The host of uranium mineralization for the Project is the Battle Spring Formation. Most of the mineralization in the Crooks Gap district occurs in roll-front deposits(Bendix, 1982). Roll fronts have an erratic linear distribution but are usually concordant with the bedding. Deposits have been discovered from the surface down to adepth of 1,500 feet (Stephens, 1964). The two major uranium minerals are uranophane and autunite. Exploration drilling indicates that the deeper roll-type depositsare concentrated in synclinal troughs in the lower Battle Spring Formation. Three possible sources for uranium have been suggested: post-Eocene tuffaceoussediments, leached Battle Spring arkoses, and Precambrian granites (Granite Mountains).

Structural controls of uranium occurrences along roll fronts include carbonaceous siltstone beds that provide a local reducing environment for precipitation ofuranium-bearing minerals, and abrupt changes in permeability along faults, where impermeable gouge is in contact with permeable sandstones (Stephens, 1964).Uranium has also been localized along the edges of stream channels and at contacts with carbonaceous shales (Bendix, 1982).

Within the Sheep Mountain Project area, uranium mineralization is contained in the lower to middle Eocene Battle Spring Formation. The Battle Spring Formation, consisting of upper and lower members (designated the “A” for the lower and “B” for the upper), is a fluvial deposit. Mineralization is hosted by the Battle Spring Formation and has been described extensively since the 1960s and has been termed a ‘Wyoming Roll Front System’. These deposits are often organic-rich, fine grained lenses in tabular, or “roll front”, configurations. The uranium mineralization occurs primarily in the lower member of the Battle Spring Formation (Stephens, 1974).

The Sheep Mountain Project includes the Congo Pit, comprised of the Congo, North Gap, and South Congo areas.

The current mine design for the Congo Pit includes typical highwall heights in the range of 100 to 400 feet and reaches a maximum depth of 600 feet in localized areas in the southeast pit corner. The open pit design employs similar design parameters and mining equipment configurations to those used successfully in past Wyoming conventional mine operations. Highwall design is based upon the performance of past projects in the Sheep Mountain and Gas Hills districts and includes an average highwall slope of 0.7:1 (horizontal: vertical), which reflects the average of a 10-foot bench width and 50-foot highwall at a 0.5:1 slope.

The host formation is exposed at the surface and dips between 9 and 16 degrees to the southeast. The initial pit construction will create access from the open pit mine area to the mine waste and stockpile areas. Subsequent pit extensions will utilize this access. Shallow mineralized areas exist along the north and northwest portions of the pit. As a result, the overall mine sequence begins in the areas where the mineralized zones have the least amount of cover and proceeds essentially along formational dip. The first 6 pits are constructed in a panel along the up-dip portion of the deposit and are the shallowest.

The proposed primary stripping fleet consists of four 637 CAT twin engine scrapers paired with four 631 CAT single engine scrapers in a push-pull configuration. Both stripping and mining equipment will be supported by dozers and motor graders. The nominal capacity of this configuration is capable of excavation and placement of 11.0 million tons of waste and 330,000 tons of mineralized material on an annual basis over the open pit life of mine.

Mining will be completed in a selective manner with a 2-3 cubic-yard bucket on a medium-size excavator loading four articulated mine haul trucks. The mining crew is projected to have excess annual capacity and will thus be responsible for handling the majority of the internal mine waste and an additional 845,000tons of material per year. This increases the annual stripping capacity.

The uranium recovery method at the Sheep Mountain Project (the Project) is conventional heap leaching, a process identical to that applied globally for the last five decades to the oxidized ores of copper and gold. This process embodies an oxidant to mobilize uranium minerals from the mined material stacked on the heap pad and dilute sulfuric acid to dissolve the uranium. The uranium-enriched solution is pumped to a recovery plant (mill) for purification and concentration of the uranium to a saleable product, using solvent extraction and precipitation systems. Over a 12 year mine life, the heaps will recover an average of 1.4 million pounds of U3O8annually.

Uranium recovery at Sheep Mountain will include the following processes:
- stacking of mined material on the heap leach pad;
- application of leach solution;
- collection of pregnant leach solution ("PLS");
- filtering of sand and fines from PLS;
- solvent extraction to concentrate and purify ........