturo.

Typical loading production statistics used for the hydraulic and electrical shovels, and trucks

are summarized below:

• P&H 4100: 4,375 short ton per hour (stph) at 1.5 min/truck load; • P&H 2800: 2,362 stph at 2.3 min/load; and • Hitachi EX5500: 1,159 stph at 3.9 min/load.

Diesel-powered rotary drills will be used for drilling blast holes. Typical drilling penetration rates

will range from 29 m/hr (95 ft/hr) to 46 m/hr (150 ft/hr). For 12.2 m (40 ft) high benches, the

typical subdrill will be 1.2 m (4 ft) and stemming lengths will average approximately 6.1 m to

6.7 m (20 ft to 22 ft). Average drill availability and utilization are 82% and 44%, respectively.

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Vertical blast holes are loaded with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) or emulsion, which

subsequently is detonated. Powder factors vary due to the changing lithological units and

geological structures/conditions. Powder factors range from 0.09 kg of explosive per tonne to

0.31 kg/t (0.18 lb/st to 0.62 lb/st). Unconsolidated gravels and growth media that do not require

the use of blasting techniques prior to removal are ripped with a dozer, as needed. Explosives

and blasting agents are handled by licensed haulers and stored on site in compliance with the

required regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Mine Safety and Health

Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security. Federal, state, and county

roads/highways are used to transport explosives and other mining materials by licensed

trucking companies.

ORE CONTROL Ore control procedures developed and currently in use at the Goldstrike open pit mine are

used at South Arturo. Cuttings from production drill holes are sampled and logged by the drill

operators following procedures outlined by the ore control department. Every shift these

samples are delivered to the laboratory for analysis and the results are downloaded from the

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) repository to an acQuire database as an

ASCII file. The ore control geologist imports the assays into mine planning software and model

the blocks using predefined modelling parameters.

Interpolation of the blasthole assay and metallurgical data will be performed in Maptek Vulcan

software using the ID2 process, which estimates into an existing ore control block model of 3

m x 3 m x 6 m (10 ft x 10 ft x 20 ft) blocks. These blocks and blasthole survey data are displayed

on the Maptek Vulcan screen and delineated by the ore control geologist/engineer into ore or

waste by grouping blocks of similar characteristics utilizing the routing ore/waste routing

criteria.

Values for the ore polygons regarding their unique identifier number/letter combination, AuFA

and LECO values (metallurgical characteristics) are entered into the Hexagon Mining’s Jigsaw

Fleet Management System file automatically after creation in Vulcan, a general modelling

package. This dispatch file allows the ore composite to be displayed on the Dispatch and

loading unit screens for routing to the various stockpiles. Loads are tracked to their destination

via Dispatch.

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Ore is routed by process type to the appropriate facility. Oxide ore will be treated on a leach

pad or at an oxide mill facility, dependent on grade cut-offs. Refractory ore will be treated at a

roaster facility via various stockpiles according to grade and metallurgical characteristics for

blending purposes.

Waste is routed as inert or environmentally adverse. Environmentally adverse waste is to be

segregated to the interior of the waste rock disposal facilities.

OVERBURDEN/WASTE STORAGE DESIGN DISCUSSION Barrick proposes to increase the area and height of the currently authorized Overburden

Storage Areas Nos. 1-4 and Phase C, as noted in the Arturo Plan of Operations dated August

2012. The Plan of Operations addresses the need to accommodate the overburden from the

mining of additional pits, when production is expanded beyond the West Button Hill pit in future

years. The majority of the overburden will be placed in the West Overburden Storage Area

(WOSA). A buffer zone around the waste/overburden storage areas is planned, which can be

up to 30 m (98 ft) to make accommodations for storm water controls and haul roads. The

heights of the waste rock disposal facilities (WRDF) are planned to be between approximately

75 m and 150 m above the ground surface.

Condemnation drilling is planned for proposed overburden storage areas to verify the absence

of Mineral Resources, and to collect geotechnical data.

Possible economic mineralization is known to extend beneath the proposed pits. Pit backfilling

was not considered because of the possibility of resource sterilization. The overburden storage

expansions will be engineered, designed, and constructed in the same manner as existing

waste dumps and currently authorized overburden storage areas in order to:

• Safeguard long-term dump stability;

• Provide for effective reclamation;

• Reduce the overall visual impact; and

• Facilitate deer migration.

Overburden storage area capacities may vary within the proposed footprints. The WOSA can

contain an estimated 550 million tonnes of overburden at a height of approximately 160 m, and

the EOSA can contain approximately 50 million tonnes of overburden with a height of 80 m.

The Mine could expand to contain approximately 190 million tonnes of volcanic Carlin

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Formation overburden, 320 million tonnes of rock overburden, and 25 million tonnes of

previously mined overburden and fill. The overburden (including both Carlin Formation and

rock overburden) is anticipated to be approximately 88% oxide material and 12%

environmentally adverse material, which may be potentially acid generating.

Mined overburden will be hauled to the authorized and proposed facilities and placed by off-

highway truck end dumping from the top of the active faces, resulting in working faces of

approximately 1.3H:1V, which is the natural angle of repose. The side slopes of the

overburden storage areas will be graded to 3H:1V, except in areas of steep underlying terrain

where the overall reclaimed slopes will be 2.5H:1V. The overburden storage areas will be

constructed in 15 m to 45 m lifts. Also, an undulating and varied topography will be sculpted

along the edges of the dumps to create a more natural-looking post-mining landform.

Storm water controls utilizing best accepted practices will be built for the erosion control and

long-term stability. Engineered storm water diversion ditches, constructed up gradient of the

Mine’s facilities, will be designed to handle water flow from a 24-hour, 100-year storm event,

which will be re-routed to flow down gradient of the South Arturo facilities.

Baseline studies and laboratory testing have been completed to determine overburden

characteristics. The South Arturo geochemical characterization database includes

approximately 225 acid-base accounting tests, 89 meteoric water mobility tests (MWMT), and

six humidity cell tests. Overburden samples tested are representative of the rock type and

oxidation state of the overburden to be mined. Since environmentally adverse overburden only

constitutes approximately 12% of the overburden, it will be intermixed with oxidized overburden

and not segregated. Environmentally adverse overburden will not be placed within 15 m of the

final reclaimed perimeter. At least 7.6 m will be maintained between environmentally adverse

overburden and the natural ground surface. At least 0.7 m of growth media (topsoil cover) will

be placed over areas that receive environmentally adverse overburden. In summary, the

material will be mixed with oxide overburden and encapsulated by oxide overburden within the

overburden storage facilities.

PIT SLOPES In 2007, Barrick contracted Piteau to perform a geotechnical study on the South Arturo Mine

area. Piteau was chosen due to its extensive experience in performing geotechnical work at

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the nearby Goldstrike operation. For the study, Piteau was provided with preliminary pit

designs for North Deep and South Arturo based on a gold price of $575 per ounce. Piteau

performed a nine-hole geotechnical drilling campaign that incorporated geo-mechanical core

logging, oriented core logging, laboratory testing, and piezometer installations.

The Piteau report (Piteau, 2008) emphasizes that the formation of highest concern in dictating

the final pit design slopes is the Carlin Formation. Six additional geotechnical holes were drilled

in 2013-2014. The southern portion of the South Arturo pit is affected the most by this

formation. An upper and lower ash formation, the lower of which is at the base of the Carlin

Formation, is the problematic rock type. The ash can become altered into a weak clay-like

rock of high plasticity and exhibit a friction angle of nine degrees with cohesion of 720 lb/ft2.

Basic parameters used in the design of the Arturo West Button Hill (Phase 2) are listed below:

• Catch benches will be designed every 18 m (60 ft) in ore and 12 m (40 ft) in waste and will be built in 6.1 m (20 ft) high lifts;

• Minimum effective catch benches will be 9.1 m (30 ft) wide for 18 m (60 ft) high triple benches, and 7.0 m to 7.6 m (23 ft to 25 ft) wide for 12.2 m (40 ft) high benches;

• A minimum of 32 m (105 ft) wide step out for ramp width;

• A minimum factor of safety (FOS) for the north pit wall overall slope of 1.30; a FOS for

the southeast overall slope of 1.22; a FOS for the south wall overall slope of 1.46; and a FOS for the west and northwest overall slopes of 1.50.

TABLE 16-2 BUTTON HILL PIT SLOPE RECOMMENDATIONS Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

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HYDROGEOLOGY The regional bedrock groundwater level has been lowered to below ultimate pit levels from

pumping that is occurring at the neighbouring underground mines: Meikle, Rodeo, and Leeville.

Phase 3 is currently a resource pit, and it is primarily composed of the Carlin Formation. The

Carlin Formation’s primary hydrological characteristics are listed below:

• The Carlin Formation overlies bedrock in thickness up to 240 m at Phase 3 - composed of fine grained lakebed silts and sands, and coarse grained river sands and gravels. Variably altered volcanic ash fall tuffs form continuous and widespread tuff layers, which form boundaries to water flows that include both perched and confined zones of compartmentalized groundwater as identified via drilling and piezometer installation.

