On May 6, 2008, the Company provided a general operations and corporate update, reporting that the Company had successfully converted from truck-loading to conveying and stacking crushed ore on the leach pad, initiated a new lime-application process, and implemented the first phase of the Company’s plans to apply inter-lift liners. The key results of these operational advances were improved leach pad dynamics and significantly higher gold recoveries.

In December 2008, the Company commissioned two drum agglomerators.  The drum agglomeration process is expected to improve leach pad percolation and increase gold recoveries to the 60% level.

In 2009, the Company expects to invest up to $9 million to close the existing crushing circuit in order to ensure a crusher discharge size of 100% passing 3/8th inch. This capital investment is expected to further improve recoveries to approximately the 65% level in 2010 and beyond.  The Company expects to have completed the closing of the exisiting crushing circuit in late 2009.

On May 21, 2009, the Company announced a positive production decision for the construction of a 500 tonnes of ore per day gravity mill to process high-grade ore from the Escondida zone. The high-grade mill is anticipated to add between 50,000 and 150,000 ounces of gold production by the start of 2012.  The Company expects that it will be able to finance theconstruction of a mill with a combination of current cash balances and cash flows from operations.