Artist's concept of the Marathon PGM-Cu Mine.

The Marathon PGM-Cu Project is the most advanced project within the Company's portfolio. In January 2010, the optimized definitive feasibility study was delivered. The optimized DFS report can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.

The formal Environmental Assessment process for the Marathon PGM-Cu Project officially commenced on 16-Apr-10 following acceptance of the Marathon PGM-Cu Project Description. To view the report click here (PDF file ~72MB). The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will manage the Federal EA process and work with the province in a co-ordinated fashion. More information regarding the assessment process and the projects progress through the process can be found at http://www.ceaa.gc.ca and http://www.mpmo-bggp.gc.ca.

Project Location
The Marathon Project is located about 10 km north of the town of Marathon, Ontario, Canada. The town of Marathon is adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway on the northeast shore of Lake Superior, approximately 300 km east of the city of Thunder Bay. The Marathon Project benefits from excellent location and access to well developed transportation infrastructure. Please click here to view the location page.

Marathon Deposit Geology
The Marathon deposit is located on the eastern margin of the Port Coldwell Complex, a Proterozoic layered basic intrusion. The palladium, platinum and copper mineralization occurs in the Two Duck Lake Gabbro. The known zones of significant mineralization have a total north-south strike length of about 3 km and dip 30° to 40° to the west. The mineralization has a true thickness ranging from 4m to 100m. Please click here to view a typical cross section of the mineralization.

Deposit History
Anaconda Canada explored the Project during the 1960’s and drilled over 36,000 metres in exploration and definition of copper mineralization. In 1985 Fleck Resources focused on the re-assaying of Anaconda’s drill core for PGM’s and completed another 3,615 metres of drilling. Geomaque Exploration (now Rio Narcea Gold Mines, Ltd.) had an option to purchase this Project in 2001. Geomaque spent over $1 million on the Project. Geomaque completed a preliminary assessment on the Project in April 2001.

Recently, results from the 2008 drilling campaign of 30,000 m were incorporated into the new resource estimate which was released in late 2008. In previous years, Marathon drilled 40,000 m during 2007 and completed a 25,000 m campaign for the 2006.

Resource and Reserves
Marathon's successive drilling campaigns have progressively expanded the Marathon resource on a year over year basis. The success gained in continually expanding the resource resulted from a systematic approach to exploration. This success has been carried out in a cost effective manner, while ultimately expanding the value of the resource.

In-Pit Resource Estimate - Optimized DFS (January 2010) (Please click here to view the press release)
In January 2010, Marathon released the optimized in-pit resource estimate, which is part of the optimized definitive feasibility study (“DFS”) of the Marathon Project. The optimized in-pit resource has an increase in measured, indicated (M&I) and inferred resources and an increase in total resources, containing 4.135 million ounces of PGM and gold and 618 million pounds of copper.

Reserve Estimate - Optimized DFS (January 2010) (Click here to view the press release)
In January 2010, Marathon delivered the optimized Marathon reserve estimate. The optimized Proven and Probable reserve contains 2.447 million ounces of Pd, 696,000 ounces of Pt, 251,000 ounces of Au, 497 million lbs of Cu and 4.235 million ounces of Ag.