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<br /> <br />Use of Probes for the Determination of Uranium Grade <br />The method proposed for the radiological survey of the dump azeas is the same method <br />utilized during production to estimate the grade of broken muck piles to allow determination of <br />their final disposition. Use during normal operations is as follows: <br />• Afrer drilling out a face underground, every drill hole is probed to determine whether or <br />not ore exists beyond the face and therefore, in the muck pile resulting from the blasting <br />of those holes. Based on this determination, the face will either be blasted in its entirety <br />or "split shot", which will allow for the removal of either the ore or the waste first, thus, <br />keeping ore dilution to a minimum. <br />• Afrer the round is blasted and the azea washed and barred down, the mucl: pile is again <br />probed to determine whether it is waste, low-grade, or ore. Based on this determination, <br />the muck is loaded into haulage units and hauled outside where it is either dumped as <br />waste or where it is weighed on scales, probed again and directed to a temporary pile <br />where it will await haulage to the mill for processing. The grade estimaG; provided by <br />probing is the basis for final payment of incentive contracts for the miner:. <br />• The ore is loaded into highway trucks and transported to the mill, where it is again <br />weighed and sampled with a probe. In the case of purchased or contract ore, this grade <br />estimate becomes the basis for payment, such payment subject to a final reconciliation <br />when the material is finally fed to process. <br />• The probes aze calibrated on a frequent basis at the mines using a standard known as a <br />"probe pot". This pot contains a homogeneous mixture of natural uranium ore completely <br />encased in steel which allows for a constantly available standard which is tamper-proof. <br />The probe instruments aze routinely calibrated at the start of every shift and at numerous <br />times during the shift as placement of the pots would allow. Typically, this allows for <br />recalibration at lunch time and at each time a load of ore passes the scales in addition to <br />the start of the shift. The probe pots are made up of ore from the individual mines and <br />are prepazed at company labs with the help of assay equipment and probes that have been <br />calibrated by outside sources. The particular pot that we will be using fr~r this survey <br />contains ore that assays 0.014 percent U,Og. <br />