Prior to being placed on care and maintenance due to historically low metal prices, the MTM was the largest zinc mining operation in the continental U.S.A., mining 38 million tons of ore and producing over 2.3 billion pounds of zinc or 1.8 million tons of the purest zinc concentrate.

Several hundred miles of underground infrastructure was in place, including 14 shafts and ventilation raises within solid ground conditions. Since work commenced in March 2007, SRA has successfully completed the preliminary rehabilitation and dewatering plan for the Gordonsville Mine where mining has commenced with approximately 60,000 tons of ore stockpiled underground. The commissioning process of the mill components is well underway and the Company is targeting first concentrate shipment to the smelter in Clarksville, located about 100 miles away, at the end of March 2008.

The premium quality of the zinc concentrate has expedited offtake agreements with three of the world’s largest smelters: Nyrstar SA/NV (Clarksville, Tn), Teck Cominco Metals Ltd. (Trail, B.C.), and MG Rohstoffhandel GmbH (Ruhr-Zinc Germany). These agreements represent the bulk of the initial five years of zinc production, with a minority being retained for spot sales. The agreement with Nyrstar carries the added benefit of allowing SRA to recover its residue, rich in germanium and gallium used in the high technology industry, while presenting transportation cost savings in view of the proximity of the Clarksville smelter to SRA’s MTM mining complex.

For calendar 2008, production from all three mines is expected to be approximately 750,000 tons or 25 million pounds of payable zinc. Once a sustained mining rate of 7,500 tpd is achieved in 2009 the Company expects to produce over 100 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate at an average mill feed grade above 3.0%. Total mining costs are expected to fall significantly averaging US$0.85 per payable pound of zinc after royalties, freight and smelting costs excluding Ge and Ga contributions.