Happy National Miners Day!

Dear Team, 

We are well into the final stretch of 2022. With only a few more weeks left until year end it is critical that our primary focus remains on safety and the environment. We have made great progress this year and we don’t want our successes to be overshadowed by an incident in these final days.

We continue to work to meet our production guidance and are focused on a strong finish to the year. We hope to see some positive reconciliation on our grades to provide us more ounces. All our departments have made great progress this year and we are poised to set production records for tons mined and milled. The maintenance department has also seen some of the best results on record for year-to-date availability across both fixed and mobile assets.

With all the successes this year, we have also experienced challenges. Last month we had diesel fuel leak from our 30,000 gallon tank at the Powerhouse. The impacted water eventually reached our stormwater ponds. The incident was quickly identified and mitigated thanks to vigilant staff monitoring of our daily operations and the preparedness of having Spill Kits stocked and readily available. Because of our environmental protections in place, and the excellent work of our Environmental, Safety, and Surface departments, diesel fuel was contained in the ponds and was not discharged into the environment or nearby waterways. At this time we have collected all of the impacted water and sediment and transferred it to proper containment to be sent off site for proper disposal.

While we were dealing with the diesel, we also experienced a failure of our firewater system in the Admin building. The failure resulted in water flooding from the attic down through the third, second, and first floors of the building. Quick response from our Safety department, camp maintenance, and Goldbelt partners minimized what could have been a very detrimental incident. The majority of the damage was contained to drywall, carpet, and insulation. No computer, IT server, or automation equipment was damaged.

I would like to personally thank everyone involved in the response to these two incidents. I know that many of you put a lot of work and long hours into making sure both were properly dealt with and effectively mitigated.

As we wrap up 2022 and look toward 2023, we will continue to see challenging times for our mine. As discussed in our last All Hands meetings, we will be bringing an underground development contractor onsite in early 2023. We awarded the development contract to Thyssen Mining. With their help, we have the opportunity to set Kensington up for a successful future. We have an exciting exploration plan in front of us, and with the support of Thyssen Mining we have the opportunity realize the success from our exploration plan. We have already started to see the fruits of our labor around the multi-year exploration and development plan as we strive to replace depletion for the first time at Kensington since 2017. We hope that further exploration success will result in more ounces added to reserves, extending mine life further into the future. I am very excited about the future of our mine, and for the opportunity to lead us into this next chapter.

In closing, I would like to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication to the success of Kensington. When I travel around site and interact with our workforce it is evident the level of pride we all have in what we do. That being said, there is always room to grow, and we must continue to “Pursue a Higher Standard.” Please remain laser focused on safety and the environment as we move into the New Year. I am confident that if we continue to “Pursue a Higher Standard” and strive for greatness we will be successful.

I wish all of you and your families a joyous holiday season and all the best in the New Year.

Best Regards,

Steve

There were three reportable spills during the month. Two of the spills were hydraulic oil spills as the result of failed hydraulic hoses. The third spill was the result of a a valve on the filter housing at the Mill Bench fuel bay not being properly closed. The drain valve for the 30K Gallon Storage Tank containment was in the open position, allowing any spillage to go to the oil/water separator, instead of containing the fuel.

The diesel fuel that leaked out of the fuel filter system reported to the existing containment, and then flowed into the oil/water separator. The oil/water separator became overwhelmed with sediment and diesel fuel, and diesel fuel was discharged from the oil/water separator and reported to the lined mill stormwater ponds where it was visually identified. The impacted water was captured in the stormwater ponds and did not discharge to the environment. Clean-up of the impacted water in the stormwater ponds took nearly three weeks and several departments were involved in this large clean-up effort. On-going efforts continue with the disposal of the impacted water and soil that was excavated from the ponds during the clean-up. Thanks again to all the folks and departments that contributed to large clean-up effort. A thorough investigation is ongoing and may result in changes to our standard operating procedures and operating controls.