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Whetstone, <br />Associates <br />Technical Memorandum <br />background levels within a decade. If the mine pool is pumped down and the wall rocks are <br />exposed to oxygen, uranium levels will rise to at least the levels seen in 2002. This <br />consistent positive trend of decreasing uranium concentrations would be disrupted and <br />uranium concentrations would significantly increase if the mine pool were pumped down to <br />500 feet below the Steve Level. The Operator believes it is imprudent to interfere with this <br />trend of improving water quality. <br />80 <br />70 <br />60 <br />50 <br />E 40 <br />E <br />30 <br />L <br />20 <br />10 <br />¦ <br />ti <br />Q`D pro o`O P-11 <br />PQc OG? PQc C°? PQc C°? PQc C°Y vs? PQ? C""? vs? C°?, PQc C° PQc ??? PQc <br />• Dewatering poses substantial physical feasibility challenges in installing a pump, pipe <br />and other equipment into the mine. <br />Setting a pump at 500 feet below the Steve Level involves significant technical challenges. <br />Basically, there are two means of installing the pump and piping. The first is to carry the <br />equipment into the mine through the Sunshine raise and set the pump using hand equipment. <br />The second is to excavate a drill pad on the surface above the mine and use a drilling rig to <br />drill a vertical hole to intercept the #2 Shaft which is 74 square feet in area. <br />Problems with the first method occur because the mine has been sealed, and the Sunshine <br />raise was not designed to allow access of people and equipment. A 15-stage submersible <br />pump and 15 horsepower motor would be approximately 6 feet long and weigh 175 pounds. <br />The pump would have to be set on "pump column" (a.k.a. "drop pipe") which is 3-inch <br />diameter steel discharge pipe which threads into the top of the pump. Each 10-ft segment of <br />discharge pipe would weigh 79 pounds with couplings, for a total weight of 3,950 pounds for <br />all 50 pipe segments. A 600-ft reel of 0-gage insulated copper pump wire would weigh 930 <br />pounds. This equipment would have to be carried down the 45-degree slope of the Sunshine <br />raise. A pneumatic crane-like pulley system would have to be designed to hold the weight of <br />4109C.100731 12