• Due to the poor conductivity of the Carlin Formation, passive drainage will occur prior to and during mining to help promote slope stability.

• The passive drainage plan will include installation of vertical drains for drainage into

the bedrock prior to mining and will include installation of horizontal drains during mining (pending approval from State of Nevada).

• Water flows will be managed via piping to sumps or tanks where fill stands will be

installed for filling water trucks to use in dust control.

WASTE ROCK FACILITIES Design criteria for the Waste Rock Disposal Facilities (WRDF) are summarized below. The

WRDF design was performed by Tierra Group International, Ltd. (Tierra, May 2014):

• The waste rock stacking plan includes waste rock from the Bootstrap, Rodeo Creek and Vinini Formation and a small amount of the lower strength Carlin Formation.

A summary of waste rock material properties is shown in Table 16-3.

TABLE 16-3 WASTE ROCK DISPOSAL FACILITY MATERIAL PROPERTIES Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Material Strength Model Density, t/m3 Density, lb/ft3 Cohesion, lb/ft2 Slope Angle

Waste Rock Mohr-Coulomb 1.76 110 0 38 Tailings Dam 1 Mohr-Coulomb 1.76 110 0 34

Tailings S=f(overburden) 1.36 85 ζ/σ = 0.1 Carlin Mixed Mohr-Coulomb 1.76 110 550 12.3

Carlin Bedrock Mohr-Coulomb 1.84 115 250 30

• Static FOS 1.30;

• Pseudostatic (Earthquake) FOS 1.05;

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• The peak ground acceleration (PGA) used was 0.35 g corresponding to the maximum credible earthquake (MCE) of 7.0 magnitude;

• The horizontal acceleration used in the analysis is one half of the PGA or 0.175 g;

• A phreatic surface within the tailings material was applied seven feet below the ground surface.

• Tierra’s recommendations for WRDF construction are listed below:

• Waste rock can be stacked up to 43 m (140 ft) high on top of TD1 (Historical Dee Gold tailings dam), while maintaining FOS values that exceed minimum design criteria for both static and pseudostatic conditions provided the WRDF toe is maintained at least 34 m (110 ft) downstream from the existing TD1 buttress toe.

• Waste rock can be stacked up to 213 m (700 ft) on the northwest side of the facility and still meet minimum FOS for static and pseudostatic conditions.

• Typical slopes were designed at 3H:1V.

• The south side of the WRDF, and anywhere Carlin will be concentrated at a ratio of greater than 20% in the first lift, requires encapsulation within the WRDF.

• Carlin material should be spread throughout the WRDF, and not concentrated in specific areas within the WRDF, particularly on the toes and outer faces of lifts; and Carlin material should not be stacked more than one lift 15 m (50 ft) high. Successive lifts of Carlin material should be horizontally offset (separated by competent, non-Carlin waste rock) to prevent continuous zones of Carlin more than 15 m (50 ft) high within the WRDF.

UNDERGROUND MINING

MINE DEVELOPMENT El Nino Underground will be accessed via a portal located at 1,536 MASL (5,040 ft) elevation

within the South Arturo Phase-2 pit. The current design includes a twin portal decline for

accessing the ore deposit. The current mine depth for reserves is planned to extend down to

1,477 MASL (4,845 ft) elevation. Plan and isometric views of the underground mine design

are shown in Figures 16-2 and 16-3 respectively.

PRODUCTION MINING The primary method of mining will be underhand cut and fill with cemented rockfill as the fill

material. The underhand drifts are nominally designed as 4.6 m (15 ft) wide by 4.6 m (15 ft)

high. The minimum width is 4.6 m (15 ft). The primary drift is driven with increased ground

support to hold the ground open, then backfilled with a high strength cemented rock fill

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backhauled into the mine. Where the ore width exceeds the nominal drift width, subsequent

drifts are developed (parallel or at oblique angles to the primary drift) and then backfilled. This

process continues until the entire ore shape at a given elevation has been excavated and filled.

Successive lifts are taken beneath the primary workings, utilizing the backfill as an engineered

back. This method can provide a consistent production rate from a mining area given enough

headings to complete the full mining cycle.

MINE BACKFILL The underhand drift and fill method provides a backfill roof for subsequent lifts in the mining

cycle. A backfill plant, shotcrete plant, cement storage facilities, aggregate storage area, and

cement mixing pit will be located on surface to support this mining method.

PLAN VIEW

Portals and Main Ramp

Legend:

Reserve Material

Level Access to Reserve

Resource

0 100 200 300 400 500 Feet

0 50 100 150 Metres


N

Figure -16 2


Plan View ofEl Nino Underground

Reserves and Resources



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ISOMETRIC VIEW

Portals and Main Ramp

Legend:

Reserve Material

Level Access to Reserve

Resource

0 100 200 300 400 500 Feet

0 50 100 150 Metres


N

Figure -16 2


Isometric View ofEl Nino Underground MineReserves and Resources



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ORE HANDLING Ore will be hauled to ore pads on surface for temporary mined rock storage. The material will

be subsequently transported to the Goldstrike Roaster facility for ore processing via Open Pit

Loader and Haul Truck combination.

WASTE HANDLING Waste will be hauled to waste pads on surface for temporary mined rock storage. The material

will be subsequently transported to a waste dump facility based on the rock type being mined

at El Nino. The material will be moved to the waste rock facility via Open Pit Loader and Haul

Truck combination.

UNDERGROUND MINE DESIGN CRITERIA The generally low-strength rock conditions are the key factor in the mine design and mining

method selection.

The El Nino deposit is a Carlin-type deposit, with fine to very finely disseminated gold and

arsenic bearing pyrite. The host rocks are generally sedimentary, mostly calcareous

formations, frequently altered and decalcified. There is hydrothermal alteration and there are

collapse structures which generated the breccias that host the deposits. The alteration and

folding and faulting have led to poor rock quality in the deposits in generally and locally very

poor ground conditions near the major faults.

The geometry of the deposits is variable from flat-lying to pipe-like, with irregular shapes due

to the alteration.

GROUND CONDITIONS Ground conditions are poor to fair due to the alteration of the original structures, with the known

presence of some voids from the drilling history and surface mining in the Phase-2 pit. The

generally low-strength rock conditions are the key factor in the mine design and mining method

selection.

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CONSIDERATION OF MARGINAL CUT-OFF The concept of “next best ore” applies to the marginal cut-off grade based on the Goldstrike

Roaster stockpile inventory of 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au. Any shipping of material grading lower

than the 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au stockpile feed will displace higher grade tons processed at the

roaster, lowering the metal produced.

Due to the complexity of material segregation from underground and availability of existing

material storage facilities, currently there is not an economical or practical way to segregate

material based on grade. Therefore, any incremental material above 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au

will be blended in and shipped with the ore production. This material may be classified as

Reserve to be consistent with accounting principles and standard practices. Hence any

development material below 3.43 g/t (0.1 oz/st) Au will be regarded as waste.

PRODUCTION AND THROUGHPUT RATES The mine plan from 2018 forward is designed and scheduled for a development rate of 4.6 m

to 7.6 m (15 ft to 25 ft) of lateral development per day. This translates to an average of 182

tpd to 364 tpd (200 tons per day to 400 tons per day) depending on the mine schedule and

availability of mining faces.

VENTILATION The current plan for ventilation is to have vane axial fans providing air to the working faces via

a ventilation ducting system. This will be used for the development of the portals and ramps.

After the subsequent connection of the portals via the loop around ramp, a ventilation raise or

bypass will be installed with a vane axial fan which will provide for flow through ventilation. In

this scenario one of the portals will be a dedicated source of fresh air while the other will

exhaust out the used air.

BLASTING AND EXPLOSIVES Blasting is carried out with the use of mobile explosives vehicles utilizing bulk emulsion. Bulk

emulsion is transported by ISO containers to underground faces from the powder magazine.

Blasting typically is planned to take place at the end of shift. However, localized blasting on

demand can be permitted in designated “safe” zones when applicable.

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GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS The current rock mass encountered in the El Nino underground is classified into poor to fair

classification with the known presence of voids. The voids and some data were noted in

surface drill holes and open pit mining in the Phase-2 pit. The underhand drift and fill method

is utilized in areas of Fair to Poor ground conditions regardless of the width of the zone.

All headings are to be supported immediately after blasting. Rock bolts are assumed currently

to be swellex bolts. Where development is under cemented backfill, there is no support used

in the back as the fill is designed to have adequate strength to remain unsupported. However,

additional support will be installed as needed if deemed necessary.

HYDROGEOLOGY Regional groundwater elevations are influenced by pumping at the Barrick Goldstrike Mine.

The lowest level of the El Niño underground workings as currently planned will be at the 1,356

MASL (4,450 ft) elevation while the groundwater elevation is at approximately 1,052 MASL

(3,450 ft) in that area. No additional dewatering will be necessary for the proposed

underground operations; however, the underground workings and portions of the Arturo pit are

expected to fill with water at the end of the mine life and upon cessation of dewatering at the

Barrick Goldstrike Mine (BLM 2012).

