NKUNZANA PROSPECTING RIGHT PROJECT DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME Submitted in support of a Prospecting Right Application Prepared on Behalf of: WRE BASE METALS (PTY) LTD (Subsidiary of White Rivers Exploration (Pty) Ltd) DMR REFERENCE NUMBER: KZN 30/5/1/1/2/10722 PR 27 JUNE 2018 Nkunzana BAR+EMPR KZN 30/5/1/1/2/10722 PR NKUNZANA PROSPECTING RIGHT PROJECT DRAFT BASIC ASSESSMENT REPORT AND EVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME Compiled by: Ms Nangamso Zizo Siwendu Environmental Consultant, Shango Solutions Cell: 076 859 2686 E-mail: [email protected] Ms Mmakoena Adelaide Mmola Geological Consultant, Shango Solutions Cell: 076 714 7937 E-mail: [email protected] Reviewed by: Dr Jochen Schweitzer Principal Consultant, Shango Solutions Cell: 082 448 2303 E-mail: [email protected] Ms Stefanie Weise Principal Consultant, Shango Solutions Cell: 081 549 5009 E-mail: [email protected] DOCUMENT CONTROL Revision Date Report 1 27 June 2018 Draft Basic Assessment Report and Environmental Management Programme DISCLAIMER & TERMS OF USE This report has been prepared by Dunrose Trading 186 (Pty) Ltd t/a Shango Solutions using information provided by its client as well as third parties, which information has been presumed to be correct. Shango Solutions does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which may directly or indirectly result from any advice, opinion, information, representation or omission, whether negligent or otherwise, contained in this report. Shango Solutions does not accept any liability for any loss or damage, whether direct, indirect or consequential, arising out of circumstances beyond the control of Shango Solutions, including the use and interpretation of this report by the client, its officials or their representative agents. This document contains information proprietary to Shango Solutions and as such should be treated as confidential unless specifically identified as a public document by law. Shango Solutions owns all copyright and all other intellectual property rights in this report. The document may not be copied, reproduced in whole or in part, or used for any manner without prior written consent from Shango Solutions. Copyright is specifically reserved in terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1987 including amendments thereto. By viewing this disclaimer and by accepting this document, you acknowledge that you have read and accepted these Terms of Use and undertake to keep the information herein confidential and not to do any act or allow any act which is in breach of these Terms of Use . Nkunzana BAR+EMPR KZN 30/5/1/1/2/10722 PR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WRE Base Metals (Pty) Ltd (hereafter referred to as WRE Base Metals, the Applicant) submitted an application for a Prospecting Right and an Environmental Authorisation in order to prospect for the following commodities: Gold Nickel Silver Lead Coal Platinum Group Metals Cobalt Rare Earths Copper Sulphur Diamond (Alluvial) Uranium Iron Tungsten Manganese Zinc Molybdenum The application for Prospecting Right was accepted by the Department of Mineral Resources – KwaZulu-Natal Regional Office on the 20th December 2017. In addition, receipt of the application for an Environmental Authorisation was acknowledged by the Department on the 22 nd November 2017. The proposed project will be known as the Nkunzana Prospecting Right and it will aim to explore and quantify potential mineral resources. In order to undertake prospecting activities, WRE Base Metals require a Prospecting Right in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 Act 28 of 2002). WRE Base Metals is also required to obtain an Environmental Authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998) which involves the submission of a Basic Assessment Report, an Environmental Management Programme as well as undertaking a Public Participation Process. Shango Solutions have been appointed by WRE Base Metals as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to assist in complying with these requirements Purpose of this Document This document has been compiled in support of the Prospecting Right and Environmental Authorisation applications and aims to assess any impacts associated with prospecting. It is important that Interested and Affected Parties are provided with an opportunity to review and comment on the assessment report, thereby contributing to the environmental impact assessment process and assisting in identifying any additional risks or impacts that may be experienced. As such, a public consultation is being undertaken for this application and the results have been documented in this report. The report will be made available to Interested and Affected Parties for review and