Minco : Annual Report & Accounts 2016

Annual Report & Accounts 2016

Table of Contents

Front Cover (Top to Bottom):

Aerial View of Buchans and the Lucky Strike Pit; Aerial View of the Historical Nenthead Mill, Northern Pennines;

Moate, Ireland Drill Programme 2016; Former Lucky Strike Mine and Headframe Inside Cover: Lucky Strike Headframe

The year 2016 was very active for Minco, with good progress achieved on the Company's various mineral exploration and development projects.

The metallurgical research program on Minco's base metal properties in Newfoundland successfully demonstrated that the ore from Minco's Lundberg, Daniels Pond and Bobbys Pond deposits can be successfully processed in a central mill, and that zinc, lead and copper concentrates at marketable grades can be produced.

At Buchans, the on-going re-logging of historic drill cores identified several target areas with potential for discovery of additional high-grade resources near the Lundberg deposit and in October, Minco competitively staked 2,000 hectares covering a 3.5 km segment of a prospective gold trend in central Newfoundland.

In Ireland, a thirteen-hole drill program at Moate intersected reef-derived breccias, comparable to those at the Tynagh Mine, containing widespread trace amounts of disseminated sphalerite, confirming the geological model and enhancing the exploration potential. Meanwhile at Navan, four holes were drilled on the Boliden/Minco joint venture licence adjacent to the large Tara zinc/lead mine, returning potentially economic grades.

After year-end, Minco announced in March 2017 that it is in discussions with Dalradian Resources regarding the disposal of its 2% royalty on the Curraghinalt gold deposit in Northern Ireland for shares in Dalradian valued at C$20,000,000, to be structured as an offer by Dalradian for Minco and the demerger of Buchans Resources to Minco shareholders.

For the year ended 31 December, 2016, Minco recorded a loss of US$775,000 compared to a loss of US$118,000 for the same period ended 31 December, 2015. The loss for the year ended 31 December, 2016 included an income tax expense of US$87,000, and a foreign exchange gain of US$16,000, compared to a foreign exchange gain of US$648,000 for the same period ended 31 December, 2015.

During the year ended 31 December, 2016 Minco invested US$831,000 on exploration of its mineral properties, of which the largest amounts were expended on the Buchans zinc lead project in central Newfoundland.

At 31 December, 2016, Minco held US$2,351,000 (2015- US$3,974,000) in cash and cash equivalents and had a working capital surplus of US$1,935,000, compared to a working capital surplus of US$3,628,000 at 31 December, 2015.

During 2016, Minco, through its wholly owned subsidiary Buchans Minerals Corporation ("Buchans Minerals), in a collaboration agreement with Canadian Zinc Corporation (TSX:CZN), successfully completed a research programme to evaluate the metallurgical characteristics of their respective volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au base metal deposits in central Newfoundland .

The metallurgical research study demonstrated that the ore from Minco's Lundberg, Daniels Pond and Bobbys Pond deposits can be successfully processed in a central mill using a sequential flotation flowsheet, and that selective zinc, lead and copper concentrates at marketable grades can be produced from these deposits.

The economic assessment portion of the program applied a conceptual assessment to evaluate and identify the key factors impacting the operating economics of centralized processing for the production of the base metal concentrates. The economic assessment completed various scenarios that considered three possible processing locations, the possible benefits of dense media separation ("DMS") and three alternative tonnage throughput rates for the processing facility.

Multiple conceptual economic scenarios at three potential sites were developed to simulate the proposed centralized milling concept. The variables assessed included the different potential mill sites, with or without DMS, new or used process equipment, mining rate, and processing feedstock composition for each deposit. Lundberg, being the largest but lowest grade deposit, was considered the main plant feed and Lemarchant, Boomerang, Daniels Pond and Bobbys Pond were treated as satellite deposits.

