Firefinch : 2021 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Statement

ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

Thursday, 31st March 2022

2021 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Statement

•  Morila Gold Project total Mineral Resources of 2.5 million ounces of contained gold

  • o Indicated 27.4 million tonnes at 1.49g/t gold for 1.3 million ounces

  • o Inferred 23.2 million tonnes at 1.56g/t gold for 1.2 million ounces

•  Total Ore Reserves of 1.1 million ounces of contained gold

  • o Probable Ore Reserves of 23.8 million tonnes at 1.40g/t

•  Mineral Resource Estimate for Morila Deposit to be updated during Q2 2022 leading to new Ore Reserves and a re-optimisation of the Life of Mine Plan for Morila

Firefinch Limited (ASX: FFX) (Firefinch or the Company) is pleased to publish the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve statement for the Morila Gold Project (Morila) for the year ending 31st December 2021.

Summaries and sources for all estimated Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are set out in the attached tables and appendices.

Table 1: Mineral Resources for the Morila Gold Project

Deposit	Indicated	Inferred	Total
Tonnes	Grade	Ounces	Tonnes	Grade	Ounces	Tonnes	Grade	Ounces
(millions)	(g/t)	('000)	(millions)	(g/t)	('000)	(millions)	(g/t)	('000)
Morila Pit 1	21.2	1.60	1,090	17.5	1.37	770	38.6	1.50	1,860
Morila NE 2	0.21	3.07	21	0.21	3.07	21
Samacline 2	3.74	2.56	308	3.74	2.56	308
Morila Pit 5 3,4	0.40	0.92	12	0.14	1.14	5	0.54	0.98	17
N'Tiola 3,4	2.55	1.03	84	0.35	1.04	12	2.90	1.04	96
Viper 3	2.47	1.16	92	0.75	1.10	27	3.23	1.15	119
Domba 5	0.20	1.75	11	0.25	1.61	13	0.46	1.67	25
Koting 4	0.65	1.04	22	0.28	0.94	8	0.93	1.01	30
Total	27.45	1.49	1,313	23.17	1.56	1,160	50.62	1.52	2,474

• 1 The Morila Pit resource is quoted using a 0.4g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 8th February 2022.

• 2 The Samacline and Morila NE resources are quoted using a 1.8g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 8th February

  2022.

  3 The N'Tiola, Viper, Pit 5 and Koting resources are quoted above cut-off grades based on current costs (0.35 - 0.5g/t), refer ASX Announcements 3rd May 2021 and 25th March 2022.

• 4 The Viper and Pit 5 resources have been depleted for mining as at 31 December 2021.

• 5 The Domba resource is quoted using a 0.5g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 24th November 2020.

  NB Numbers in the above table may not appear to sum correctly due to rounding.

Firefinch Limited	Level 3, 31 Ventnor Ave,	T [phone]
ABN: 11 113 931 105	West Perth WA 6005,	[e-mail]
Australia
ASX: FFX	W firefinchltd.com

1

Table 2: Ore Reserves for the Morila Gold Project

Deposit	Proved	Probable	Total
Tonnes	Grade	Ounces	Tonnes	Grade	Ounces	Tonnes	Grade	Ounces
(millions)	(g/t)	('000)	(millions)	(g/t)	('000)	(millions)	(g/t)	('000)
Morila Pit 1	19.8	1.47	932	19.8	1.47	932
N'Tiola 2	2.13	0.76	74	2.13	1.08	74
Viper 3,4	1.20	0.97	37	1.30	1.46	43
Koting 3	0.63	0.98	20	0.63	0.98	20
Total	23.8	1.40	1,070	23.8	1.40	1,070

• 1 The Morila Ore Reserve is quoted using a 0.43 g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 5th May 2021.

• 2 The N'Tiola Ore Reserve is quoted using a 0.51 g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 5th May 2021.

• 3 The Viper and Koting Ore Reserves are quoted using a 0.49 g/t gold cut-off grade, refer ASX Announcement 5th May 2021.

• 4 The Viper Ore Reserve has not been depleted for mining to 31st December 2022, a total of 8,000 ounces.

  NB Numbers in the above table may not appear to sum correctly due to rounding.

  Comparison with previous Mineral Resource Estimates

  Table 3 compares the Mineral Resource Estimates (MREs) at 31st December 2021 to the Mineral Resources stated in the 2020 Annual Report1.

