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ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW

The exploration and mining businesses have been much maligned in recent decades because of the rise in environmental awareness. Environmental awareness is indeed a good thing - after all we have only ONE Earth. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together. In the past, mankind lacked a global view and as a consequence environmental disasters were ignored, unacknowledged, if not unrecognized. It is well documented that the exploration and mining industries have perpetrated some of these disasters.

However, many countries have passed or are in the process of passing legislation that makes the exploration and mining companies responsible for any environmental disturbance they create. Here in Australia, these companies are required by law to financially compensate land owners, and to set aside a certain amount of money for restoration of the environment. The cost of the compensation and restoration of course depends on the size and degree of the disturbance, but it can amount to a sizeable investment companies would prefer to minimize. So how does STEP™ Technology help them minimize this expenditure and how is STEP™ Technology environmentally friendly?

First and foremost, it allows the explorer to be significantly more selective in those areas considered prospective for a particular mineral of interest. The Broken Hill Deposit (largest lead-zinc deposit in the world) located in New South Wales, Australia, is an excellent example. The Broken Hill region covers an area of about 10,000 square kilometres, which has been explored intensively for more than 100 years. During that time the number of diamond drill holes put down seeking another supergiant Broken Hill-type deposit must have exceeded a thousand. This is not to mention the thousands of other drill hole types and other intrusive exploration techniques employed. STEP™ Technology shows conclusively that there in only ONE supergiant deposit in the region and that is the one currently being exploited - The Broken Hill Deposit. As well, it shows that if this supergiant had been hidden beneath alluvium, younger rocks or water, it would now be possible to predict its most likely location down to an area as small as 10 square kilometres. This means only 0.1% of the 10,000 square kilometre area had any potential whatsoever to contain a supergiant deposit and 99.9% of the area could have and can remain as environmentally pristine as possible.

STEP™ Technology will change forever the way mankind will utilize the mineral resources in the Earth. It will make mineral exploration a much more environmentally friendly endeavour.