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• <br />The ore will be mined using a modified room-and-pillar system. This mining method is a common <br />method for mining in uranium-bearing sandstone and is designed to follow the irregular configuration <br />of the individual ore bodies. The ore seams vary in height with an average seam thickness of <br />approximately three feet. The waste to ore ratio also varies depending on the thickness of the ore and <br />splits within the ore seams. The mines in this area have typically averaged 2 to 3.5 tons of waste per 1 <br />ton of ore. <br />The existing workings in both the Urantah Decline and Packrat Mine will require rehabilitation prior to <br />the start of full-scale mining. This will include cleaning up rock falls, bolting of the back where <br />needed, establishing ventilation, and installing sumps and pumping stations for the lower portions of <br />the mine where ground water collects. Once the mine meets Mine Safety and Health Administration <br />(MSHA) safety requirements, the existing drifts will be extended into known ore zones. These drifts <br />will have nominal dimensions of nine feet high by twelve feet wide. The 600 to 700-foot proposed drift <br />between the Whirlwind Tunnel and the Packrat Mine will be started first and may be completed under <br />• the bulk sampling provisions of the prospect permit. A portion of the existing southern drift of the <br />Packrat Mine will also be enlarged to accommodate modern rubber-tired mine equipment. <br />As the mine expands, seven ventilation shafts will be added as shown on Map C-1 B. The location of <br />these vent shafts may change by several hundred feet depending on the ultimate location of the drift <br />and ventilation needs. The ventilation shafts will typically be 72 inches in diameter and cased; <br />however, shaft diameters may vary depending on the drill contractor's equipment. The steel casing will <br />be grouted where it passes through aquifers to prevent intermixing of waters between formations. <br />The ore zone does not naturally contain ground water at this location; however, ground water is <br />seeping into the Whirlwind mine from aquifers located above the mine workings. This water is <br />entering the mine where the Whirlwind decline intersects sandstone lenses near the base of the Brushy <br />Basin member. Ground water is also entering around the casing of the Ten Straight vent shaft into the <br />Packrat Mine and through open drill holes and fractures in the formation. Initially, Energy Fuels will <br />need to pump water out of the mine because water has collected in low areas of the mine during the <br />• past fifteen to twenty-five years. This water will be treated prior to being discharged to a nearby <br />Whirlwind Mine 07 (rev. April 08) D-4 <br />