Building a Next Generation Copper Producer SWVP-022821 WELCOME TO - - PDF document

THE FLORENCE COPPER PROJECT

Building a Next Generation Copper Producer

SWVP-022820

WELCOME TO THE

FLORENCE COPPER PROJECT

Ti e Florence Copper Project is an initiative of Curis Resources Ltd. to permit, construct and operate an in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation in Florence, Arizona. Ti e project, located in central Arizona within the municipal boundaries

• f the Town of Florence, was acquired by Curis in February 2010. Curis is

working with residents and offj cials from the Town of Florence and relevant State and Federal agencies to design, construct and operate a world-class in-situ copper recovery project.

CURIS

Curis Resources Ltd.

Ti e Florence Copper Project is an initiative of Curis Resources Ltd., a Vancouver, Canada-based mineral exploration and development company focused

• n

acquiring, developing and operating high-quality mineral properties around the world. Curis is associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI), one of Canada’s most progressive mineral developers.

Hunter Dickinson Inc. (HDI)

HDI is a diversifj ed global mining company with a 25-year history of mineral development success. From its head offj ce in Vancouver, Canada, HDI establishes, develops and builds publicly traded companies active around the world in all phases of mineral exploration. As an umbrella

• rganization,

HDI provides its companies with both cost and expertise advantages through access to a shared multi-disciplinary team

• f

mining professionals and industry experts and leaders. Like all HDI associated companies, Curis Resources is committed to the principles

• f

‘Responsible Mineral Development’. Ti is means that local people and communities must benefj t from the exploration and development activities that Curis undertakes, and that principles of sustainability and environmental stewardship guide all of the company’s activities. To achieve its Responsible Mineral Development goal, Curis is guided by two fundamental priorities:  the Florence Copper Project must be advanced in a manner that respects and enhances local socio- economic priorities; and  the Florence Copper Project must incorporate the highest quality of environmental stewardship and management. Ti ese priorities must be fully refm ected in all work undertaken by Curis.

RESPONSIBLE MINERAL DEVELOPMENT MEET THE CEO MICHAEL MCPHIE

Michael McPhie is a mining executive with more than 20 years of operational and project development experience. Michael has served as a senior executive, board member and project manager with several international mining companies, was previously President & CEO of the Mining Association of British Columbia and a senior director of mineral policy with Natural Resources Canada. In 2004 he received a Service Distinction Award from the Government of Canada and, in 2005, was acknowledged as being one

• f Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40 business leaders. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science

in Physical Geography, a Masters of Science in Environment and Management and is a registered Qualifj ed Environmental Professional (QEP) certifj ed by the Institute of Professional Environmental Practice. Michael lives in Vancouver, BC with his wife of 15 years, Heli, and has three school aged boys.

SWVP-022821

CAPITAL INVESTMENT & SPIN-OFF BENEFITS: CREATING LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES

Curis expects to invest some $45 million to advance the Florence Copper Project over a 2 year period. Development activities will create employment and contract opportunities for local workers and businesses, as well as pay taxes to local, state and federal authorities. Historical work undertaken by previous owner BHP Copper suggests that the project could produce 75 to 83 million lb of copper annually for 15 years. Based on consensus long-term copper pricing of between $2.25 and $2.50 per pound, Curis believes the project has the potential to generate signifj cant supply and service contract opportunities, local and state tax revenues, and other spin-of economic activity for years to come. Also based on work completed by BHP Copper in the late 1990s, it is estimated that the Florence Copper Project in full operation has the potential to support 170 full-time and contract positions for professional, technical, general labor and administrative staf . Curis’ Local Hire Policy requires the company and its contractors to provide priority consideration to local people for employment opportunities and to local businesses for supply and service contracts, based on qualifj cations and merit. Curis is also committed to ensuring that residents have access to training and educational programs necessary to optimize local employment. Economic studies prepared for the Arizona copper industry indicate that every direct job at the Florence Copper Project has the potential to support another 4.75 indirect or induced jobs in the regional economy. Ti at means the project could create nearly 1,000 jobs in Florence, Pinal County and the State of Arizona. In addition, there will be a substantial number of construction jobs created in preparation for operations. Curis’ total expected capital expenditures to acquire the Florence Copper Project and undertake necessary engineering studies, permitting and construction to bring the project to commercial production is estimated at $200 million. An additonal $300 million will be incurred over the operational mine life.

