permit to mine, page-20

Mikey,

Your quotes from USNRC's email are correct but you are confusing the Permit to Mine with the Materials Licence.

Nothing has changed. No one has been over-optimistic. Everything is happening according to schedule.

The starting point for understanding the whole process is the milestones chart included in the Indaba presentation on PEN's website.

The key permit and mining development milestones are as follows:

April 2011 - Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)
- Decision to mine
- Strategic Partner

June 2011 - Project Funding

Aug 2011 - Project construction

Mar 2012 - Production commences


To achieve these milestones, there are 3 key permitting requirements:

1. Permit to Mine (issued by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality - WDEQ)
2. Combined Source and 11e(2) Byproduct Materials Licence (issued by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC)
3. Project Plan of Operations (required by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Department of the Interior)


1. PERMIT TO MINE

This is the key permit re being able to commence mine construction. Together with the DFS, the issuing of this permit is the main input into the Decision to Mine milestone in April 2011.

I posted in detail on the timeline for this permit at this link (http://www.hotcopper.com.au/post_single.asp?fid=1&tid=1388370&msgid=7849302).

As explained there, this permit is on track for issuance in mid to late April - consistent with the existing milestone.

2. PROJECT PLAN OF OPERATIONS

Approval of this plan is also required prior to any mine construction work.

Strata submitted its plan in January 2011 and received confirmation from the BLM, on 20 Jan, that it would complete its Technical and Administrative Review of the Plan within 90 days if that date (ie by 20 April).

Therefore, this approval also is on track for issuance in late April - consistent with the existing Decision to Mine milestone.

3. COMBINED SOURCE AND 11E(2) BYPRODUCT MATERIALS LICENCE

This licence is required for the extraction, handling and transport of specified radioactive materials. It is the key safety/environmental impact part of the whole process.

It is not required for mine construction commencement but it MUST be submitted a minimum of 9 months BEFORE mine construction work.

Strata's Licence application was submitted in December 2010, so this will allow mine construction to commence (subject to DFS, Permit to Mine issuance and securing a strategic partner) around August-September 2011, in line with the current milestone.

The Materials Licence assessment process is a lengthy one but most of it will occur concurrently with mine construction.

As pointed out by Mikey, the assessment process is slated to commence on May 2 2011. An Acceptance Review will commence on that date and be completed on July 1 2011. A Detailed Technical Review will than commence on July 1 and complete on Feb 2 2012 - about the same time as the mine construction.

If all goes to plan (and perhaps it will as Strata's documents are incredibly comprehensive - including extensive consultations with all possible stakeholders), mining will be able to commence on schedule, in March 2012.

Hope that helps make the process a little clearer.