The positive results of the research project provide valuable direction to guide future exploration on Minco's central Newfoundland volcanogenic massive sulphide Zn-Pb-Cu-Ag-Au base metal deposits and the conceptual economic modelling provided key information on which to focus future economic studies and development plans for advancing the development of the Lundberg and satellite deposits using a central milling facility.

During 2016, Minco focussed its exploration efforts near the former Lucky Strike mine to explore for high-grade resources that may positively impact open pit and underground development of the Company's Lundberg deposit.

In 2015, Minco initiated a program of relogging of historic archived drill cores to assess potential for discovery of additional high-grade resources near the Lundberg deposit. This program is ongoing and to date has relogged 319 surface and underground drill holes totalling 51,137 metres of archived drill core previously drilled within 2 kilometres of the former Lucky Strike mine, and a further 49,100 metres in 141 holes from other prospects located less than 4 kilometres from the Lundberg deposit. Several target areas have been identified and will be considered for possible drill testing in 2017.

In October of 2016, Minco, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Buchans Minerals Corporation, competitively staked 2,075 hectares in central Newfoundland, known as the Lake Douglas project.

Minco's property covers a 3.5 km segment of the prospective trend that is located northeast, along strike of Marathon Gold Corporation's (MOZ.TO) Valentine Lake project where Marathon has announced a Measured and Indicated mineral resource estimate of 21.8 million tonnes at an averaged grade of 1.84 grams of gold per tonne containing 1,292,800 ounces of gold and an Inferred mineral resource of 8.8 million tonnes of at an averaged grade of 1.98 grams of gold per tonne containing 562,600 ounces of gold (Marathon press release dated February 21, 2017) as a potential open pit resource development.

In November 2015 Minco was granted three new Prospecting Licences PLs 1228, 1229 and 3981, at Moate in County Westmeath, centered on a specific geological target identified by Minco, with potential for zinc-lead mineralisation of Tynagh Mine type.

Minco's 2016-2017 drill programme at Moate consisted of 13 holes completed between September 2016 and January 2017 for a total of 1299 metres. Drilling was concentrated in two areas centred on the townlands of Knockanea-Fardrum (Pl 1229) and Tully (Pl 1228). 942 metres were drilled on Pl 1229 and 357 metres on Pl 1228.

Minco's drilling programme initially focused within PL 1229 on the southwestern three kilometers of the target area, adjacent the ENE striking Moyvoughly Fault where five holes (1229-35 to 1229-39) were drilled for a total of 700 metres. Reef-derived breccias comparable to those at Tynagh were intersected confirming the geological model, and in Holes 1229-38, 39 and 40 the breccias contain widespread trace amounts of disseminated sphalerite.

The 2016-2017 drill programme at Moate has confirmed the geological model and enhanced exploration potential. A second phase of drilling (13 holes for a total of 2600 metres) has been recommended to explore these targets in 2017.

Minco, through its wholly owned subsidiary Westland Exploration Ltd, holds a 20% interest in Prospecting Licence 1440R (Tatestown), which is being explored under a Joint Venture agreement with Boliden Tara Mines Limited (80%), and which hosts part of the Tatestown-Scallanstown zinc lead mineral deposit.

During 2016, Tara Boliden, Operator of the JV, completed an infill drilling programme of four drill holes between and peripheral to existing resource blocks on Pl 1440R. Potentially economic grades and widths were intersected in all four of these holes. The drilling confirms the continuity of the resource and the widespread nature of mineralisation in this area. A continuation of the infill-step out drilling is proposed by Boliden Tara for 2017 with an additional four or six holes planned.

At the adjacent Tara Mine, which is one of the larger zinc mines in the world, successful exploration by Boliden has recently identified new mineralisation, Tara Deep, and Boliden has decided to launch a programme to extend the life-of-mine. Boliden reported in January 2017 that the new Tara Deep deposit has inferred mineral resources totalling 10 Million tonnes with a zinc grade of 8.5% and a lead grade of 1.8%. The mineralisation resembles Tara's main ore body, but has a more complicated structure and is at a greater depth of between 1,200 and 1,900 metres.