Ann: RIO: Rio Tinto reveals maiden Resource at Winu and new disc, page-40

Some comments about today's Rio Announcement.

• 3 years to a mine based on the current 503 Mt Inferred resource of 0.45% Cu eq. (to 325m) which includes a higher grade component. Mineralisation is open in several directions.
• I did expect a somewhat higher resource given "back of the envelope" calculations over a year ago gave something in this order of magnitude with considerably less drilling. 125Kms of drilling in a harsh environment is a great achievement.
• Is there something driving the desire to set up a mine in this time frame?
• There is a huge amount of information available to Rio that may never make it into the public domain gives them confidence to propose production from a mine in 2023.
• A lot of drilling needs to be done to test the area shown as mineralised. The area outlined in orange (along the axis of what I assume is mineralised) is IMO likely to be a high priority target once clearance is obtained to drill in the sand dunes. If the areas of current resource drilling are any indication the sand dunes would need to be cleared, locally, to accommodate pit walls at the bare minimum.
• Having at least one satellite deposit on their own ground plus Calibre and Magnum on the JV are probably part of the equation.
• Ngapakarra - early days for a deposit that may not be a stand alone operation but very useful as a satellite. There is a hint it may have a subtle magnetic expression though I haven't been able to plot it too accurately on the magnetic maps below: (1VD and RTP)
• Using the Geoview image above - RTP magnetics (lower) with tenements and open file drilling some observations can be made.
• There have been some recent applications by Rio for large areas of miscellaneous licenses. One in March expanded the area around the airstrip (which is on a granted misc. license extending into JV ground). The Other obvious one covers a lot of the footprint for the Winu resource as outlined today (Application 21 July).
• SE of Winu there are some interesting magnetic anomalies on Rio ground (purple).
• To the east of these is an area where BHP did some follow up drilling of the 5 Km spaced regional aircore program. These values may be of interest in view of current events. From my archives this image: not sure about the Au values.

A mine in 3 years with $9M being spent on Citadel this year - less than 6 months now. Hope it delivers for everyone. GLTAH.