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PHASE <br />TIME <br />Surface Plant Construction <br />Complete <br />Reopening Portal /Shaft Rehabilitation <br />Complete <br />Drift Development <br />Concurrent with mining <br />* Mining <br />8+ years <br />Below is a table of estimated times needed for each phase of mining. Both stoping and <br />further development will be conducted simultaneously. <br />* Due to the erratic nature of the Uravan Mineral Belt's ore deposits and past mining <br />experience in this area, the life of this mine may be extended. This extension will be <br />determined in part due to further delineating ore horizons by surface drilling and <br />underground longhole drilling from development headings. <br />Boundary Changes <br />Northern Permitted Area <br />The northern area originally included 9.74 acres. Cotter is requesting that all but 1.95 <br />acres surrounding the maintenance warehouse and the access road be released. A map <br />showing all the boundary changes can be found in Exhibit C, Figure C4. <br />Southern Permitted Area <br />The southern area originally included 4.75 acres. Cotter is requesting an increase in <br />acreage for this area in order to incorporate a retention pond and a drainage ditch that <br />runs next to the County road. The revised acreage for this area will be 5.30 acres. <br />Mine Access <br />The main portal is an existing adit known as the Wright Mine, and enters the upper <br />sandstone unit on the eastern rim of the San Miguel Valley above the former town of <br />Uravan. This is on a patented claim owned by Cotter Corporation. This portal is <br />currently gated and locked. The original portal used by Cotter is located along County <br />Road U -17 1.5 miles northwest from the Wright portal and has been completely <br />backfilled and reclaimed - there are no future plans to reopen this portal. <br />Underground Operations <br />Underground mining consists of conventional drill -blast stoping using a random room - <br />and- pillar method. Mined rock will be transported to the surface along the Wright Mine <br />haulage drift, approximately 2000 feet long. Drifts will be mined approximately nine feet <br />high by eleven feet wide. Very little ground support is needed since these drifts have and <br />will be driven in a competent sandstone bed. Development drifts will be driven farther <br />north and northeast from the current stopes to access known reserves. <br />D -2 <br />