COMMUNITY VALUES & INVESTMENT

Curis understands the importance of establishing itself as a responsible member and contributor to the Florence community. Curis’ presence in Florence will allow the company to understand local concerns and priorities, while at the same time building local relationships and sustainable partnerships. Curis will contribute through sponsorships, charitable contributions, in-kind services, volunteering and providing general support in pursuit

• f community goals that support environmental, economic and social
• development. All Curis activities within the Town of Florence will refm

ect and support the core values represented by the company’s commitment to Responsible Mineral Development. As a neighbor, the Curis team is also committed to listening and responding to the concerns and questions of its stakeholders, and will always strive to maintain open, two-way communication when interacting with the community. Planning considerations for the Florence Copper Project will incorporate community feedback. Ti roughout 2010, the company plans to hold a number of open houses in the Florence area, and encourages all members of the Florence and regional community to visit these educational and informational events. Curis also looks forward to welcoming visitors seeking to learn more about the Florence Copper Project, the company and mining in general at its Florence Copper Project Community Offj ce, located at 310 N. Main Street.

Ti e Florence Copper Project could create nearly 1,000 jobs in Florence, Pinal County and the State of Arizona

SWVP-022822

WATER QUALITY

Modern in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) practices and technologies have been shown to fully protect the integrity and quality of groundwater resources. In the late 1990s, former Florence Copper Project owner BHP Copper undertook an ISCR production test at the property. For the past 14 years, water quality monitoring at 31 point of compliance wells surrounding the property has demonstrated that these ISCR activities have had no adverse ef ects on groundwater quality or availability. In order to receive operating permits, Curis must continue to conclusively demonstrate to federal and state permitting agencies that neither groundwater quality nor availability in areas outside the Florence Copper Project property will be affected. It is important to note that ISCR activities at Florence will not utilize the near surface groundwater zones that provide water for local domestic and agricultural use.

PROTECTING

WATER RESOURCES

Protection of local groundwater resources is an absolute priority for Curis Resources Ltd. to ensure that the Florence Copper Project is developed in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner. Water quality issues are closely regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Arizona Department of Water Quality (ADEQ). Both agencies will fully review operating and closure plans for the Florence Copper Project before permits are granted, and monitor Curis’ activities on an ongoing basis to ensure that groundwater quality in the region is fully protected.

Clay aquitard acts as protective barrier to water quality in upper ground water zone.

In order to receive

• perating permits,

Curis must continue to conclusively demonstrate to federal and state permitting agencies that neither groundwater quality nor availability in areas outside the Florence Copper Project property will be af ected

ISCR activities confi ned exclusively to deeper

• xide zone.

Regional and local potable water is obtained through wells in the upper conglomerate/ gravel layer. There will be no impacts to water quality, fl

• w or quantity

in this area. PVC injection and recovery wells are encased in protective concrete through to the

• xide zone.

• w rates

SWVP-022823

PROJECT SITE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER OPERATIONS

Following the completion of ISCR operations at the Florence Copper Project, the property will be reclaimed and returned to productive use for residential development, farming, recreation or a combination of land uses. Once a portion of the copper orebody is depleted of valuable minerals, injection and recovery wells are used to rinse the bedrock with fresh groundwater. Once groundwater quality has returned to pre-development conditions, wells are cemented and closed of below ground-level and the af ected area is covered with native soils. Reclamation and closure activities at the Florence Copper Project will be progressive, such that some portions

• f

the ISCR production area will be fully reclaimed while

• thers are still in operation.