Table 3. Comparison of total Mineral Resources

Deposit

31st Dec 2021

31st Dec 2020

Comment

Contained OuncesContained Ounces

Total

Morila (combined)	2,190,000	2,190,000	Update in progress
Tailings	-	51,000	Depletion by mining
Viper	119,000	43,000	Resource updated, depleted by mining
N'Tiola	96,000	45,000	Resource updated
Morila Pit5	17,000	-	Depletion by mining
Domba	25,000	25,000	No change
Koting	30,000	-	Resource published May 2021
2,474,000	2,350,000

Morila: Mineral Resources for the Morila Deposit were published in February 20212. The Company has carried out an extensive drilling campaign at the Morila Deposit which is ongoing as at the date of this statement. The Mineral Resource will be updated with the results of this drilling during the first half of 2022. No mining has been carried out at Morila during 2021, with stripping of waste commencing in January 2022, and the Mineral Resource remains current.

• 1 Refer to ASX announcement dated 1st April 2021.

• 2 Refer to ASX announcement dated 8th February 2021.

Firefinch Limited	Level 3, 31 Ventnor Ave,	T [phone]
ABN: 11 113 931 105	West Perth WA 6005,	[e-mail]
Australia
ASX: FFX	W firefinchltd.com

Tailings: Mining of the Morila Tailings was carried out during 2021. Mining is largely completed as at the date of this statement, with only minor clean-up of the dam floor remaining. Accordingly the Mineral Resource has been removed from the statement.

Viper: An updated MRE for the Viper Deposit was recently published3. The MRE was depleted for mining as at 31st December 2021.

N'Tiola: An updated MRE for the N'Tiola Deposit was recently published4. No mining has been carried out at N'Tiola during 2021.

Domba: The MRE for Domba was published in November 20205. No drilling or mining has been carried out at Domba during 2021 and the MRE remains current.

Beledjo-Koting: The MRE for Beledjo-Koting Deposit was published in May 20216. No drilling or mining has been carried during 2021 and the MRE remains current. A programme of grade control drilling was completed in early 2022, which will be used to refine the resource model for mining purposes.

Comparison with previous Ore Reserve Estimates

The Company announced its first Ore Reserves for Morila in May 20217 and these remain current as at the date of this statement. The Ore Reserve for Morila will be updated following the current update to the Morila MRE. The smaller Ore Reserves for Viper and N'Tiola are currently being updated using the MREs recently released as well as current modifying factors such as prevailing gold price assumptions and actual costs from the Morila operation. A total of 8,000 ounces was produced from Viper during 2021, with the forthcoming Ore Reserve to be depleted by mining. All other production in 2021 was sourced from areas outside the Ore Reserves (Tailings, Morila Pit 5). Table 4 compares the Ore Reserves as at 31st December 2021 to those in the 2020 Annual Report.

Table 4. Comparison of Ore Reserves

Deposit	31st Dec 2021
Contained Ounces
Morila Open Pit	932,000	-
Viper	43,000	-
N'Tiola	74,000	-
Koting	20,000	-
Total	1,070,000	-

31st Dec 2020

Contained Ounces

• 3 Refer to ASX announcement dated 25th March 2022.

• 4 Refer to ASX announcement dated 25th March 2022.

• 5 Refer to ASX announcement dated 24th November 2020.

• 6 Refer to ASX announcement dated 3rd May 2021.

• 7 Refer to ASX announcement dated 5th May 2021.

Comment

Awaiting updated resource Update in progress Update in progress

Reserve published May 2021

ASX: FFX

Firefinch Limited ABN: 11 113 931 105

Level 3, 31 Ventnor Ave, West Perth WA 6005, Australia

T [phone]

[e-mail] W firefinchltd.com

Summary of Resource Estimation Parameters

As per ASX Listing Rule 5.8 and the 2012 JORC Code, a summary of the material information used to estimate the Mineral Resource is detailed below. Further details can be found in Appendix 1. Geology & Geological Interpretation: The N'Tiola and Viper deposits are hosted within metasedimentary packages with alternating fine, medium and coarse-grained beds. Mineralisation is associated with shearing of these metasediments and is broadly steeply dipping parallel to shearing, with flatter structures also present. Mineralisation has been interpreted from section to section based on both geological and assay criteria, using a lower cut-off grade of 0.3g/t gold.

Drilling, Sampling and Sub-sampling Techniques: Mineralisation at the N'Tiola and Viper deposits has been defined by both RC and diamond drilling. Initial exploration drilling at all prospects was detailed in the ASX Announcement of 24th November 2020, with Firefinch completing infill and extensional RC drilling from December 2020 to the present. All available drilling data is used in the resource estimates. Sample Analysis: All samples used in the resource estimates were analysed at accredited commercial laboratories. Standard sample preparation techniques were used with a 50g sub sample fire assayed and the bead analysed by AAS. Quality control protocols for all drilling included the use of certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates.