comment for a period of 30 days before it is finalised to include the results of the consultation and submitted to the Competent Authority for their decision-making . Project Location The area of interest occupies a total of approximately 2 069.06 hectares (ha) and is located approximately 92 kilometres (km) west of Richards Bay, in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The proposed prospecting area is located in the Magisterial District of Nkandla and falls under the Nkandla Local Municipality, within the King Cetshwayo District Municipality. Two (2) farm portions extend over the application area. Project Activities Invasive and non-invasive prospecting activities will be undertaken as part of the proposed Prospecting Work Programme (PWP). The Prospecting Work Programme will be based on a phased approach over approximately i Nkunzana BAR+EMPR KZN 30/5/1/1/2/10722 PR five (5) years. Continuation of the prospecting activities will be dependent on the successful completion of tasks constituting an orderly geological investigation. The first two years of the proposed five year prospecting programme will be limited to non-invasive activities which include desktop studies, data digitisation and QA/QC, field visits and mapping as well as preliminary target generation and target prospectivity ranking. Years 3 and 4 will involve a combination of non-invasive activities (surface electromagnetic geophysical surveys, geological modeling and target prospectivity ranking) and invasive activities (stream sediment sampling, detailed grid sampling, excavation of six trenches up to 3 metres (m) deep and underground sampling of the historical Nkunzana Mine). During year 5, drilling of 6 diamond core or percussion drillholes to a depth of 150 m will take place. Upon completion of the drilling programme, the recovered core will be logged and sampled. The drillhole information will be captured into a database and integrated into the final geological model. Utilising the finalised geological model, together with the historical assay results and any results from re-sampling, a resource estimate will be performed. Prospecting Targets The main targets for prospecting are the metamorphosed rocks of the Nkomo and Tugela nappes of the Tugela terrane as well as the Natal Thrust Belt. Gold in the application area is hosted in shear zones and mineralisation occurs in the sericite and chlorite schists of the Mfongosi Group of the Natal Thrust Belt. Environmental Specialist Studies A comprehensive assessment was undertaken in support of the Nkunzana Prospecting Right application. Three specialist studies were undertaken, namely: Heritage and Palaeontology Assessment. Ecological (fauna and flora) Assessment. Wetland Assessment. Based on the specialist assessments, it was determined that a number of sensitive features exist within the application area. Summary of Key Findings Ecological and Wetland Assessment The project area is in a fairly pristine condition and has been minimally altered both historically and at present. Current impacts include secondary roads, the proximity of rural developments and associated human activity, including: dumping of rubble, livestock, litter and infringement by people and livestock into natural areas via footprints and roads. However, despite these impacts, the remaining natural habitats, which cover the majority of the project area, exhibit healthy ecological functionality, integrity and an appropriate balance between various herbaceous plants and associated fauna. This diversity is indicative of the importance of these systems to collectively provide refugia, food and corridors for dispersal in and through the surrounding area. The Ecology and Wetland Assessment was conducted on a desktop level and a field survey was undertaken to increase the confidence in the information obtained from desktop studies. Listed below are the key findings: The proposed prospecting area is situated entirely within an identified CBA Irreplaceable and borders the Nkandla Forest Reserve Complex (a vulnerable forest type). Field surveys confirmed the integrity of this CBA, as well as the presence of multiple threatened species. ii Nkunzana BAR+EMPR KZN 30/5/1/1/2/10722 PR The prospecting right area falls within the 5 km buffer which is recommended around protected areas. According to the NBA (2011) terrestrial ecosystem threat status, the project area covers two ecosystems, which are listed as Vulnerable (VU) and Least Threatened (LT), the former making up the majority of the project area. The project area is situated across several different vegetation types: Moist Coast Hinterland Grassland (Gs20) (which constitutes the majority of the area) listed as Vulnerable, Eastern Valley Bushveld (SVs 6), Scarp Forest (FOz 5) and