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New Horizon North Adjacent/Cyprus Block <br />180 Day Report <br />2.) <br />A total of 56 holes were drilled at 32 sites. Drilling activities began on January 15, 2009 <br />and hole reclamation was completed on February 19, 2009. Thirty three (33) pilot holes <br />were drilled initially. Each pilot hole was logged with geophysical tools immediately <br />after it was drilled. Upon review of the logs, 10 sites were chosen as core drilling sites. <br />Multiple core holes were drilled at most of the core sites due to a defect in the core barrel <br />which resulted in poor core recovery. <br />All holes were drilled using a truck-mounted rotary drill rig. The pilot holes were drilled <br />at a diameter of 5-1/8" and were drilled through the Lower Dakota (LDx) coal seam. The <br />core holes were drilled at a diameter of 5-1/8" to the core point. The core barrel was then <br />attached and the holes were then cored at a diameter of 4-7/8". <br />All exploration holes were plugged and reclaimed in accordance with DRMS regulations. <br />(See Figures 1 and 2) In the case of dry holes, after the hole was drilled to total depth, <br />bentonite gel was pumped down the drill pipe to the surface. The hole was subsequently <br />plugged by pouring two 50 pound bags of 3/8" bentonite chips down the hole. Drill <br />cuttings were shoveled into the hole to ten feet from the surface. The final ten feet was <br />filled with concrete and a survey cap marking the hole was set in the concrete at the <br />surface. In any land that had been used as cropland, the concrete plug was left two feet <br />below the surface and the top two feet were filled with soil and cuttings to allow <br />continued farming practices. In some instances, landowners requested this procedure fDr <br />other sites as well. <br />Holes that produced water were plugged in a way that would seal off the water-bearing <br />zone more thoroughly. After the hole had been drilled, 4" PVC pipe was lowered to the <br />bottom of the hole. A cement mixture of six gallons of water per sack of Portland Type <br />II cement was then pumped down the hole to 50 feet above the water-bearing zone, <br />displacing all water that had collected in the hole and sealing the water-bearing zone. :[n <br />all cases, this brought cement to the surface. After several days, the cement had <br />dehydrated and subsided several feet below the surface. Depending on the location, the <br />holes were either filled to the top with soil and cuttings or concrete. <br />At all sites, excess cuttings were raked out and all debris was removed. In all cases that a <br />hole was plugged to the surface with concrete, an aluminum survey cap was placed at the <br />top of the hole for identification purposes. Each site was seeded by hand broadcast using <br />a dry-land pasture seed mix. <br />Map 1 shows the as-built exploration sites. Figure 1 shows the method of plugging dry <br />exploration holes. Figure 2 shows the method of plugging wet exploration holes.