UNDERGROUND MOBILE EQUIPMENT The current underground mobile equipment is assumed to consist of mobile equipment

including load-haul-dump units, haul trucks, jumbos, bolters and support equipment.

COMMENTS ON UNDERGROUND MINING METHODS RPA is of the opinion of that the mining methods used are appropriate to the deposit style and

employ conventional mining tools and mechanization, the LOM underground mine plan has

been appropriately developed to maximize mining efficiencies, based on the current

knowledge of geotechnical, hydrological, mining and processing information on the Project.

The equipment and infrastructure requirements required for life-of-mine operations are well

understood. Conventional underground mining equipment is used to support the underground

mining activities. This equipment is standard to the industry and has been proven on site. The

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underground equipment fleet is to be provided by an underground contractor with Barrick

oversight.

The predicted mine life to 2023 is achievable based on the projected annual production rate

and the Mineral Reserves estimated.

LIFE OF MINE PLAN

OPEN PIT The January 2018 Life of Mine (LOM) plan for the South Arturo schedules the operation to run

from 2018 to 2022 producing an approximate total of 142 million tonnes of ore and waste.

Average production is 110,000 metric tpd using Goldstrike mining equipment. The ore will be

processed by two possible routes: oxide mill and roaster. A total of 2.5 million tonnes at a

grade of 2.7 g/t Au will be processed in an oxide milling circuit, and the remaining 3.5 million

tonnes at a grade of 3.29 g/t Au will be shipped to the Goldstrike Roaster. The heap leach ore

will be segregated for possible processing in the future. Table 16-4 summarizes the expected

LOM mining production schedule by year on a 100% basis, i.e., which includes the total amount

of material mined and total ounces mined. Premier is a 40% partner in the Mine and Premier

will be responsible for approximately 40% of the costs and will benefit from approximately 40%

of the revenue.

TABLE 16-4 OPEN PIT LIFE OF MINE – MINE PRODUCTION (100%)

Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Year Ore Tonnes

(000)

Ore Grade (g/t Au)

Contained Gold (000 oz Au)

Waste Tonnes (000)

Total Tonnes

Mined (000)

Stripping Ratio

2018 31 1.99 2 10,611 10,642 341.8 2019 121 1.97 8 36,986 37,106 306.4 2020 678 2.22 48 68,352 69,030 100.8 2021 2,783 2.85 255 18,366 21,148 6.6 2022 1,840 3.71 220 2,174 4,014 1.2 Total 5,453 3.04 532 141,941 141,941 25.0

Notes:

1. From Barrick, 2018 2. Numbers may not add due to rounding 3. Tonnes and grades are metric units

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UNDERGROUND Based on the January 2018 LOM plan, the El Nino underground is scheduled to operate from

2018 to 2024. An approximate total of 215,000 tonnes of ore is scheduled at an average grade

of 9.7 g/t Au. Table 16-5 summarizes the expected LOM mining production schedule by year

on a 100% basis, i.e., includes the total amount of material mined and total ounces mined.

Premier is a 40% partner in the Mine and Premier will be responsible for approximately 40%

of the costs and will benefit from approximately 40% of the revenue.

TABLE 16-5 UNDERGROUND LIFE OF MINE – MINE PRODUCTION (100%) Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Year Ore

Tonnes Ore Grade

(g/t Au) Contained Gold

(000 oz Au) 2018 1,062 4.07 139 2019 23,109 9.13 6,782 2020 61,684 9.25 18,344 2021 34,922 9.54 10,708 2022 65,365 10.41 21,874 2023 19,460 8.72 5,458 2024 9,172 12.43 3,665 Total 214,774 9.70 66,970

Notes:

1. From Barrick, 2018 2. Numbers may not add due to rounding 3. Tonnes and grades are metric units

MINE EQUIPMENT

OPEN PIT Though the South Arturo Mine is not yet in the full production phase, Barrick is using a

conventional rear dump 263 t (302 st) haul truck fleet loaded by 26.8 m3 to 47.4 m3 (35 yd3 to

62 yd3 ) hydraulic and electric shovels. A list of the main equipment to be utilized is shown in

Table 16-6, with most of the equipment provided by Barrick’s Goldstrike Mine.

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TABLE 16-6 OPEN PIT MINING EQUIPMENT Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Type of Unit Number

Komatsu 930E Trucks 263-t (290-st) 22 P&H 4100 Electric Shovels 62 yd3 2 EX5500 35 yd3 Shovels 1 Komatsu 685 Conv. Water truck 1 Komatsu 930E Conv. Water truck 3 Atlas Copco Drills 4 Dozers Track/Wheel 6 Caterpillar Graders 4

UNDERGROUND The current underground mobile equipment is assumed to consist of mobile equipment

including load-haul-dump (LHD) units, haul trucks, jumbos, bolters and support equipment.

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17 RECOVERY METHODS Ore from South Arturo will be processed via one of three possible routes: ROM heap leaching

(possible in the future if economics warrant), milling and CIL, or roasting and CIL. Metallurgical

testing and mineralogical study work was conducted on various samples taken from South

Arturo to support a Feasibility Study (Barrick, 2012). The metallurgical testing is described in

Section 13 Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing.

Ore from South Arturo will be routed based on the maximum net cash flow that can be

achieved. The majority of the precious metal production will come from ore that will be trucked

to existing Barrick’s processing circuits located approximately 12.9 km away over improved

gravel roads.

ROM HEAP LEACHING ROM material is segregated in the waste dump for future possible heap leach process if

economics warrant. ROM material will be placed on a permanent leach pad by haul trucks.

Cyanide solution will be distributed by drip emitters. The pregnant solution will then be

collected and pumped to a carbon adsorption circuit. The cyanide concentration and pH of the

barren solution will be adjusted, and the solution will be re-circulated via pumping to the heap

leach pads. Loaded carbon will be trucked to the existing autoclave carbon processing circuit

for stripping and refining to recover the precious metals and the carbon will be regenerated

prior to being returned to the carbon adsorption columns at South Arturo for reuse. The

possible process flowsheet is shown in Figure 17-1.

OXIDE ORE MILLING/CIL The grinding and CIL circuits in the existing circuit at Cortez will be utilized to process the

oxidized mill grade South Arturo ore on a campaign basis. The process flowsheet is shown in

Figure 17-2. The treatment plant currently includes crushing, semi-autogenous grinding

(SAG), ball milling, grind thickening, carbon-in-column (CIC) circuit for the grind thickener

overflow solution, CIL circuit, tailings countercurrent decantation (CCD) wash thickener circuit,

carbon stripping and reactivation circuits, and a refinery to produce gold doré.

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ROASTER/CIL Ore that is scheduled for roaster/CIL processing will be toll processed in the existing roaster

circuit at Goldstrike on a campaign basis. The roaster pre-oxidizes ore that contains refractory

carbonaceous and sulphidic material, so it can be effectively processed in a traditional CIL

circuit. The Goldstrike Roaster process flowsheet is shown in Figure 17-3. Metallurgical

recovery is based on the BTR test results and Goldstrike Roaster predicted recovery curve.

FROM PIT

LIME

ROMHEAP

LEACHPAD

MAKE-UPWATER

PREGNANT SOLUTIONCOLLECTION

CYANIDESTORAGE

TANK

BARRENTANK

STRIPPEDCARBON

FROMGOLDSTRIKE

CARBON COLUMNS

Barren Solution Flow

Preg. Solution FlowCarbon Flow

Ore Flow

LOADEDCARBON

TOGOLDSTRIKE

NaCN

Source: Barrick Gold Corporation, 2011.March 2018

South Arturo Mine

ROM Heap LeachProcess Flowsheet



Figure 17-1

17-3

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1 Belt

ROM Ore

3 Belt6 Belt

5 Belt

Lime

Sump

Hydro Cyclone x 1020" Dia

Trash Bin

NaCN

Surge Tank

TrashScreen

Floc

To CIL

To CIL

DewateringScreen

Kiln x 2

Fresh Carbon

Press

Flux

Oven

Gold

E/W CellsBarren Tank

26' x 28'

Preg. Tank26' Diax 28'

Boiler x 3

Air

Propane

CCD Thickener #165' Dia

CCD Thickener #265' Dia

ToProcessWater Reactor

HoldingTank

MixingTank

FeSO4

TailingsPond

Floc

Floc

Lime

HeatExchangers

Elution Column5' Dia x 28'

HCI

Acid Wash x 35' Dia x 28'

To CIC

To CIC

A-30/28 Truck

A-30/28 Truck

To Process Water

SafetyScreen

SafetyScreen

TrashScreen

SafetyScreen

SafetyScreen

CIC Circuit x 611' x 8' Dia x 15'

CIL Circuit x 856' Dia x 58'

AirBlowers

Crushing Circuit

Legend:

