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EST 2004 <br /> 0-j 01L 0 <br /> RUSH <br /> EXPEDITIONS <br /> Homestake was sold to Barrick in 2001-2003 and the mine remained closed at that time. In <br /> 2003, the EPA, as part of a tailings clean up in the area, reportedly backfilled another 20' of <br /> material into the portal. This is hard to quantify as it may only refer to the initial 20' that was <br /> put in place by Homestake. <br /> When we arrived on site in 2021, we made note of a large bank of disturbed material in a <br /> "horseshoe" shape over the portal. It appeared this material had been moved, or possibly <br /> bladed in the last 20-30 years. <br /> We began our excavation by verifying that there was no water coming from any of the pipes <br /> under the rail at the portal. From there we moved in to begin moving dirt out of the portal with <br /> a small mini excavator out of the portal. The plan was for the excavator to loosen the fill, and <br /> then the skid steer could maneuver in and safely remove the loose fill dirt. <br /> We utilized excavated dirt to berm around the work area for general public safety. A large open <br /> portal being attractive to many, and we wanted to make sure no one "accidentally" happened <br /> upon the workings overnight or while we were not looking. <br /> It was noted nearly immediately that the spine support timbers were cracked and starting to <br /> collapse. The decision was made for safety, to remove the spine timbers to make sure that they <br /> would not collapse on us or our equipment. <br /> We moved in about 15'and came upon another support timber, this was 10' under the surface <br /> of the ground. The timber was cracked and folding in on itself. We determined that at some <br /> point, the spine, or ceiling of the mine portal had been compromised in some way. The main <br /> support timbers were cracked and damaged and all of the supporting roof material had been <br /> removed or destroyed. <br /> The assessment of Gold Rush Expeditions, Inc. was that someone had taken a bulldozer and <br /> leveled off the material above the portal, this was the source of the horseshoe shaped <br /> disturbance previously noted. It was likely in that effort, that the weight of the bulldozer had <br /> likely broken the timber and supports. This is further supported by current methods of <br /> "mothballing" mine sites, wherein the entire portal is buried in by the mining company to make <br /> sure there is no access without some excavation work. <br /> The main support timbers, or stulls, are standardized to be placed every 10'. Our assessment <br /> was this measurement was relatively accurate. There is smaller timber and support material <br /> between the stulls that help to keep rock and dirt out of the portal. <br /> Our team worked back through four stulls, stopping at the fifth stull. Each section was the same <br /> with cracked and broken overhead timbers and no roof support. As we took the overhead <br /> timbers out, the upright (or rib) timbers lost support and the sides began to slough in on the <br /> portal. <br /> Gold Rush Expeditions,Inc.® <br /> 385-218-2138 1 goldrush@goldrushexpeditions.com -331 Rio Grande Street,Suite 201,Salt Lake City,Utah 84101 <br />