Following the completion

• f all ISCR operations,

project buildings, facilities and infrastructure will be removed. Monitoring will continue for 30 years to ensure the integrity of local water sources is maintained. A comprehensive reclamation and closure plan must be approved by the State of Arizona before Curis can initiate ISCR operations at

• Florence. Further, State authorities will ensure that suffj

cient bonding or other fj nancial sureties are in place to responsibly close and reclaim the Florence Copper Project site at any stage of its operating life.

Ti e Florence Copper Project will have few, if any, visual impacts during

• perations or

post-closure

Current Site, Looking South During Operations After Reclamation

WATER USE

Extensive hydrology studies have been conducted at the Florence Copper Project to ensure that project engineers fully understand the direction of groundwater fm

• w, fm
• w gradient and the rate of existing use. Ti

is information is essential to ensure that hydraulic control can be maintained at all times during ISCR operations and that local groundwater resources are protected. Ti e proposed ISCR production area at Florence comprises 213 acres. In full production, it is estimated that some 1,300 acre-feet of water will be utilized within this operating area. Ti is is considerably less than agricultural production on the same land base, which would require 1,700 – 2,600 acre-feet of water per year to grow 2 – 3 crops of alfalfa. Curis Resources Ltd. expects that the Florence Copper Project will co-exist with agricultural uses on adjacent lands, and even within the property boundaries itself. Ti e project will also have no ef ect on other users of local groundwater. Currently, some 20 irrigation and domestic water wells are located in the vicinity of the Florence Copper Project site. One of these wells, operated by the Bureau of Indian Af airs on the Florence Copper Project lands, will have to be relocated. Groundwater quality and availability for all other wells will be unchanged.

Monitoring will continue for 30 years to ensure the integrity

• f local water sources is maintained after operations

Ti e project will have no ef ect on other users of local groundwater

SWVP-022824

PROJECT GEOLOGY

Ti e Florence Copper Project property hosts a 429 million ton measured and indicated oxide copper resource at a 0.05% cutof , grading 0.331% Cu and containing 2.84 billion lb of copper. Ti e deposit lies between 400 and 800 feet below surface. Due to the presence of soluble copper

• xide

mineralization, extensively fractured bedrock and groundwater conditions that allow for both copper recovery and aquifer protection, the Florence Copper Project site is highly amenable to in-situ copper recovery methods, and has excellent potential to become a world-class ISCR operation. Copper within the deposit occurs as fj ne grained mineralization on the fractures of the rock. Removal of the copper by ISCR methods will not in any appreciable way alter the volume

• f material in the ground or cause any

surface disturbance.

TRAFFIC/DUST & AIR QUALITY

Air quality ef ects associated with dust and emissions from the Florence Copper Project solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) plant are expected to be minimal and well within regulated standards enforced by Pinal County and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During operations, some 170 employees and contractors are likely to travel by car to the Florence Copper Project site each day. Shipment of equipment and supplies will require an average of 12 truck trips per day, while shipment of copper cathode will require an average of three truck trips per day. All truck and most car traffj c will use state highways and major arterial roads, and will not enter residential neighborhoods. Curis may also explore the development of a rail spur to connect the Florence Copper Project to the Copper Basin Railway to the north as a means of reducing road traffj

• c. Any such considerations will involve the Town of

Florence and its residents.

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Ti e Florence Copper Project property contains archaeological sites and artifacts associated with the Hohokam culture. Curis is advancing partnership agreements with relevant stakeholders and government agencies to ensure that archaeological and cultural resources found on the property are treated properly. Parties include: Gila River Indian Community, Ak Chin Indian Community, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, the Tohono O’odham Nation, Hopi Tribe, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Offj ce and the Environmental Protection Agency. Curis will continue and expand the extensive cultural resource survey work undertaken by BHP Copper in the 1990s. Archaeological sites will be respected and regulations and agreements will be followed to ensure artifacts and cultural resources are treated appropriately.