Grinding Circuit

Thickening CircuitCIL CircuitCIC Circuit

Carbon

Regen Carbon

From Kiln

Grind Thickener65' Thickener4 Belt

Ball Mill16' x 28.5' Dia4500 hp

SAG Mill26' Dia x 11'4500 hp VS

2 Belt

Jaw Crusher47' x 63'300 hp

Regen Carbon

From Kiln

Pregnant SolutionBarren Solution

AirElutionsRefinery

CCD Thickeners

TailsBarren Soln

NaCN

Source: Barrick Gold Corp., 2011.March 2018

South Arturo Mine

Oxide Ore Treatment - Cortez



Figure 17-2

17-4

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� 2 stages� minus 3.75 cm

� 2 x Double Rotator� 7,353 kW/unit� Wi = 18 kWh/t� P80 = 74 MICRONS�

� Carbon in leach circuit� 16 hours retention time

Tailingspond

Carbonto/from

AA block

Neutralization

Hg removal

SO2 scrubbing

CO, NOx reduction

CALCINETHICKENER

CRUSHINGGRINDING

� 2 x Roasters� 2 stage fluid bed� Independence type� 1,100 TPD O2

GAS TRAIN

ROASTING

LEACHING

GAS CLEANING

Wet ESP

Dust Scrubberand Condenser

2 HOT TRAINS

1 COLD TRAIN

Source: Hatch-Powerpoint Presentation Slide.March 2018

South Arturo Mine

Barrick GoldstrikeRoaster Process Flowsheet



Figure 17-3

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18 PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE Project infrastructure includes:

• Expansion of the Dee open pit, and development of the El Nino underground and New Waste Rock Disposal Facilities

• Support facilities, including a communication site that has been installed

• New power transmission lines that have been installed

The Mine will require new operating facilities such as a maintenance shop for mine equipment

and administrative offices for the undergound. Both water and electricity supply still exist on

site from previous operations. Figure 18-1 shows the proposed Mine site layout and utilities.

Regional access from Elko, and Reno, Nevada, is via Interstate Highway 80. Local access to

the South Arturo Mine is by way of paved and improved gravel roads. The Barrick Goldstrike

Mine property, which is located 4.8 km to the southeast of South Arturo, and both are

connected by improved gravel roads. Access to the Mine is also available over gravel road

from the Dunphy exit on Interstate Highway 80, located approximately 40 km south.

Electrical power is provided by Nevada Energy through an existing 69 kV power line (right-of-

way N-38874) that terminates at a substation near the previous Dee mill. A new substation and

associated power lines have been constructed to supply power to the site facilities. The existing

substation and a portion of the existing power line will be removed after the cessation of mining

and processing.

Water will be supplied locally from deep wells installed with submersible pumps. The process

supply wells will provide process water and fire reserve water to a single head tank. Potable

water will be supplied to a separate water tank and the water will be treated.

The use of the Goldstrike mobile maintenance facility was determined to provide the best cost

savings and provide better flexibility to the Goldstrike and South Arturo operations. It is

currently proposed that any satellite offices will consist of a single building of modular

construction.

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In 2014, the Mine completed construction of a number of facilities and made improvements to

existing infrastructure (Barrick, 2015a). Infrastructure completed in 2015 includes (Barrick,

2015b):

• Mine road construction;

• Fuel bay of an approximate size of 114 m3 (30,000 gal);

• Ore stockpile;

• Storm water dam;

• Mine perimeter fencing; and

• Vertical dewatering wells as needed, and after approval is granted from the State Engineer’s Office.

Infrastructure installed on the site is listed below:

• 120 kV powerline;

• 115 kV to 13.8 kV substation;

• Approximately 7.3 km of 13.8 kV distribution electrical line around the West Button Hill pit area;

• Communication system was installed on April 6, 2015 that provides reliable wireless communication between South Arturo and Goldstrike;

• A water well capable of producing 28 L/s (450 gpm) supplies water to a 3,800 m3 (one million gallon) tank;

• 4.8 km of access road improved;

• Guard station and property gates that can be activated with security badges;

• Explosive Magazine with two, 91 t (100 st) capacity and perimeter security fencing.

• Eight passive vertical dewatering wells have been installed as needed for the West Button Hill mining.

The current proposed project infrastructure for the El Nino underground includes the following:

• Haul road to access the underground portals in Phase 2 pit

• High wall stabilization and rock fall barriers to support portal development

• Development of twin decline portals

• Waste and Ore Pads for temporary mined rock storage

• Aggregate storage areas and cement mixing pit

• Backfill Plant and cement storage facilities

• Shotcrete plant

• Power transmission lines

• Electrical Substation and Mobile Load Centers

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• Equipment Maintenance Shop

• Fuel and Lube storage facility

• Fresh water tank and piping

• Compressor

In order to reduce capital for the project, the truck shop, truck wash, warehouse and associated

facilities have been eliminated. The facilities at Goldstrike will be used as an alternative. Items

being eliminated include:

• Truck shop

• Truck wash

• Tire shop

• Drill pad

• Warehouse

• Administrative Offices

• Dry

• Light vehicle fuel bay

• Sewage facilities for area

• Roads and earthworks for area

• Firewater system for this area

• Fresh water system for this area

• Potable water piping to the area

0

0

1000 Metres500

1,000 2,000 3,000 Feet


N



South MineArturo

Site Layout and Utilities

State of Nevada, U.S.A.

Figure 18-1

1 -48

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South-West Dump

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19 MARKET STUDIES AND CONTRACTS The principal commodities of gold and silver at South Arturo are freely traded, at prices that

are widely known, so that prospects for sale of any production are virtually assured.

CONTRACTS Comment on terms of contracts, arrangements, rates, or charges for:

• Mining – No contract mining contract is in place at South Arturo; Barrick performs all mining functions, except for the loading of the blast holes.

• Concentrating – No contract concentrating contract needed for South Arturo; Barrick processes all.

• Smelting and Refining – Final, commercial smelting and refining is completed by

Produits Artistiques de Metaux Precieux (PAMP) Switzerland and India for gold processed from Goldstrike facilities and Argor in Switzerland for gold processed from Cortez’s facilities.

• Sales, Hedging, Forward Sales – RPA is unaware of any Sales, Hedging, and Forward sales contracts in place for the South Arturo gold production.

All major contracts are within industry norms.

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20 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, PERMITTING, AND SOCIAL OR COMMUNITY IMPACT The Mine has developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) for operation. ISO

14001:2015 standards have been implemented for the Mine as part of the Goldstrike EMS.

The system was certified under the ISO14001:2015 standard in October 2017.

Based on information presented in the 2012 Feasibility Study, baseline studies were

considered complete for the Mine area, but additional studies may be undertaken as needed.

The baseline conditions and project impacts have been formally and extensively evaluated.

Potential impacts on water quality will be mitigated in accordance with an approved plan.

Mitigating measures include water quality monitoring, treatment of unsuitable water quality

prior to discharge, and re-assessment of forecasted water quality conditions every five years.

To date, the most significant environmental impact is anticipated to be the pit lake water quality

after the cessation of mining.

TAILINGS STORAGE FACILITY No storage of tailings on site is required since the mill grade ore will be processed off site. All

ore that requires mill processing will be treated at the Barrick Goldstrike or Cortez facilities.

Tailings facilities at Goldstrike and Cortez will be utilized for the storage of the South Arturo

tailings and are reported to have enough capacity for the storage of South Arturo tailings.

Tailings associated with the roaster circuit are permitted for disposal in the North Block Tailings

Disposal Facility (NBTDF), Tailings Storage Facility 3 (TSF3), or for delivery to the Rodeo

paste backfill plant.

PERMITTING The primary responsibility for permitting is assigned to the Goldstrike Environmental team, with

support from Barrick’s regional permitting team. Ongoing permitting for the South Arturo Mine

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will consider the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as other State and Federal

program requirements, since a majority of the site resides on public lands.

Original permitting work for the Mine was coordinated through the BLM district office located

in Elko, Nevada. Three past NEPA actions had been performed for the Dee Mine, all of which

were Environmental Assessments (EA). For the South Arturo Mine, Barrick initiated the NEPA

process in June 2009 when the Plan of Operations, written by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc.

(SRK), was submitted to the BLM. It was determined by the BLM that an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) would be required for this Mine. The Record of Decision was issued on May

7, 2014.

The South Arturo Mine is on the site of the previously operated Dee Mine and the associated

facilities have been closed and reclaimed in accordance with approved closure plans. It is

important to note that the Dee Mine has received full bond release.

Based on information received during the site visit and recent documentation from Barrick

(Barrick, 2015b), the status of federal, state, and local permits approved for the South Arturo

Mine are listed in Table 20-1.

SOCIAL OR COMMUNITY REQUIREMENTS Barrick has operated in the Elko area since 1987, therefore, the need to establish new plans

for community engagement, resettlement, indigenous peoples, community development

programs, local workforce development/education/training, local procurement/supplier

development or immigration management is not anticipated. The Mine will not significantly

affect the actual area of operations or the daily lives of the local community, however, it

sustains mining employment in the area.

