METHODOLOGY ALIMAK

The following list summarizes the key activities required to complete the work:

NOTE: All the raises will be excavated in 2 parts, first will be a 1.8m x 1.8m pilot Alimak raise
and break through to the top level. A temporary ground support (4 ’split sets and steel straps)
will be used to drive the raise. Then we will reverse the excavation and slash the raise to the
designed section 4.5m x 4.5m. The final ground support will be installed and then the designed
shotcrete will be applied. After the permanent ground support have been completed, we strip
the rail for the Alimak.

- To prepare the area for the use of the Alimak, a nest is required. The nest is a horizontal
tunnel located at the bottom of the raise, which serves as the resting point of the Alimak.
When advancing with the raise, every time a blast takes place, the rock falls under the
raise and the Alimak is protected inside the nest during this activity. The nest must be
of sufficient length to house not only the Alimak, but also the Alicab, which is the
emergency cage, and other critical components, such as the hose reel, water pump,
compressors, etc. It is understood that the nest has been or is being prepared by the
client. During this phase, the Alimak assembly, hookup to services, testing and
commissioning takes place.

- In order to prepare for the Alimak curve, the first two rounds of the raise are taken with
jackleg or stoper type drills. Once sufficient clearance has been obtained, the curve is
installed and the Alimak and Alicab secured to the rail.

- At the beginning of the shift workers will inspect the nest and access to the raise. They
will clean the curve, making sure it is free of debris and in good operating condition.
They will also inspect and test the Alimak and all of its components by a certified
mechanic.

- Once this is done, three workers will enter the cage. Upon ascending the raise inside
the Alimak, they will perform an inspection to verify the condition of the rail and the raise
itself. They will take note of any deficiencies, performing any repairs as necessary.

- They will rise to the top of the raise where the roof or canopy comes in contact with, and
applies pressure on, the face of the raise.

- The Master Alimak driller and the Lead hand will go up to the work platform through the
hatch, and will engage in scaling loose rocks, being protected by the canopy.

- Once the area is secured, the helper who is inside the cage, after communicating with
the driller, will lower the Alimak a few centimeters to allow for a wire mesh to be placed
on the roof. Then the operator will raise the Alimak until the mesh is caught between the
top of the raise and the canopy of the Alimak.

- This mesh will be bolted, which will eliminate any risk of material falling from the top.

- The bolting of the sides of the raise will continue, and mesh will be used, if necessary.
If the terrain is very incompetent there is also the option of applying shotcrete. In the
 event that shotcrete is not used, the standby rate for the shotcrete pump will apply.
Otherwise the operating rate applies, to cover operational wear and tear of pump.

- Once the ground support is complete, the master driller and the lead hand will dedicate
themselves to drill off the face for the advance of the raise, according to established drill
patterns.

- The drill holes are then loaded with detonators and explosive material.

- Blasting is done with the detonating cord, connected to an electric detonator.

- Before entering the cage and descending, the compressed air valve is left open so that
it is blowing fresh air towards the top of the raise.

- Workers will enter the cage and close the doors. After this they will begin to descend
the raise.

- When descending they may stop at the places where they noticed some deficiency while
ascending and will correct them for extreme or emergency damage. This may vary
between adjusting / changing rail anchor bolts, repairing a mesh sector, etc. For all
 regular maintenance there are hours in the schedule dedicated to rail and Alimak
maintenance, surveying and mapping of the complete raise.

- Already back in the nest and having descended with the roll of electric cable connected
to the electric detonator, they will proceed to prepare for blasting.

- The workers will disembark from the cage and announce the blast. Once the evacuation
of the place is done according to the procedures and hours of STRACON they will
perform the blast. This step is usually done at the end of the shift so that the time it takes
for shift change will be used for the gases to evacuate from the raise thanks to the
positive pressure applied by the compressed air blowing at the face of the raise.

- Once the raise has been excavated to completion, the rails will be stripped from the
raise in descending fashion. As a time saving opportunity, shotcrete can be sprayed
during this phase, since the pump can be located in the upper level and pumped down
to the Alimak deck level, thus eliminating the need to haul up dry shotcrete – required
when shotcreting while ascending.

Fig. Alimak with Raise and Nest

BEFORE USING ALIMAK
Upon entering the Alimak nest the workers are required to wash the equipment in order to
inspect it. There is a checklist for the Alimak, which must be filled out for each shift. This list
includes verification that all security guards and braking systems are in place and in good
condition. Brake test are also performed once the Alimak has entered the raise in a vertical
state.

Next, workers must verify the conditions of the work area following the 5-point safety system.
This includes verifying that the raise has been adequately ventilated and that its integrity lends
itself to ascending with the Alimak.

ALIMAK MAINTENANCE
Before starting work, the structural integrity of the climber must be inspected and certified,
including welding points, bolt quality, the corrosion buildup, etc.
A certified Alimak mechanic must inspect the climber after having been assembled on site, but
before its first start-up; after the first 15 meters inside the raise; and then weekly. These
inspections can be performed by the operator as long as he is trained to do it as proficiently as
a mechanic.

The Master Alimak driller must inspect the climber at the beginning of each work shift. This
inspection must be recorded in the Alimak daily log. The driller should also read the record of
previous shifts. Any anomaly must be entered in this register and must also be communicated
during pass down.

All services, whether routine or specific, must be performed within the provided timeframes.
The climber will not be put into operation if maintenance, whether preventive or corrective, has
not been performed satisfactorily. DC-Thyssen will be using the Canadian standards
regulations for the use of an Alimak. These standards are very similar to hoisting regulations
for the transportation of workers and materials.