Estimation Methodology: Block grades were estimated using Ordinary Kriging. Search ellipses were based on variography. The block model size used for all deposits was 2.5m by 5m (or 10m at Viper) Y by 2.5m Z corresponding to the expected selective mining unit (SMU).

Mining & Metallurgical Methods and Other Factors: The Mineral Resources are based on open pit mining with all mineralised material being processed through the existing, operational, Morila processing plant. It is assumed that mining rates, processing rates, recoveries and other mining and metallurgical parameters will be similar to historical and current performance. To ensure reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, all resources have been constrained using pit optimisation shells developed at a range of gold prices as forecast over the next 12 - 24 months along with best estimates for mining, processing and administration costs over the same period.

Classification & Cut-off Grade: The Mineral Resources have been classified as Indicated and Inferred. It is anticipated that the resources could achieve a higher level of classification with infill drilling and verification of the extent of historical mining. The Mineral Resources have been depleted using pit surveys as of 31st December 2021 provided by the Morila survey department. The cut-off grade used was based on current costs at Morila along with the current and forecast gold price and varies for each deposit due to their differing distance from the plant. The cut off grades are between 0.35 - 0.5g/t gold.

Firefinch Limited	Level 3, 31 Ventnor Ave,	T [phone]
ABN: 11 113 931 105	West Perth WA 6005,	[e-mail]
Australia
ASX: FFX	W firefinchltd.com

Summary of Ore Reserve Parameters

The Morila Super Pit and satellite pits will be mined by open pit methods. Ore and waste will be mined using a conventional mining fleet provided by mining contractors. Firefinch will supervise mining and ore production and undertake grade control activities.

The mining contractor will supply a fleet of excavators matched to the truck fleet, which will vary from 100 tonne class to potentially 190 tonne class dump trucks for the Morila Super Pit. At the Morila Super Pit, ore will be predominantly direct tipped to the primary crusher, with some stockpiling at the crusher run of mine stockpiles whereas satellite pit ore will be hauled to the plant ROM pad from the pit stockpile utilising a 40-tonne road truck fleet. The majority of ore will require drill and blast via track mounted blasthole drill rigs with grade control undertaken with track mounted RC drill rigs.

Resource models were imported to Whittle for optimisation purposes and a mining dilution of 10% and mining ore loss of 2% was then applied. This represents a reasonable modifying factor for the assumed selective bench height. Mining costs and ore haulage costs to the plant were derived from those supplied by the executed tenders for the mining contract for the satellite pits as applied on a bench by bench basis. Additional costs were applied for ore rehandle, grade control and other mining related oncosts.

Processing rates and recoveries were derived from test work undertaken by the previous project owners and historical processing performance. An overall average recovery of 91% was used. Processing costs were derived from past operating experience at the Morila process plant adjusted for current consumables and personnel costs. General and Administration costs are based on actuals at the Morila site. Malian state royalties and taxes are those currently applicable and payable by Morila.

Pit slopes adopted were based on those used in the prior mining of the Morila, Viper and N'Tiola pits and independent geotechnical assessments commissioned by the previous owners. Data is currently being collected during mining by the onsite team and is reviewed by an independent geotechnical consultant to confirm if any adjustments to design are required.

The pit shell used for the Morila pit design was selected on the basis of revenue factors with an economically robust shell selected which provides an acceptable mining life at the processing rate of the Morila plant. For the satellite deposits pit shells were selected on the basis of maximum cashflow given the short life of the pits. As the initial focus for Firefinch is both on value and maintaining plant feed this was considered a prudent approach. From the pit shells, a practical final pit design was developed and formed the basis of the Ore Reserve estimate. This was considered practical as mining production rates would be low at this point in the mining sequence.

The cut-off grade applied for the determination of Ore Reserves for Morila was 0.43 g/t gold, which is lower than the satellite deposits as there is no overland ore haulage required. For the satellite deposits, cut-off grades applied for the determination of Ore Reserves were calculated for each deposit on the basis of the optimisation parameters. These ranged from 0.48 to 0.51 g/t gold depending on depth within the pit and pit location.

Waste dumps were designed in conjunction with pit designs with an overall slope of 18° to 20° to minimise recontouring requirement for rehabilitation.

For Morila, the pit design from which the Ore Reserve is derived only intersects the existing waste dump in the north-western corner of the pit and requires minimal rehandle of this dump. Any dump relocation provides an opportunity for best practice rehabilitation practices to be implemented.

Firefinch Limited	Level 3, 31 Ventnor Ave,	T [phone]
ABN: 11 113 931 105	West Perth WA 6005,	[e-mail]
Australia
ASX: FFX	W firefinchltd.com