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TABLE 20-1 MAJOR MINE PERMITS Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

Permit Name Permit Number

Arturo Stormwater Permit NVR300000- MSW-39602 Arturo Class II Air Quality Operating Permit AP1041-3155 Arturo Water Pollution Control Permit NEV2013101 Arturo Reclamation Permit 355 Dee Gold Reclamation Permit 118 Dee Exploration Reclamation Permit 142 Dee Water Pollution Control Permit NEV0050005 Arturo Mine Project EIS Record Of Decision Arturo Mine- Class III Landfill Waiver SW01760 Arturo Mine Plan of Operations NVN-087946 Dee Gold Plan of Operations NVN-070250 Dee Exploration Plan of Operations NVN-071216 Bootstrap Haul Road Right-of-Way NVN-007683 NV Energy Right-of-Way NVN-092976 Memorandum of Agreement Undertaking #2010-0227 East Pit Stormwater Pond Dam Permit J-710 Water Rights Permits Various Jurisdictional Determination for the Arturo Mine Site SPRK-2000-25139

MINE CLOSURE REQUIREMENTS Reclamation of disturbed areas resulting from land disturbance incurred during the mining

process will be completed in accordance with BLM and NDEP regulations. Reclamation and

mining practices will occur under the direction of Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 519A, which

states:

Surface management is to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of public lands by

operators authorized by the mining laws. Anyone intending to develop mineral resources

on public lands must prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the land and reclaim

disturbed areas. This subpart established procedures and standards to ensure that

operators and mining claimants meet this responsibility and provide for the maximum

possible coordination with appropriate state agencies to avoid duplication and to ensure that

operators prevent unnecessary or undue degradation. In addition, the State of Nevada

requires that a reclamation plan be developed for new mining projects and for expansions

of existing operations. (SRK, 2009)

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It has been estimated that the major closure liabilities to the fully permitted Mine area will be

the following:

• Approximately 524 ha of rock waste dump;

• A post-mining pit lake;

• Approximately 91 ha of detoxified heap leach pad; and

• A proposed waste dump that would cover existing reclaimed historical heap leach pads and tailings facilities.

The following measures will be implemented to prevent unnecessary and undue degradation

at the Mine site:

• Regulated components of the facility will be designed and constructed to meet or exceed BLM/Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP)/Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW)/Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) design criteria. Overburden storage areas and stockpiles, which do not require engineered containment, will be evaluated for potential to release constituents and will be monitored routinely, or in accordance with an approved overburden management plan.

• Surface disturbance will be limited to areas that are reasonably incidental to exploration.

• Mining, mineral processing, and reclamation operations will be restricted to permitted regulations.

• The heap leach facilities will be operated as zero discharge and in accordance with fluid management, emergency response, and monitoring plans established by the Barrick-Dee Mining Venture, NDEP permit conditions, International Cyanide Code, and the BLM Cyanide Management Plan.

• Mineral exploration and development drill holes, monitoring and observation wells, and production dewatering wells subject to Nevada regulations will be properly abandoned to prevent potential contamination of water resources.

• Regulated wastes will be managed according to relevant regulations.

• Surface disturbance will be minimized while optimizing the recovery of mineral resources.

• Fugitive dust emissions from disturbed and exposed surfaces will be controlled in accordance with NDEP regulations and permits.

• Surface water drainage control will be accomplished by diverting storm water, isolating facility runoff, and minimizing erosion.

• Where suitable as growth media, surface soils and overburden material in the open pit may be managed as a growth media resource and removed, stockpiled, and used during reclamation.

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• A reclamation plan will be implemented, which addresses earthwork and re-contouring, re-vegetation and stabilization, detoxification and disposal, and monitoring operations necessary to satisfactorily reclaim the proposed disturbance, including: roads, process ponds, heaps, overburden storage areas, buildings, and equipment. Reclamation activities on previously disturbed areas have proven successful with previously reclaimed areas having achieved bond release.

The Arturo Mine is bonded for approximately US$29 million at full permitted build out. Closure

costs for components that have been constructed to date are estimated to total approximately

US$12 million based on the 2018 mine plan. During mining, concurrent reclamation will take

place on inactive portions of the waste rock facility when it is safe and practical. Final

reclamation is expected to be completed within three years after the end of mining operations.

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21 CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTS CAPITAL COST The sustaining capital costs for the South Arturo Mine are developed and revised on an annual

basis as part of the budget cycle.

The 2018 LOM sustaining capital as developed at the site for approval by the BDMV is shown

below in Table 21-1.

TABLE 21-1 LOM SUSTAINING CAPITAL COSTS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Capital Cost Totals 2018 2019 2020

US$(000) US$(000) US$(000) US$(000) Open Pit Mine Capital 13,398 4,429 8,969 -

Underground Mine Capital 4,951 3,101 1,850 - Capitalized Drilling 2,983 - - 2,983

Totals 21,333 7,530 10,819 2,983

OPERATING COSTS The operating costs for South Arturo are developed annually as part of the Goldstrike site

budget process. The total direct operating costs estimated for the South Arturo Mine are shown

in Table 21-2 before inventory adjustments, deferred stripping, silver credits, and adjustments.

TABLE 21-2 LOM (2018-2022) OPERATING COSTS Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Operation Unit LOM Average

Mining Cost US$/tonne mined 1.52 Underground US$/tonne mined 141.57 Roaster US$/tonne processed 29.81 Mill US$/tonne processed 12.68

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MANPOWER Manpower levels for the 2018 LOM plan for the next three years are represented of the open

pit in Table 21-3. The underground is planned to be contractor mining. Manpower levels

remained relatively steady through the mine life until the cessation of mining in 2022.

TABLE 21-3 LOM (2018-2020) MANPOWER Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

LOM

Average 2018 2019 2020 Prorated, Attributable Arturo Manpower 95 21 150 114

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22 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS A Cash Flow Projection has been generated from the LOM production schedule and capital

and operating cost estimates and is summarized in Table 22-1. This cash flow is based on

revenue and costs for the Mine on a 100% basis. A summary of the key criteria is provided

below.

ECONOMIC CRITERIA REVENUE

• Phase 1 Open Pit Mining 2018-2022. 110,000 tpd mining of ore and waste from the Dee pit area.

• Underground Mining 2018-2024: approximately 40,000 tonnes per year (tpa)

• Silver revenue was not included, and it is assumed to be non-material to the cash flow.

• Metal price: US$1,200 per ounce gold.

• Heap leach mineralization will be segregated for future processing.

• Net Smelter Return (NSR) includes doré refining, transport, and insurance costs.

• Revenue is recognized at the time of production.

COSTS

• Mine life: 7 years (2018-2024 with low-grade stockpile production from 2031-2037).

• LOM production plan as summarized in Table 22-1.

• Mine life capital totals US$21.3 million.

TAXATION AND ROYALTIES Nevada Net Proceeds tax was applied to the cash flow. An average royalty of 6% was applied

to the Gross Revenue. RPA relied on Premier for the taxes applied to the Mine.

CASH FLOW ANALYSIS Considering the Project on a stand-alone basis, the undiscounted pre-tax cash flow totals $79

million over the mine life.

The World Gold Council All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) is US$1,029 per ounce of gold. Total

gold production during the first five years of mine operation (2018-2022) is approximately

445,000 ounces on a 100% basis, with an annual average of 89,000 oz. The total gold

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production from South Arturo open pit and underground on a 100% basis is estimated to be

544,000 oz.

The after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) at a 5% discount rate is $23 million, and the Internal

Rate of Return (IRR) is 11.3%.

A summary of the cash flow analysis is presented in Table 22-1.

INPUTS UNITS TOTAL 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037MININGOpen Pit

Production '000 tonnes 5,453 31 121 678 2,783 1,840 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Au Grade g/t 3.04 1.99 1.97 2.22 2.85 3.71 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste '000 tonnes 34,780 - - 14,240 18,366 2,174 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste - Capitalized '000 tonnes 101,708 10,611 36,986 54,112 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Total Moved '000 tonnes 141,941 10,642 37,106 69,030 21,148 4,014 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Stripping Ratio 25.03 341.81 306.38 100.83 6.60 1.18 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Underground

Production '000 tonnes 215 1 23 62 35 65 19 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Au Grade g/t 9.70 4.07 9.13 9.25 9.54 10.41 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Waste '000 tonnes 93 24 52 6 4 7 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Total Moved '000 tonnes 308 25 75 67 39 72 20 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - -

OP StockpileOpening

Tonnes 921 '000 tonnes - 921 663 482 603 1,387 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,154 2,086 2,086 2,086 1,561 1,561 850 Au Grade 2.57 g/t - 2.57 2.30 1.93 1.87 1.80 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.81 1.81 1.81 1.68 1.68 1.66

Total MinedTotal Tonnes Mined '000 tonnes 6,589 290 325 619 2,033 1,139 19 9 - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Average Grade Au g/t 3.19 3.13 3.20 3.04 3.39 5.35 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - 2.19 - - 2.19 - 1.70 1.66

