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A subsidiary of Red Metal Limited [www.redmetal.com.au] <br />October 13, 2011 <br />Bob Oswald <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman St. <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />by e -mail <br />Dear Mr. Oswald, <br />5515 Nuthatch Road, Parker, Colorado 80134 <br />Phone [303] 805 2502 Fax [303] 805 2503 <br />P - -ova <br />RECEIVE <br />OCT 17 2011 <br />DIdiolofl of Reclomat/on, <br />Mining & Safety <br />This letter is our first response to the Second Technical Adequacy Review received from your <br />office. I phrase this as "first response" as we are not complete in our planning for the drill <br />holes for which we have filed the NOI. As you are well aware, there are considerable <br />technical issues to be explored before these holes can be drilled. We are going need an <br />additional 60 days to complete our planning, and final response to your 2 letter. I trust that <br />this will be acceptable. I shall follow with our progress on each of the questions from your <br />letter, in numerical sequence. <br />1. Affected acreage: In consultation with the BLM and our environmental consultant, <br />JBR, we have increased the size of the drill pads to 200 x 200 ft, resulting in larger <br />affected acreage. The following is from an e -mail from Greg Brown, JBR <br />Environmental 9 /7/2011. <br />"If we go with an approximate 1 acre drill pad area (200' x 200') for <br />each site, total maximum disturbance if all 6 sites were drilled <br />would be approximately 9.4 acres (5.5 acres for the 6 drill pads and <br />3.9 acres for possible road improvements)." <br />So, the total possible affected acreage is greater than we anticipated earlier, at 9.4 <br />acres, for all 6 drill sites. However, we have not yet selected the two sites that will be <br />used for the Phase 1 Proof of Concept holes. If necessary we will bond for all six <br />possible drill sites, although I think we should wait until the final site selection to set <br />the bond amount for the affected acreage. Can we make the bond amount calculation <br />pending on the final selection of drill sites? <br />2. Groundwater protection: In plugging the drill holes to prevent contamination of any <br />groundwater aquifers, the following procedure will be used: <br />a. Set an inflatable packer (mechanically inflated in the annulus of the bore hole <br />to press tightly against the formation) about 50 feet below the bottom of the <br />aquifer to be protected; this packer will support cement while it hardens; <br />b. pump sufficient cement into the bore hole to fill the hole to 50 feet above the <br />top of the aquifer to be protected; <br />c. fill the intervening space in the bore hole (between the first cement and the <br />next aquifer) with a heavy bentonite mud to support the integrity of the hole; <br />