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yoning law also requires 50 feet of validation drilling per claim. Schauss told me to do validation drilling only on those claims close to the roads which wind through the area. He told me to do a good job on those and I drilled five 10 foot holes on those claims next to the roads with a small Hayhew drilling rig. No other validation drilling was done on any of the clains which were away from the roads, which amounted to about 95% of the total claims involved.

Not a claim that I staked for Schauss in the Red Desert was legal-no way in the world.

As locator of these 18,000 claims in the Red Desert, I was instructed by Schauss to sign the location certificate for each clain, which Schauss them filed in the county clerk's office in Green River, Wyoming. I did co knowing the claims were invalid. As long as I was working for Schauss, I felt I had to do as I was told, and he told me it was my job to sign the certificates as locator. At Schauss' direction, I then signed quitclaim decds conveying the claims back to Schauss, and received no money in return. The only location or validation drilling work that was ever done on any of these 18,000 clains was either done by me personnally or by individuals who were under my direct supervision as members of my crew.

Sometime around September of 1970, Specialized Drilling Company of Casper, Wyoming, drilled a number of exploratory holes, approximately one mile apart, on some of these 18,000 claims. To my knowledge, with the exception of one hole, no evidence of uranium was found anywhere on these clains. Shortly after the completion of this exploratory drilling, Schaus gave me directions on how to "salt" those drill holes to make it appear that there was uranium there. I was to go to a producing uranium nine and got samples from the dump pile and then nix this uranium material in with the cuttings from two specific holes that were drilled. I told Schauss that I refused to do this, and he did not pursue it. Shortly after this, Schauss hired Raymond Chico, a consulting geologist, to write a report on the possibilities of uranium in the Rod Desert based on the exploratory drilling that as done. Chico cane to the Red Desert and I showed him around and he later wrote a report which I read. I am not a geologist; however, I do know the Red Desert as well as any man and I know that geologists for other companies believe there is no uranium potential in the west Red Desert at all. It has been descr best as "goat pasture" and a "sheepherder's dream."

The only time I did any assessment work on these claims was in the summer of 1972. Wyoming law requires that $100 worth of work be done on clain each year in order to maintain it. Schauss told me to go out Pril around here I could be seen by anyone coning through the Red Desert area. I did this for about three weeks and only drilled about 2,000 feet. I drilled near the roads whore I could be seen and the average depth of the holos was about 20 to 30 feet. The drilling rig broke dom several times and I had to go to Casper for parts to repair it. Schauss then instructed me to sign a Proof of Labor, which I did on August 24, 1972, This Froof of Labor stated that I was performing this assessment work in the name of Western Exploration Company for the following claims: , Foco, I, Toe and is. This docunont was filed in the county clerk's office, Grees. Aiver, yoning, on August 22, 1972. Prior to the time that Scheurs handed me the Froof of Labor docume

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I had never heard of Western Exploration Company. chauss did not ask me to furnish him with any of the cuttings from the holes I drilled or any core samples. To my knowledge, no geologic analysis was made in connection with the drilling I did. The only reason I was out there doing this drilling was to make it look like assessment work was being done, The total value of the work I did could amount

to no more than $3,000.

Later that same year, 1972, I had misgivings about having signed the Froof of Labor document which I knew to be false. I contacted an attorney in Casper, Wyoming, and he prepared an affidavit for me which I signed on December 14, 1972, which stated that with the exception of the approximately 2,000 feet of drilling no other kind of labor or improvements was done by ne on any other claims in the state of Wyoming, and in particular, the lode mining claims in the Red Desert.