PROPERTY & LOCATION

Ti e Florence Copper Project is located northwest of Florence town center on a 1,342-acre land package south of Hunt

• Highway. Land holdings include

1,182 acres of private land and a 160-acre State of Arizona mineral lease. Ti e Florence Copper Project property currently hosts administration and storage buildings, basic road and power infrastructure, as well as ISCR production test facilities installed by previous owner BHP

• Copper. Ti

ese include injection, recovery and monitoring wells, solution storage tanks and a water impoundment. SWVP-022825

IN-SITU COPPER RECOVERY

In-situ copper recovery (ISCR) presents a number of benefj ts over traditional mining practices. It results in minimal disturbance to the surface

• r aesthetics of the land, and provides for a broader range of post closure

land use opportunities. A typical ISCR operation consists of a series of injection, recovery and monitoring wells penetrating a soluble copper orebody. A low pH solution similar in strength to lemon juice or household vinegar is pumped through perforations in the injection wells and into the copper mineralization. Ti e solution passes through cracks in the ore and dissolves the copper into solution. Ti is copper-rich solution is then pumped to surface through recovery wells where it is captured for processing. Typically, a ring of four recovery wells surrounds each injection well, creating a hydrologic fm

• w that allows for full

recapture of all solution. Pumping rates in recovery wells are typically 30% higher than the rate at which solution is injected into the copper orebody, further ensuring that all solution is recaptured and local groundwater resources are protected. Copper bearing solution is then sent to a solvent extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) plant for the on-site manufacture of 99.999% pure copper cathode sheets. Although ISCR technology and practices have been employed throughout North America and around the world for more than 50 years, including at several project sites in Arizona, the Florence Copper Project will be the fj rst stand alone operation of its kind. Curis is proposing to undertake a 12 – 14-month ISCR production test at

• Florence. Ti

is test will occur on an area of less than 2 acres using 20 injection, recovery and monitoring wells. Ti e goals of the test are to enhance copper recoveries beyond those achieved by BHP Copper, and to facilitate project permitting and confj rm project economics. Full ISCR production will require the installation of an ISCR well-fj eld, upgrading and expansion of solution storage tanks, construction of an SX/EW plant and associated administration, transportation and power infrastructure.

ISCR

375 ft 450 ft 70 ft

• n

• n

70 ft 1 f t

In-situ copper recovery results in minimal disturbance to the surface

• r aesthetics of the land,

and provides for a broader range of post closure land use opportunities Recovery of very fj ne copper mineralization by ISCR methods will not change the volume of material in the oxide zone

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PROJECT TIMELINE

Curis plans to invest some $45 million over a 2 year period to advance the Florence Copper Project into commercial production. Ti e primary focus of Curis’ initial project investment will be engineering and environmental studies, permitting activities, a small

• n-site production test, community outreach and the operation of a local offj

ce.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Ti e Florence Copper Project 1575 West Hunt Highway, Florence, AZ USA 85132 Tel 520.374.3984 Fax 520.374.3999 Curis Resources Ltd. 1020 - 800 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6 Canada Toll Free 800.667.2114 Fax 604.684.8092

fm

• rencecopperproject.com

HISTORY

Copper mineralization was fj rst discovered at Florence in the early 1960s. By the late 1970s, signifj cant drilling and metallurgical testwork had been completed. Magma Copper Company acquired the project in 1992 and completed a Prefeasibility Study that identifj ed ISCR, followed by SX/EW processing, to be the most feasible development option. In 1996, BHP acquired Magma and conducted extensive geological and metallurgical studies at Florence. By 1999, the project was fully permitted for ISCR operations. Following a major decline in world copper prices, BHP Copper sold the majority of their copper assets in the United States – including the Florence Copper Project lands. Fourteen years of quarterly water quality monitoring data before, during and after BHP Copper’s ISCR production test conclusively demonstrates the reliability and low risk of in-situ copper recovery methods. Curis Resources intends to incorporate sustainable development principles into all aspects of Florence Copper Project operations. Ti is includes using, wherever possible, renewable energy, specifj cally solar energy, to supply power needs to the project. Ti e abundance of solar resources in the Florence area presents a tremendous

• pportunity to demonstrate the

use of this technology in a modern mining project.

RENEWABLE ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE FLORENCE COPPER PROJECT

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