PROCESSINGOpen Pit Roaster (At Goldstirke)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 3,872 289 209 28 578 614 - - - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Contained Ounces 000 oz 392 29 21 3 81 132 - - - - - - - - 5 - - 37 - 39 46 Ounces Produced 000 oz 317 23 17 3 68 117 - - - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32 Grade Processed g/t 3.15 3.123 3.116 3.642 4.341 6.691 - - - - - - - - 2.188 - - 2.188 - 1.699 1.665 Recovery Rate % 80.9% 79.2% 79.2% 81.4% 83.8% 88.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 70.7% 70.4%Open Pit Mill (Oxide) (At Cortez)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 2,502 - 93 529 1,420 460 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contained Ounces 000 oz 217 - 6 39 130 42 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ounces Produced 000 oz 167 - 4 30 100 32 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grade Processed g/t 2.69 - 1.91 2.28 2.85 2.85 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Recovery Rate % 77.0% 0.0% 77.0% 77.0% 77.0% 77.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%Underground Roaster (At Goldstrike)Tonnes Processed '000 tonnes 215 1 23 62 35 65 19 9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contained Ounces 000 oz 67 0 7 18 11 22 5 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ounces Produced 000 oz 60 0 6 16 10 20 5 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Grade Processed g/t 9.70 4.07 9.13 9.25 9.54 10.41 8.72 12.43 - - - - - - - - - - - - - Recovery Rate % 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 89.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%TotalTonnes Processed '000 tonnes 6,589 290 325 619 2,033 1,139 19 9 - - - - - - 68 - - 525 - 711 850 Contained Ounces 000 oz 675 29 33 60 221 196 5 4 - - - - - - 5 - - 37 - 39 46 Ounces Produced 000 oz 544 23 27 49 177 169 5 3 - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32 Grade Processed g/t 3.19 3.127 3.199 3.035 3.386 5.352 8.724 12.428 - - - - - - 2.188 - - 2.188 - 1.699 1.665 Recovery Rate % 77.5% 79% 79% 78% 79% 84% 89% 89% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 74% 0% 0% 74% 0% 71% 70%

Average Recovery % 79.5% 79.2% 79.3% 78.4% 79.1% 84.0% 89.2% 89.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 0.0% 74.1% 0.0% 70.7% 70.4%Total Recovered Au 000 oz 544 23 27 49 177 169 5 3 - - - - - - 4 - - 27 - 27 32

REVENUEMetal Prices Input UnitsAu 1,200$ US$/oz Au $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200

Payability - Gold 99.97% % 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97% 99.97%Total Gross Revenue US$ '000 $652,225 $27,762 $32,409 $58,642 $212,604 $202,636 $5,840 $3,922 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,245 $0 $0 $32,801 $0 $32,922 $38,442

Selling Cost ($/oz) -$ US$ '000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Net Smelter Return US$ '000 $652,225 $27,762 $32,409 $58,642 $212,604 $202,636 $5,840 $3,922 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,245 $0 $0 $32,801 $0 $32,922 $38,442Nevada Net Proceeds 5% US$ '000 $14,057 $0 $0 $0 $5,706 $7,043 $32 $48 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $38 $0 $0 $599 $0 $285 $307Royalty NSR 6% US$ '000 $39,133 $1,666 $1,945 $3,519 $12,756 $12,158 $350 $235 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $255 $0 $0 $1,968 $0 $1,975 $2,306

Net Revenue US$ '000 $599,034 $26,096 $30,465 $55,123 $194,142 $183,436 $5,458 $3,638 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $3,953 $0 $0 $30,234 $0 $30,661 $35,828Unit NSR US$/t milled $91 $90 $94 $89 $95 $161 $280 $397 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $58 $0 $0 $58 $0 $43 $42

OPERATING COSTOpen Pit Mining Cost US$/t mined $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $1.52 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00Underground Mining Cost US$/t mined $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $141.57 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00Processing $23.30 $29.81 $24.90 $15.16 $17.85 $22.89 $29.81 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $29.81 $29.81

Roaster US$/t Roaster $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $0.00 $29.81 $0.00 $29.81 $29.81Mill US$/t milled $12.68 $0.00 $12.68 $12.68 $12.68 $12.68 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Total Unit Operating Cost (Excluding G&A) US$/t milled $71.92 $112 $265 $230 $42 $43 $202 $197 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $34 $0 $0 $34 $0 $34 $34

Open Pit US$ '000 $215,783 $16,178 $56,411 $104,942 $32,151 $6,103 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Underground US$ '000 $43,557 $3,539 $10,615 $9,549 $5,453 $10,260 $2,842 $1,298 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Processing US$ '000 $153,551 $8,658 $8,090 $9,383 $36,290 $26,079 $580 $273 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,024 $0 $0 $15,634 $0 $21,195 $25,344

Roaster US$ '000 $121,811 $8,658 $6,908 $2,670 $18,279 $20,245 $580 $273 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,024 $0 $0 $15,634 $0 $21,195 $25,344Mill US$ '000 $31,740 $0 $1,182 $6,713 $18,012 $5,834 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

G&A US$ '000 $60,961 $4,189 $11,090 $18,289 $10,910 $6,266 $505 $232 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $299 $0 $0 $2,308 $0 $3,129 $3,742Total Operating Cost US$ '000 $473,853 $32,565 $86,206 $142,162 $84,805 $48,708 $3,928 $1,804 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,322 $0 $0 $17,943 $0 $24,325 $29,086

Other Costs (Exploration) US$ '000 $7,954 $2,972 $4,754 $228 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Sub-Total Op.+Exploration US$ '000 $481,807 $35,537 $90,960 $142,390 $84,805 $48,708 $3,928 $1,804 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $2,322 $0 $0 $17,943 $0 $24,325 $29,086

Operating Cashflow US$ '000 $117,226 -$9,441 -$60,495 -$87,267 $109,337 $134,728 $1,530 $1,834 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,631 $0 $0 $12,291 $0 $6,336 $6,742

TABLE 22-1 CASH FLOW SUMMARY (100% Basis) Premier Gold Mines Limited - South Arturo Mine

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INPUTS UNITS TOTAL 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037CAPITAL COST

Sustaining Capital CostOpen Pit Sustaining US$ '000 $13,398 $4,429 $8,969 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Underground Sustaining US$ '000 $4,951 $3,101 $1,850 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Capitalized Drilling US$ '000 $2,983 $0 $0 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Sub-Total Sustaining Capital Cost US$ '000 $21,333 $7,530 $10,819 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0Total Capital Cost US$ '000 $21,333 $7,530 $10,819 $2,983 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Reclamation Payments US$ '000 $16,951 $16 $4 $339 $339 $617 $809 $749 $1,077 $1,587 $2,056 $2,091 $1,785 $1,255 $718 $516 $419 $227 $331 $481 $1,536

PRE-TAX CASH FLOWNet Pre-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 $78,943 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 134,110 $ 721 $ 1,085 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 913 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 12,065 ($ 331) $ 5,856 $ 5,206Cumulative Pre-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 ($ 16,988) ($ 88,305) ($ 178,895) ($ 69,897) $ 64,213 $ 64,935 $ 66,020 $ 64,943 $ 63,356 $ 61,300 $ 59,209 $ 57,424 $ 56,169 $ 57,082 $ 56,567 $ 56,148 $ 68,212 $ 67,881 $ 73,737 $ 78,943

Beginning Balance - Losses US$ '000 $0 $ 0 ($ 9,441) ($ 69,936) ($ 157,203) ($ 47,866) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Losses Added US$ '000 -$157,203 ($ 9,441) ($ 60,495) ($ 87,267) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Losses Utilized US$ '000 $157,203 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 109,337 $ 47,866 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0Ending Balance - Losses US$ '000 $0 ($ 9,441) ($ 69,936) ($ 157,203) ($ 47,866) $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Taxable OCF/EBITDA US$ '000 -$39,977 ($ 9,441) ($ 60,495) ($ 87,267) $ 0 $ 86,862 $ 1,530 $ 1,834 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 1,631 $ 0 $ 0 $ 12,291 $ 0 $ 6,336 $ 6,742Taxes at Effective Rate of X% of OCF/EBITDA: 21% US$ '000 $24,618 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 18,241 $ 321 $ 385 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 0 $ 342 $ 0 $ 0 $ 2,581 $ 0 $ 1,331 $ 1,416

After-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 $54,326 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 115,869 $ 400 $ 700 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 570 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 9,483 ($ 331) $ 4,525 $ 3,791Cumulative After-Tax Cashflow US$ '000 ($ 16,988) ($ 71,318) ($ 90,590) $ 108,998 $ 115,869 $ 400 $ 700 ($ 1,077) ($ 1,587) ($ 2,056) ($ 2,091) ($ 1,785) ($ 1,255) $ 570 ($ 516) ($ 419) $ 9,483 ($ 331) $ 4,525 $ 3,791

All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) US$/oz $1,029 $1,934 $3,839 $3,053 $552 $364 $1,045 $853 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $931 $0 $0 $736 $0 $976 $1,028

PROJECT ECONOMICSPre-Tax IRR % 15.4%Pre-tax NPV at 5.0% discounting 5.00% US$ '000 $40,472Pre-tax NPV at 7.5% discounting 7.50% US$ '000 $27,277Pre-tax NPV at 10% discounting 10.00% US$ '000 $16,690

After-Tax IRR % 11.3%After-Tax NPV at 5.0% discounting 5.00% US$ '000 $23,306After-Tax NPV at 7.5% discounting 7.50% US$ '000 $12,581After-tax NPV at 10% discounting 10.00% US$ '000 $3,955

