Short Courses (September 22, 2008)

AVOIDING PERMITTING PITFALLS & DELAYS ON FEDERAL LANDS WITH CASE HISTORIES

2 Day course, Monday and Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$225

Course Organizers: Mike Doran, Locatable Minerals Program Leader, USDA Forest Service, Minerals & Geology Mgmt., Boise, ID; Paul McNutt, Mining Law/NEPA Specialist, Bureau of Land Management, DOI, WO, Reno, NV Description: This two-day workshop will cover permitting requirements, Plans of Operations under the Forest Service 36 CFR 228A regulations and the BLM 43 CFR 3809 regulations. Speakers will focus on case histories: what went wrong and what worked. The workshop will close with a joint industry/regulatory panel. This is a must attend course for anyone with the responsibility of permitting exploration and mining on federal public lands.

USING REMOTE SENSING EFFECTIVELY FOR EXPLORATION

2 Day Course, Monday and Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$375

Course Organizers: Phoebe Hauff, NA Representative, Spectral International, Inc., Arvada, CO; David Coulter, President, ASTERimages, Inc., Arvada, CO; Gary Edmondo, Geologist, MinGIS, Reno, NV Course Description: The combination of airborne hyperspectral and ASTER satellite imagery, GPS, and a field portable spectrometer is the most effective approach for reconnaissance exploration, particularly in non-vegetated terrain. This two day course will focus on the applied use of a combination of remote sensing tools for exploration. The first day will review the integrated method of imagery, GPS and field spectroscopy. Case studies from actual deposits and prospects will be presented. There will be some emphasis on the hyperspectral technology, which is now coming into its own and producing spectacular imagery.

The second day, weather permitting, will be spent in the field at Virginia City with an applied exercise, ground truthing ASTER and hyperspectral imagery. Participants will be instructed in the use of the field spectrometer, be given ASTER and hyperspectral images of selected areas with GPS coordinates and asked to ground truth the images, using the field spectrometer, and respond to questions about the alteration and effectiveness of the different types of imagery in identifying targets.

LEAPFROG –A NEW ERA IN RAPID MINE DATA PROCESSING

2 Day Course, Monday and Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$375 -This hands on class requires each participant to bring

their laptop -(Limited to 15)

Course Organizer: Dr. Andy Abraham, Principal Consultant, Zaparo Ltd. (Leapfrog Software), Toronto, ON

Course Description: We are pleased to provide a workshop on new tools, work flow, and techniques for analyzing and viewing data using Leapfrog Software. Imagine taking your raw drillhole data and being able to validate, visualize, analyze, and start modeling within 30 minutes! No set up or digitization. Leapfrog Software lets you build models in minutes or hours, rather than days and weeks of work. Leapfrog is an easy-to- learn indispensable tool for front-end 3D visualization and rapid analysis of data (geology, geochemistry, metallurgy, geophysics, geotechnical, etc.) that is being used for analysis and targeting in grass roots exploration, building models for mining, and for rapid assessment of due diligence projects. Attendees will see how Leapfrog’s speed, versatility, and ease of use have been complimented by additional tools in Leapfrog 2.0. Attendees wishing to continue with a free two-week trial after the course will be provided with forms and educational dongles at that time.

DRILLING FLUIDS FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION

2 Day Course, Monday and Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$375

Course Organizer: R. K. “Bob” Brown, Global Business Development, Bariod Industrial Drilling Products, Independence, OR Course Description: In mineral exploration drilling, there is nothing that affects the recovery and quality condition of the sample obtained more than that material’s interaction with a drilling fluid. A stable drill hole provides us the “pathway” to obtaining a drill sample from the desired zone. In the drilling process, the composition and movement of a drilling fluid is one of the principal real-time adjustable parameters that can affect the complete recovery of a high quality representative sample (either chips or core) and also affect the stability of the drill hole.

This two day seminar, Drilling Fluids for Mineral Exploration will provide a state of the art view of the technical side of what comprises a drilling fluid, what properties and functions are desirable and possible, limitations which may exist, and which fluid types are appropriate for drilling in different geologic conditions. The course will discuss common fluid types used in air drilling (RC and conventional), as well as coring and mud rotary applications. The course will also provide an overview of global trends in the evolution of drilling fluid use, including the environmental implications of drilling fluids, the logistics involved and global industry trends. The course will be immediately useful to exploration geologists, drilling contractors and other personnel responsible for the planning and management of mineral exploration drilling programs.

G3 (GEOLOGY, GEOPHYSICS & GEOCHEMISTRY)

1 Day Course, Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$250

Course Organizers: David A. Caldwell, President & COO Golden Phoenix Minerals, Inc., Sparks, NV; Hans J. Rasmussen, Sr. Geophysicist, Rasmussen Exploration, Inc., Missoula, MT; Moira Smith, Exploration Manager, Teck Cominco American Inc., Vancouver, BC Course Description: The G3 session of Northwest Mining will look at the cutting edge methods being employed in the search for new mineral wealth at a time when there are fewer professionals available to do the work and once rich support staffs are non-existent. This course will examine the integration of geochemistry, geophysics and geology in ways that have brought real-time access to data and its interpretation to the field as well as back at the home office. We will have several key speakers who will focus on the latest technologies in exploration, and real world case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of each technology in the search for ore deposits around the world. Although underlain by the latest technologies and theoretical breakthroughs, the talks will not be academically complex but instead will focus on results and recommendations! This course is designed to expose the working geoscientist to the latest tools available for use in hunting for the increasingly shy elephants that are needed to fuel the world’s ever increasing demand for commodities.

MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATION: FROM SAMPLING TO ESTIMATION AND CLASSIFICATION: METHODOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY AND ACTUAL EXAMPLES

1 Day Course, Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$250

Course Organizers: Steve Ristorcelli, CPG, Principal Geologist, Mine Development Associates, Reno, NV; Michael Gustin, Senior Geologist, Mine Development Associates, Reno, NV

Course Description: The process of evaluation of mineral resources is often heavily weighted at the final stages (estimation and economic sensitivities) rather than at the early stages (sampling and geologic evaluation). This can result in an economic evaluation without a solid base, as unsteady as an inverted pyramid. The evaluation of mineral projects must proceed from fundamentally sound data that has been placed in the proper geologic context. It must be based on the applications of logical parameters and on interpretations of the most knowledgeable personnel involved. Each phase of deposit definition and project development carries with it a technical, often complex, discipline of its own, each with several alternate methods,
all of which must be tied together in a consistent and geologically sound manner.

THE REAL COST OF CLOSING A MINE

1 Day Course, Tuesday 8:00 -5:00 Cost -$250

Course Organizers: Ron Espell, General Manager -Environment, Barrick Gold Corp., Salt Lake City, UT; Jeff Parshley, PG, CEM, Principal, SRK Consulting, Reno, NV; Dirk van Zyl, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Course Description:Recent trends in financial reporting requirements for mine closure and increasing pressure to supply corporate management and investors with accurate closure cost estimates have forced many operators to re-think the way they look at closure and how closure liabilities are estimated.

This workshop will explore a number of issues associated with closure and the financial impact of closure on budgeting, financial reporting and long-term corporate liability.