Laserfiche WebLink
• MINING PLAN EXHIBIT D <br /> <br />• <br />1. Background Information <br />The ore deposit is located in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, which consists of <br />interbedded fine-grained sandstone (about 60 percent) and mudstone (40 percent). The ore is located <br />within the upper (i.e., Top Rim) red sandstone of the Salt Wash and occurs in areas of reduced gray <br />sandstone and where the sandstone is in contact with gray or green mudstone bands. The uranium and <br />vanadium mineralization occurs in bands that range in thickness from a few inches to in excess of eight <br />feet. The average ore thickness is 2.7 to 3.0 feet. The ore body is located below approximately 500 to <br />750 feet of cover and can be accessed through adits located on the side of canyon walls and declines <br />and shafts. For a full discussion of area geology, see Exhibit G -Water Information. <br />1.1 Urantah Decline <br />The Urantah Mine was started by Pioneer Uravan in September 1979. It consists of a 3,200-foot-long, <br />single-entry decline that accesses the ore body at a six percent grade plus approximately 700 feet of <br />drift in the Salt Wash member. The decline is supported by steel sets through the Brushy Basin <br />member of the Morrison Formation, which is predominantly shales and mudstones. Both the decline <br />and drifts are about nine feet high by twelve feet wide. Approximately 2,800 tons of ore had been <br />mined when the mine was closed in September 1981. The mine was later acquired by Cotter <br />Corporation, but remained idle until it was reclaimed in the fall of 2002. <br />Little Maverick Mining Company reopened the mine under a prospect permit (P-2005-008) in 2005. <br />Energy Fuels is currently conducting exploration activities under this permit through a lease agreement <br />with Little Maverick. Surface disturbance associated with exploration activities have included opening <br />up an access road, uncovering a buried concrete pad, and building a working pad on top of the <br />reclaimed waste pile (see Map C-lA). The mine portal was reclaimed with a bat gate; therefore, no <br />excavation was required to access the old workings. <br />Underground exploration activities have included rehabilitating the existing workings to gain safe <br />access to the ore body plus geological and environmental sampling. Energy Fuels plans to collect a <br />bulk ore sample by driving a drift between the Urantah Decline and the Packrat Mine (see Map C-1B). <br />Whirlwind Mine 07 (rev. April 08) D-1 <br />