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SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS Project risks can be identified in both economic and non-economic terms. Key economic risks

were examined by running cash flow sensitivities on the following items:

• Gold price

• Contained gold ounces

• Operating costs

• Capital costs

• Recovery

NPV sensitivity over the base case has been calculated for -20% to +20% variations. The

sensitivities are shown in Figure 22-1 and Table 22-2. NPV is most sensitive to the revenue

changes including gold recovery, gold price, and contained ounces,

FIGURE 22-1 SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

($60)

($40)

($20)

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

$140

-30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30%

Pre-

Tax

NPV

at 5

% D

isco

unt R

ate

(US$

'000

)

Thou

sand

s

Percent Change From Base Case

Contained Au Ounces

Recovery

Au Price

Operating Cost

Capital Cost

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TABLE 22-2 SENSITIVITY ANALYSES Premier Gold Mines Limited – South Arturo Mine

Parameter Variables Units -20% -10% Base 10% 20%

Gold Price US$/oz 960 1,080 1,200 1,320 1,440 Contained Au Ounces oz (000) 540 608 675 743 811

Operating Cost US$ millions 387.0 434.4 481.8 529.2 576.6 Capital Cost US$ millions 17 19 21 23 26

Parameter Variables Units -10% -5% Base +5% +10%

Recovery (Recovery -/+

%Change) %

69.5% 74.5% 79.5% 84.5% 89.5%

Pre-tax NPV @ 5% Units -20% -10% Base 10% 20% Gold Price US$ millions ($48) ($4) $40 $85 $129

Contained Au Ounces US$ millions ($48) ($4) $40 $85 $129 Operating Cost US$ millions $114 $77 $40 $4 ($33)

Capital Cost US$ millions $44 $43 $40 $39 $37 Recovery US$ millions ($14) $13 $40 $68 $95

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23 ADJACENT PROPERTIES The South Arturo Mine is located on the north end of the Carlin gold trend. Barrick’s Goldstrike

Mine and processing operations lie 4.8 km to the southeast.

Other projects that are near to the South Arturo Mine are Newmont Mining Corporation’s

Bootstrap/Capstone and Tara mines.

The access to the historically mined, underground Storm Project is located in the existing Dee

open pit mine, immediately west of the West Button Hill open pit.

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24 OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION No additional information or explanation is necessary to make this Technical Report

understandable and not misleading.

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25 INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS Based on the site visit and subsequent review, RPA offers the following conclusions:


• The South Arturo deposits are Carlin-type deposits located in the north end of the Carlin Trend.

• The drilling, sampling, sample preparation, analyses, security, and data verification meet or exceed industry standards and are appropriate for Mineral Resource estimation.

• The parameters, assumptions, and methodology used for Mineral Resource estimation are appropriate for the style of mineralization.

• Mineral Resources, at December 31, 2017, for the South Arturo Mine, exclusive of Mineral Reserves and adjusted to reflect 40% ownership by Premier, include Measured and Indicated Resources of 7.6 million tonnes grading 1.18 g/t Au containing 286,200 ounces of gold, including 7.47 million tonnes grading 6.40 g/t Ag containing 1,536,600 ounces of silver. Inferred Resources total 0.58 million tonnes grading 1.66 g/t Au containing 30,900 oz of gold, including 0.50 million tonnes grading 3.83 g/t Ag containing 61,500 oz of silver. Gold content is reported for total open pit and underground tonnages, whereas silver content is only reported for the open pit component of the Mineral Resource.

• The current drill hole database is reasonable for supporting a resource model for use in Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimation.

• Mineral Resource estimates have been prepared using acceptable interpolation strategies. The classification of Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources conform to CIM (2014) definitions.

• Gold and silver grades are not overly smoothed in higher grade areas. MINERAL RESERVES AND MINING

• The South Arturo Mine is located less than five kilometres from Barrick’s Goldstrike operation.

• Mining is scheduled to be completed by open pit at 110,000 tpd of ore and waste and by underground at approximately 40,000 tpa of ore.

• All Barrick Goldstrike systems (safety, geological control, mining, processing, administration, environmental) have been implemented for mining at South Arturo and they are operating efficiently.

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• Mineral Reserves are restricted to the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground areas.

• At December 31, 2017, adjusted to reflect 40% ownership by Premier, the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve estimate is 2.6 million tonnes grading 3.18 g/t Au containing 269,800 oz of gold and 2.2 million tonnes grading 15.90 g/t Ag containing 1,115,100 oz of silver.

• Mining of the Dee pit (Phase 1) and El Nino underground area planned to begin on 2018. The Mine’s current life is estimated to be five years of open pit and seven years of underground mining.


• Ore will be processed via one of three routes: o CIL milling at Cortez for the oxide ores o Roasting and CIL at Goldstrike o Stockpiling and future ROM heap leaching at South Arturo

• Ore trucks hauling refractory ore from Barrick’s Cortez operation to Goldstrike will be

used to backhaul oxide mill material to Cortez.

• Historical operating data from the Dee Mine and the recent metallurgical test work indicate that the ore is amenable to processing. Processing of siliceous, carbonaceous, and sulphidic materials that are extracted from new deposits and deeper areas of existing deposits may not result in metallurgical responses that are similar to historical operations.

• The metallurgical test results determined the following: o Sulphide ore and ore containing preg-robbing organic carbon above the target

cut-off gold grade would be roasted. o Oxide ore above the target cut-off gold grade would be processed via ROM

heap leach. o Ore containing preg-robbing organic carbon below the cut-off grade gold grade

for roasting will be considered waste.



• Test results on the West Button Hill monthly composites showed a good correlation between head grade and gold recovery – similar to the predictive model used for estimating Goldstrike Roaster gold recovery performance.

• Metallurgical tests are currently in progress on drill core from the 2017 drilling program for the South Arturo and the Deep North/Dee areas.

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS • During the mining operations the Mine will undertake concurrent reclamation on

inactive portions of the waste rock facility.

• To date, the most significant environmental impact is the pit lake water quality after the cessation of mining.

• Cultural sites were identified near the proposed mine area. The necessary mitigation was completed and approved prior to issuance of the Record of Decision.

• It is expected that the two major, long-term environmental liabilities that will impact on the Mine are the mitigation of damage to cultural sites within planned, disturbed areas and the presence of a pit lake that will be created from passive water inflow after the dewatering pumps are removed.

• Approximately 615 ha of disturbance will be created within the permit boundary for waste storage facilities and a heap leach pad.

• It is recognized that proper construction, operation, and closure techniques should minimize the long-term environmental liability.

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26 RECOMMENDATIONS RPA makes the following recommendations:


• Investigate the use of traditional grade wireframes and mineralization trend surfaces in favour of indicator grade domains and search domains in future resource model updates.

• Collect additional density samples and incorporate into the Mineral Resource model. MINERAL RESERVES AND MINING

• Create an overall Mine development schedule for tracking all of the significant South Arturo milestones.

• Compile the LOM Plan assumptions and parameters, including open pit and underground, into one document.


• Representative samples of each ore type should be collected and confirmatory test work conducted using these samples to ensure that the gold and silver recovery and anticipated operating costs are accurate. Particular emphasis should be placed on a range of gold and silver head grades for each of the ore types to be processed and test work at a range of particle sizes for both heap leaching and CIL processing.

• After additional metallurgical data is available, appropriate trade-off studies should be completed in order to determine the optimum processing alternatives under changes in gold and silver prices.


• Monitor sites to effectively manage potential environmental and geochemical issues.

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27 REFERENCES Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), 2009, Technical Reserve and Resource Report, Barrick-

Arturo Project, Internal Report, December 2009. Barrick, 2012, Barrick Goldcorp, Barrick-Dee Mining Venture, Arturo Project Feasibility Study,

Revision 0, internal report, (December, 2012). Barrick, 2014 Cut-Off Grade Report Arturo Open Pit, Internal Report, Barrick, December 2014. Barrick, 2014, Impact of 2014 Arturo met pull, internal Barrick presentation, Q1 2014. Barrick, 2014, Hydrogeology Summary - Arturo Project, Internal Summary. Barrick, 2015a, Barrick Gold Corporation, Annual Information Form for the year ended

December 31, 2014, (March 27, 2015). Barrick, 2015b, Barrick Dee Mining Venture Overview, internal Barrick presentation, (March

25, 2015). Barrick, 43A Tier I 2015 100% Phase 2 _0+12+LOM_Final.xlsm, Internal MS Excel Workbook,

Barrick, December 2014. Barrick, A43A_Truck_Study_V2.xlsm, Internal MS Excel Workbook, Barrick, December 2014. Barrick, 2499_ManPower_Costs_RPA_V2.xlsx, Internal MS Excel Workbook, Barrick,

December 2014. Barrick, A43A_0+12+LOM Drill and Blast.xlsx, Internal MS Excel Workbook, Barrick,

December 2014. Barrick, A43ABudgetActuals_0+12_ph.xlsx, Internal MS Excel Workbook – Capital Costs,

Barrick, December 2014. Barrick, Equipment Requirements_43A_V6.xlsx, Internal MS Excel Workbook, Barrick,

December 2014. Barrick, AR_COG_EY2014_Workbook_v3.xlsx, Internal MS Excel Workbook, Barrick,

December 2014. Bloom, L., 2005: Review of the Storm Resource Area Assay Quality Control Program, a

memorandum from Analytical Solution Ltd. to Barrick Gold Corporation. Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), 2014, CIM Definition Standards

for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by CIM Council on May 10, 2014. Card N, Newfields, Estimated Runoff to South Pit, Technical Memorandum, Barrick, April 3,

2015.

www.rpacan.com


Carrera J., Tierra Group International, Ltd., WRDF Stability, Technical Memorandum, Barrick, May 9, 2014.

