INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018

The Tropicana Operation, located on the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert, is one of the most isolated mining operations in Western Australia. It is situated in an area of high biological significance, and is subject to an integrated conservation management strategy developed to ensure that flora and fauna are protected. It is also a culturally significant region for the Traditional Owners of the land, including the Wongatha and Spinifex peoples. The Tropicana Operation is a joint venture managed by AngloGold Ashanti, with IGO having a 30% interest. While IGO has no direct management of the mine, we have included material elements of their sustainability performance in this report. IGO’s Executive Committee receive quarterly briefings that, along with production updates, address any occupational health and safety issues, environmental management performance and community engagement issues associated with the mine. Tropicana encompasses over 100,000 ha of tenements that stretch over more than 180km in strike length along the Yilgarn Craton and Fraser Range Mobile Belt Collision Zone. The closest town is Laverton, 230km west of the Tropicana Operation. The mine sits within an area overseen by the Goldfields Land and Sea Council, the Central Desert Native Title Services, and the Wongatha claimant’s North East Independent Body representatives. BACKGROUND The current operation was targeted and pegged by IGO in 2001. Shortly after, AngloGold Ashanti and IGO entered into the joint venture that led to the discovery of the Tropicana, Havana and Boston Shaker ore bodies in 2005, 2006 and 2010, respectively. Development of the Tropicana Operation was announced in November 2010, with mining of the Havana deposit commencing in 2012. The first gold was produced in September 2013, with the operation achieving the two million ounce milestones in FY18. The mining process at Tropicana uses cyanide to liberate the gold from mineral-bearing ore. The mine operates in compliance to the International Cyanide Management Code. CONSUMABLES Gas, diesel, lime, cyanide and carbon are the main consumables at the mine. Electricity is generated by a gas -fired power station, supplied by a buried gas pipeline. The power station consists of 17 gas generators that have the capability to run on diesel if required. The Tropicana Operation operates a fleet of open pit mining equipment – the primary consumer of diesel on site. WASTE At Tropicana, waste rock and tailings are the main waste streams generated. In addition to the gold-bearing ore, waste rock is extracted from the various pits during the mining process. Some of this material is classified as potentially acid-forming due to its high sulphur content which, if left unmanaged and exposed to the elements, could potentially generate acid and/or metalliferous drainage (AMD). A waste rock management strategy is employed to mitigate possible downstream impacts to biota and groundwater. The encapsulation of potentially acid-forming waste with benign material is the principal method to prevent AMD generation. Tailings produced from the processing plant are pumped into the purpose built tailings storage facility (TSF). The main environmental consideration in managing water in the tailings storage facility is to minimise the presence of weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide in the tailings liquor. WAD cyanide is toxic to fauna. Given water bodies are very attractive to avifauna in arid environments, the presence of WAD cyanide in the water contained in a tailings dam presents both a lure and a threat to the bird life. As a consequence, careful management is required. With this context, it should be noted that there have been no material numbers of fauna fatalities on the Tropicana TSF. The development of Tropicana will require the clearance of 3,267 ha of vegetation across the life of the operation. This includes both mining, open pit and exploration disturbance. Putrescible and inert waste are both disposed of in the on-site landfill. IGO SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018— 39

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