In approximately 1971, I moved from the Rod Decert to Casper and worked out of there. During the period from 1971 to 1975, I staked a number of uranium lode mining claims for Ralph Schauss in Utah and Colorado. I staked approximately 3,000 claims in San Juan County, Utah, and another 10,000 claims in Garfield County, Utah, for Schauss. I also staked approximately 2,000 claims for Schauss in Park and Chaffee Counties, Colorado. Altogether, from 1968 through 1975. I staked approximately 40,000 claims for Schaucs. Not one of these claims as legally staked. In every instance, I stated those claims just like I did the ones in the Red Desert, that is, putting in only location monuments and a Corner stake. I never worked with a transit or chain. I just used a compass and walked a line. I followed the same procedure as in the Red Descrt. result of the inproper staking and lack of surveying, none of the lode claime which I staked for Schauss are marked on the ground in a way that the boundaries can be readily traced.

At all times since the beginning of my employment by Schauss, he was fully aware of the manner in which the claims were being staked, knew that they were improperly staked and validated, and therefore invalid, and on numerous occasions even told me that I was doing a good job. He has visited the various clain groups and seen them in my presence.

On Friday or Saturday night, September 16 or 17, 1977, Schauss telephoned no in Jena from Caspor. He told me that he had just been visited by three Congressional investigators who were checking on the Red Desert claims that were involved in the transaction between Fremont Energy Corporation and the Washington Public Power Supply. He told no not to worry about anything, but that in case they came to roo no, not to mention anything about the clains in Utah.

The reason I on making this statement is because I straight as to exactly how these claims were stokod by mo. at the direction and with the knowledge of Ralph Selmuso, for Schauss men inproperly done and he imen it.

want to set the record I staked there clains Dvery clain I atakod

[Mr. Ralph L. Schauss furnished the following relevant information in a statement dated November 17, 1977:]

The federal decision which I refer to at various times during my testimony is MacGuire v. Sturgis, 347 F. Supp. 580 (D. Wyo. 1971). That case was decided on June 3, 1971 by the Honorable Ewing Kerr, United States District Court Judge for Wyoming. In that case, Plaintiff requested a declaratory judgment for exclusive possession of certain uranium claim groups in Converse County, Wyoming. After a discussion of the facts, the Court concluded that the Plaintiff was entitled to "the future exclusive possession thereof so long as he, or his successors in title, remain in possession thereof, working diligently toward a discovery." Before stating that conclusion, the Court set forth certain rules to govern the validity of a right to possession of claims on a "group" or "area" basis. That is, his comments wre directed toward the situation where a prospector stakes a group, not only one, uranium claim and was only doing exploration or assessment work on selected claims within that group. The Subcommittee is referred to 584-585 of the Opinion for those rules. The Subcommittee's specific attention is called to subparagraph (e) [page 585] wherein Judge Kerr stated the following to be one of the prerequisites for exclusive possession:

"The nature of the mineral claimed and the cost of development would make it economically impractical to develop the mineral if the locator is awarded only those claims on which he is actually present and currently working."

In other words, Judge Kerr stated that as long as the other prerequisites were present, a locator of mineral could do his exploratory and assessment work as to the "group" of claims and not have to do the $100 assessment work on each individual claim. That position is consistent with reality in wide portions of mineral land in the West.

There is another factor which accounts for the fact that the figures testified to by me, Mr. Gibson, and Mr. Murphy do not add up to $100 per claim for assessment work. In addition to my reliance upon the decision of Judge Kerr as described previously, I was familiar with the "resumption" theory existing under 30 U.S.C. 28 (fourth sentence) and Wyoming mining law. It was and is my understanding that under this theory a claim owner who fails to perform assessment work for one or more assessment years and who resumes assessment work before there is relocation by another, is protected in his claim ownership as though no failure to do assessment work had ever occurred. For example, I had a circular published by the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Circular No. 1278 entitled "Information in Regard to Mining Claims on the Public Domain." Paragraph 12, page 2, of that circular reads, in part:

"Failure to perform the assessment work for any year will subject the claim to relocation unless work for the benefit of the claim is resumed before a relocation is made. The determination of the question of the right of possession between the rival or adverse claimant to the same mineral land is committed exclusive to the Court." This understanding of the "resumption" theory is well-known among prospectors and developers in Wyoming.

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