RESPEC PROJECT

RESPEC developed a detailed valuation of a Greenfield limestone mine that Sterling Materials had permitted in Gallatin County, Kentucky. The proposed underground Greenfield limestone mine included primary crushing and screening operations underground with the secondary screening and stockpiling located on the surface. The limestone products would be transported by truck to markets primarily in the northern Kentucky area with some sales into the western portion of the Greater Cincinnati area.

RESPEC completed an appraisal report that defined the Fair Market Value (FMV) of the mineral reserve as well as the mineral resource and mining approach. The report defined the mineral resource based on site-specific drilling data combined with correlating the mining horizons to other active mining operations. Based on the mineability of the resource at other defined operations, the report detailed the economic feasibility of mining the property. Additionally, the report identified the proposed mining methods for the property and their applicability to the reserve. The selected mining approach was based on the experience of mining the same mineral horizon at other local quarries.

Based on the approaches to the valuation of the property, an income approach based on the royalty analysis was determined to be the most applicable. The report defined the key parameters including production schedule, assumed royalty rate discount factor, and analysis period.

Following the completion of the valuation report, RESPEC was retained to prepare a progress report for the lending institution that detailed the current status of the project, production capacity, and configuration of the mining activity.