2012-10-01_REVISION - M1978116 (17)

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The random room - and - pillar stoping method is similar to the one presently used elsewhere in the Uravan Mineral Belt, i.e. split shooting is used in conjunction with leaving waste pillars and ore pillars wherever necessary for roof support. This method of split- shooting involves assessing each face as the stopes advance by the mine geologist, engineer, mine foreman, or experienced lead- miner. Since the grades and thickness of the typical Salt Wash uranium - vanadium deposits are highly variable, they are usually unpredictable from one round to the next. A round is a complete mining cycle of drill - blast- muck - ground support. A normal round advances a working face about 6 feet. Typically, the thickness of the mineralized material is less than the height needed to advance the stope. As the stope face is being drilled, the blast holes are probed with a Geiger Counter probe in order to estimate the U3O8 grade. The uranium - vanadium mineralization is usually dark gray to black. The mineralization sometimes rolls, pinches or swells, or follows cross -beds within the sandstone; therefore the miner will also use drill cutting color as criteria to help guide blast hole direction and spacing. This irregular habit of the deposit can result in holes collared in mineralized material ending in waste, or, conversely, holes collared in waste may penetrate mineralized material much of their length. Based on the results of the assessment of the blast holes drilled in the face, the drilled rounds may be loaded and shot in two or more stages. Depending on the location and thickness of the mineralized material in the face (there may be multiple mineralized layers), the miner will attempt to blast either only mineralized material or only waste rock. They will muck the blasted rock out as clean as possible, then shoot the remaining rock and muck it cleanly. The amount of waste rock shot before or after the mineralized material results in typical stope heights of eight -to -nine feet. Total material to be mined will range from 50 to 350 tons per day, 50 to 150 tons of that consisting of ore. At this rate, ore reserves are expected to be viable for up to 8 years. Surface and Underground Mining Equipment A representative list of the mining equipment to be used includes a skidsteer loader, 1 LHD (front end loader) 1 to 2 yd, 5 to 10 ton underground mine trucks (buggies), and jackleg drills. Explosives will be stored on site in underground storage areas that will move as mining progresses. Other items to be stored underground may include typical mining equipment such as roof bolts, mats, vent tubing, hoses, lubricants, air compressors, transformers, ventilations fans. Equipment and supplies will then be moved as logistics require.