The Board encourages a culture of integrity and openness and has established an organisational structure with clear lines of accountability and authority across its operations. The Group does not currently have an internal control function due to the small size of the administration function.

Comprehensive annual budgets are produced once a year and submitted to the Board for approval. Reviews of the annual budget are regularly undertaken in line with significant changes in the underlying operations and conditions. Such revisions are put forward to the Board for approval. Actual results and forecasts are compared to budget and reported, along with key operational results, to the Board members on a monthly basis.

The Board screens all potential exploration opportunities before any significant financial commitment is made to proceed.

The Company maintains robust procedures to ensure that related party transactions and potential conflicts of interest are identified, disclosed and managed. These procedures include the declaration by Directors on appointment of their interests in other businesses and review and confirmation is conducted during the year.

The Board has established a Code of Conduct incorporating the guidelines of the Bribery Act 2010 and compliance officers have been appointed with clearly defined roles of responsibility. Personnel are encouraged to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicions they may have. Implementation of the Code is monitored and contraventions are reported to the Board.

The Company has well established policies on health and safety and these are set out in the Company’s Health and Safety Booklet, which is made available to all employees on joining the Group. Our philosophy is that safety must be considered in every task performed and every decision made.

We are committed to the development of our employees and we aim to provide an environment which will attract, retain and motivate people, to ensure they can maximise their potential and share in the Group’s successes.

The Directors recognise the importance of building good relations with local communities situated close to the Group’s operations and the Company readily contributes, where appropriate, to the development of the local infrastructure and to supporting community needs. The Employees’ Handbook sets out the boundaries of acceptable business practise and the manner in which the activities of the Group are to be conducted.

We are totally committed to minimising any adverse impact of our activities on the natural environment and, as a minimum standard, to comply with any relevant legislation within the territories in which we operate. The Group adheres totally to all local environmental regulations.