PRECAUTIONS FOR ALIMAK OPERATION

It will be verified that the maximum load limits are never exceeded. These limits come from the
factory or by the entity that certified the climber, and must be published in the nest area. If the
space between the work platform and the raise wall exceeds 30 cm, workers must install a rail
around the platform or bring a lifeline attached to an approved anchor point. All workers who
enter the climber will be provided with a full body harness.

The safety canopy is installed on the work platform whenever the raise angle exceeds 55
degrees. The climber will be equipped with this structure since the raises for the STRACON
project are vertical. The conveyance of the Alimak is done with the personnel inside the cage,
with the hatch to the work platform closed and the cage doors locked. The climber's sprocket
wheels should never climb higher than the last anchored rail.

After each blast, the condition of the rail and anchor bolts is inspected. Loose bolts are adjusted
or replaced. It is routine practice to do this work when coming up with the Alimak in the next
shift, since blasting is usually done at the end of the previous shift.
 Fig. Alimak with Raise and Nest

RAISE CONDITIONING
It is preferred to blast at the end of the shift. An electric detonator is used once the Alimak has
moved back into place in the nest, and the workers have exited the cage. In this manner, the
beginning of the shift is generally after a blast, and after sufficient time for the compressed air
to have evacuated the gases from the raise has elapsed.

The first step is to verify that the ventilation is adequate inside the raise. Following this, the
curve between the nest and the raise is checked and washed, in particular the rail. Once this
is done, with the workers inside the cage, and the canopy properly secured, the workers
proceed to ascend with the Alimak to the top of the raise. Scaling and cleaning is done from
top to bottom.

Reaching the top, the canopy will be in contact with the rock at the face, and pressing against
it. After verifying that the conditions are safe, the workers open the hatch of the work platform
and climb from the cage to the platform. This platform has to be properly equipped with the
tools and machinery necessary for the job, such as Jackleg, Stoper, drill steel, scaling bars,
etc.
The workers will proceed to secure the top of the raise with scaling bars, removing the loose
pieces that were left after the blast.

Once the work area has been secured, the Alimak is lowered slightly, to allow space to place
a mesh in front of the canopy. It then it goes up again until the mesh presses firmly against the
top of the raise.
The workers proceed to bolt the mesh at the top, then the walls, and if necessary, place wire
mesh around the ground exposed by the previous blast. The driller, who is experienced with
this type of work, makes the call on the ground support installed.

When descending, near the end of the work day, workers will inspect the integrity of the raise
and the Alimak rail. If they find loose mesh, “basketing”, rail in poor condition, etc., they will
take care of adjusting / replacing the defective parts, making sure that the access is in good
condition.

MAINTENANCE AND SURVEYING

One day per week the work of the advance cycle will be stopped and general maintenance will
be carried out on the Alimak, the rails and the service pipes, the bolting and / or mesh of the
raise, and the vertical alignment of the same. It should be understood that the other days of
the week are not devoid of these activities. Moreover, all of them are required in all work shifts,
without exception. However, separating a day for maintenance gives a good opportunity to
perform preventative maintenance while conducting a thorough inspection on the state of the
raise and its components.

As for surveying, it is the responsibility of the workers to ensure, on every shift, that the
alignment of the rails is correct, that the raise dimensions are within the established tolerances,
and that the axis remains aligned with the desired verticality. The alignment of the rail is the
most important part of the raise development by Alimak. This is why this measurement and
alignment is to be done every shift.

Once a week, the surveyor can do a thorough survey of the raise to verify that the alignment
is correct and to obtain a detailed survey. Of course, the raise must be scaled and inspected
before it can be measured. This day will also be used to hold a safety meeting, where the
activities of the previous week are reviewed, and ways to improve work activities for the
following week are discussed.

COMMUNICATION
Two telephones and/or radios are used for communication, one in the Alimak cage, and the
other in the nest area, within easy reach. When the Alimak crew wishes to communicate with
the mechanic, they connect their telephone to a terminal of a cable reel, which is used to
detonate the blast at the end of the shift. With a weight, they drop the roll to the bottom of the
raise. When the mechanic or another person observes that the roll is hanging at the foot of the
raise, they connect the other terminal of this with the telephone, and establish communication.
In the case of vertical raises the communication is also established with radio, and these will
also be made available as a secondary system.
EMERGENCIES
The "Alicab" is an emergency cage that is used only when the Alimak is stuck or unable to
move, and only to rescue workers. It remains in the nest, behind the Alimak, and requires daily
inspections since it must always remain in working condition. In case of any unforeseen events,
Alimak personnel will contact the personnel at the lower level to alert of the problem. If possible,
the Alimak will descend to the nest. If this is not possible, the mechanic will enter the Alicab
and go to the point where the Alimak is located, help correct any mechanical problem or help
evacuate personnel.

BRAKES
The Alimak has five brakes, two in the drive, two in the transmission, and an emergency brake.
These will be inspected routinely. In addition, a brake test will be carried out where the brake
will be applied at the same time as providing the maximum advance of the motors. The Alimak
should not move during this test. If it moves, the brake did not pass the test and must be
repaired before the Alimak can be used again.
If the air hose breaks, the climber can descend by gravity. The pneumatic motors are
decoupled and the foot brake is released. It may be necessary to turn the pinion manually so
that it begins to move

Sequence for Alimak Raising