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fused or electrical initiation. Explosive handling and storage are discussed in Section 6.2 Project <br />Administration and Support Facilities. <br />Mucking and Haulage. The broken rock will be loaded by underground front -end loaders (6 <br />yd3 bucket capacity) onto underground trucks (16- 20 ton capacity), which will deliver the rock <br />material to the surface. Initially, rock will be used to construct the portal pad bench. Once this <br />area is constructed, the development (waste) rock will be hauled to a stockpile area located on <br />private surface. See Figure 3, Portal and Office Layout. <br />Ground Support. As needed for safe working conditions, RGS will install ground support that <br />will include a variety of techniques including rock bolting, wire mesh, steel sets, and /or <br />shotcrete. Based on historic knowledge and data from the Bulldog Mine, RGS believes ground <br />conditions should range from poor to good. The site - specific conditions will govern the rock <br />reinforcement strategy for any opening in order to provide good stability and employee safety. <br />3.4 Ventilation /Escape Raise Rehabilitation <br />To facilitate safety (both ventilation and secondary escape), RGS will rehabilitate the old <br />Homestake ventilation raise, located in the upper reaches of the Windy Gulch watershed, <br />adjacent to Forest Road 505. See Figure 1, Site Plan Layout. <br />RGS plans to complete the raise rehabilitation work during the summer of 2012, after the new <br />decline reaches the Bulldog Mine workings, and any surface work to rehab the raise can be <br />completed within the confines of past site disturbance. <br />Rock and dirt placed over the raise will be carefully removed by a backhoe or excavator to <br />expose the raise bulkhead. The rock and dirt will be stockpiled adjacent to the raise (for future <br />use in reclosing the raise), and the existing reinforced concrete bulkhead will be removed. Care <br />will be taken in dismantling and removing the bulkhead, so salvageable material can be reused. <br />RGS will employ a contractor with specific knowledge and experience to inspect the abandoned <br />raise, determine the amount and type of rehabilitation, and carry out the required work. <br />3.5 Underground Exploration Work <br />The principal objective of the underground exploration program will be to conduct drilling into <br />the vein structures adjacent to the areas that were mined at the Bulldog Mine to confirm the <br />extent and characteristics of the mineralization. Rock cores in the vein structures will be <br />collected, logged (a procedure of analyzing the rock material by RGS on -site geologists), and <br />sent to a commercial lab for analysis (the same as is done for the surface drill cores). <br />Underground drilling will be conducted from a series of strategically placed underground drill <br />stations. The program will be comprised of underground drill holes at various angles and drilled <br />Page I 8 <br />