Choi, Y., Baron, J.Y., Wang, Q., Langhans, J., and Kondos, P., 2013, Thiosulfate Processing

– from Lab Curiosity to Commercial Application, World Gold Conference, September 26 – 29, 2013, pp. 45-49.

Lonergan J., Lightwood G., Nicholas D., Call and Nicholas, Inc., Pit Slope Review for the Dee

Pit, Report, June 1995. Piteau Associates, Review of 2008 Recommended Slope Designs – Arturo (Dee) A43AP18

Mine Plan, Barrick, PowerPoint Summary, November 21, 2014. Porter, J., 2013, Arturo metallurgical reassays, internal Barrick memorandum (August 14,

2013). Premier Gold Mines Limited website. RPA, 2012, Barrick Gold Corporation, Technical Report on the Arturo Project, Elko County,

State of Nevada, U.S.A., Internal Report (January 31, 2012). Schafer Limited LLC, Arturo Mine Project, Adaptive Waste Rock Management Plan, Report,

Barrick, August 2013. Scholz M., Rose N., Piteau Associates, Arturo Project – Recommended Feasibility Open Pit

Slope Designs for the Arturo Project, Barrick, Memorandum, March 8, 2010. Scholz M., Rose N., Shalka M., Piteau Associates, Arturo Project – Recommended Feasibility

Open Pit Slope Design Criteria for the Hinge and West Button Hill Pits – 825 Mine Plan, Barrick, Memorandum, April 20, 2010.

Stieger J., Barrick, Arturo 2014 Year End Reserves and Resources Reporting, Internal

Memorandum, February 4, 2015.

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28 DATE AND SIGNATURE PAGE This report titled “Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine, Elko County, State of Nevada,

U.S.A.” and dated March 26, 2018 was prepared and signed by the following authors:

(Signed and Sealed) “Hugo Miranda” Dated at Toronto, ON March 26, 2018 Hugo Miranda, ChMC(RM) Principal Mining Engineer (Signed and Sealed) “Phil A. Guesebroek” Dated at Toronto, ON March 26, 2018 Philip A. Guesebroek, P.Geo. Senior Geologist (Signed and Sealed) “Brenna J.Y. Scholey” Dated at Toronto, ON March 26, 2018 Brenna J.Y. Scholey, P.Eng. Principal Metallurgist

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29 CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFIED PERSON HUGO M. MIRANDA I, Hugo M. Miranda, ChMC(RM), as an author of this report entitled “Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine, Elko County, State of Nevada, U.S.A.” prepared for Premier Gold Mines Limited and dated March 26, 2018, do hereby certify that: 1. I am a Principal Mining Engineer with RPA (USA) Ltd. of 143 Union Boulevard, Suite 505,

Lakewood, Colorado, USA 80228. 2. I am a graduate of the Santiago University of Chile, with a B.Sc. degree in Mining

Engineering in 1993, and Santiago University, with a Masters of Business Administration degree in 2004 and Colorado School Of Mines with a Master of Engineering (Engineer of Mines) in 2015.

3. I am registered as a Competent Person of the Chilean Mining Commission (Registered

Member #0031). I have worked as a mining engineer for a total of 23 years since my graduation. My relevant experience for the purpose of the Technical Report is: • Principal Mining Engineer - RPA in Colorado. Review and report as a consultant on

mining operations and mining projects. Mine engineering including mine plan and pit optimization, pit design and economic evaluation.

• Principal Mining Consultant – Pincock, Allen and Holt in Colorado, USA. Review and report as a consultant on numerous development and production mining projects.

• Mine Planning Chief, El Tesoro Open Pit Mine - Antofagasta Minerals in Chile. • Open Pit Planning Engineer, Radomiro Tomic Mine, CODELCO – Chile. • Open Pit Planning Engineer, Andina Mine, CODELCO - Chile.

4. I have read the definition of "qualified person" set out in National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-

101) and certify that by reason of my education, affiliation with a professional association (as defined in NI 43-101) and past relevant work experience, I fulfill the requirements to be a "qualified person" for the purposes of NI 43-101.

5. I visited the Project on March 8, 2018. 6. I am responsible for preparation of Sections 15, 16, 18, 21, and 22 and contributed to

Sections 1, 24, 25, 26, and 27 of the Technical Report. 7. I am independent of the Issuer applying the test set out in Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. 8. I have had no prior involvement with the property that is the subject of the Technical Report. 9. I have read NI 43-101, and the Technical Report has been prepared in compliance with NI

43-101 and Form 43-101F1.

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10. At the effective date of the Technical Report, to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, the Technical Report contains all scientific and technical information that is required to be disclosed to make the technical report not misleading.

Dated this 26th day of March, 2018. (Signed and Sealed) “Hugo Miranda” Hugo M. Miranda, ChMC(RM)

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PHILIP GEUSEBROEK I, Philip Geusebroek, P.Geo., as an author of this report entitled “Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine, Elko County, State of Nevada, U.S.A.” prepared for Premier Gold Mines Limited and dated March 26, 2018, do hereby certify that: 1. I am Senior Geologist with Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. of Suite 501, 55 University Ave

Toronto, ON, M5J 2H7. 2. I am a graduate of the University of Alberta, Canada in 1995 with a B.Sc. degree in

Geology, and the University of Western Ontario in 2008 with a M.Sc. in Economic Geology. 3. I am registered as a Professional Geologist in the Province of Ontario (Reg. #1938). I have

worked as a geologist for a total of 23 years since my graduation. My relevant experience for the purpose of the Technical Report is: • Resource estimation, geological modelling, and QA/QC experience. • Review and report as a consultant on numerous exploration, development, and

production mining projects around the world for due diligence and regulatory requirements

• Exploration and mine geologist with Echo Bay Mines Ltd., Kinross Gold Corporation, Western Mining Company, etc.



5. I visited the Project Name on March 8, 2018. 6. I am responsible for preparation of Sections 2 through 12, 14, 19, and 23 and contributed

to Sections 1, 24, 25, 26, and 27of the Technical Report. 7. I am independent of the Issuer applying the test set out in Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. 8. I have had no prior involvement with the property that is the subject of the Technical Report. 9. I have read NI 43-101, and the Technical Report has been prepared in compliance with NI

43-101 and Form 43-101F1. 10. At the effective date of the Technical Report, to the best of my knowledge, information, and

belief, the Technical Report contains all scientific and technical information that is required to be disclosed to make the Technical Report not misleading.

Dated this 26th day of March, 2018. (Signed and Sealed) “Phil A. Guesebroek” Philip Geusebroek, P.Geo.

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BRENNA J.Y. SCHOLEY I, Brenna J.Y. Scholey, P.Eng., as an author of this report entitled “Technical Report on the South Arturo Mine, Elko County, State of Nevada, U.S.A.” prepared for Premier Gold Mines Limited and dated March 26, 2018, do hereby certify that: 1. I am Principal Metallurgist with Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. of Suite 501, 55 University

Ave., Toronto, ON, M5J 2H7. 2. I am a graduate of The University of British Columbia in 1988 with a B.A.Sc. degree in

Metals and Materials Engineering. 3. I am registered as a Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario (Reg. #90503137)

and British Columbia (Reg. #122080). I have worked as a metallurgist for a total of 29 years since my graduation. My relevant experience for the purpose of the Technical Report is: • Reviews and reports as a metallurgical consultant on a number of mining operations

and projects for due diligence and regulatory requirements. • Senior Metallurgist/Project Manager on numerous base metals and precious metals

studies for an international mining company. • Management and operational experience at several Canadian and U.S. milling,

smelting and refining operations treating various metals, including copper, nickel, and precious metals.



5. I did not visit the South Arturo Mine. 6. I am responsible for preparation of Sections 13, 17, and 20 and contributed to Sections 1,

24, 25, 26, and 27 of the Technical Report. 7. I am independent of the Issuer applying the test set out in Section 1.5 of NI 43-101. 8. I have previously prepared a Technical Report dated July 15, 2015 on the property that is

the subject of the Technical Report. 9. I have read NI 43-101, and the Technical Report has been prepared in compliance with NI

43-101 and Form 43-101F1. 10. At the effective date of the Technical Report, to the best of my knowledge, information, and

belief, the Technical Report contains all scientific and technical information that is required to be disclosed to make the Technical Report not misleading.

Dated this 26th day of March, 2018. (Signed and Sealed) “Brenna J.Y. Scholey” Brenna J.Y. Scholey, P.Eng.

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