To: Whom It May Concern

Re: Letter Of Reference For Spring Valley Drilling

       Scott Viegut – Owner

I am the mining administrator for the Big Timber Ranger District, Gallatin National Forest in Big Timber, Montana. Scott Viegut had completed several exploration core drilling holes for Lodestar Mining and Exploration during the summer of 2006. His work was outstanding and never had to be told he wasn’t following the approved Plan of Operation for the project. Scott cared very much for the area he was drilling in and took extra steps to protect it and make sure it was reclaimed to standard when he was finished. I have never experienced any other operators that complied with all of the mitigations he faced while drilling on National Forest Lands. We had very high fire danger this summer and he was very proactive in reducing the fire risks from the project. Scott was also a very honest person to work with and did an outstanding job of keeping me informed of his progress and needs on the project. All of his field inspections, I wrote, never had anything negative for his operations. I highly recommend this company for similar projects anywhere on sensitive lands.

Lars Halstrom

Lars Halstrom

Mineral Permit Administrator

Big Timber Ranger District

Phone; 406-932-5155

E-mail; lhalstrom@fs.fed.us