UPDATE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008

Now that the mine has gone into operation, most of the construction is nearly complete. Work is continuing on the tipple and the feed belts, with guard rails and the electrical and control system being installed. Work starts today on the rail under the tipple, which is essential so that we can efficiently load the rail cars.

Figure 1: Preparation of Base of Tipple for Track Installation

Clean-up of the pit benches is progressing. We have approximately 27,000 tons of ore on the ground with another 31,000 tons drilled and ready to be blasted. This shot will not take place until Tuesday at the earliest. At the same time, we are moving waste rock in order to gain access to other parts of the mine. This will increase the efficiency of the mining operation in the long-run.

Figure 2: Waste Removal to the Dumps

We will be hauling ore starting today from the 6325’ elevation bench, then Tuesday from the 6400’ bench. This allows us to blend from different benches to maintain the desired grade of the run-of-mine ore, and keep any impurities at low levels.

AEROMAG SURVEY

The AeroMag survey using an ultra-light airplane was completed last week and we anticipate that we will receive the report very soon. The area of the survey covered the entire Iron Mountain area included future potential resource areas. The data was acquired along flight lines oriented East-West with 200-meter line spacing. Tie lines were oriented approximately North-South with 800-meter line spacing. Our Geologists will then evaluate the results and plan a drilling campaign for the spring.