**PRIVILEGED & CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT** This communication is made at the direction of counsel at Calderwood & Harkness LLP in connection with pending litigation and a governmental investigation. It is protected by the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. Do not forward, copy, or disclose without authorization from Calderwood & Harkness LLP.
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Neil,
Thank you for the productive introductory call earlier this week, and for the quick turnaround on the engagement letter. I am writing to follow up on the items we discussed and to transmit the data collection protocol and custodian list so that your team can begin preparing for forensic collection.
**Background and Engagement**
As you know, we executed the vendor engagement letter between Calderwood & Harkness LLP and Redstone Digital Forensics Inc. on March 15, 2022. This engagement arises from our firm's representation of Torchlight Mining Corp. ("TMC") in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division grand jury investigation, Grand Jury No. GJ-22-0194, pending in the Northern District of California. Calderwood & Harkness is directing all aspects of the document preservation, collection, and production effort, and Redstone's work will be performed at the direction and under the supervision of counsel throughout.
**Attached Protocol and Custodian List**
Please find attached the following:
- **Attachment 1: Data Collection Protocol and Custodian List** — This memorandum is in near-final draft form as of today's date (March 16, 2022). We are providing it now so that your team can begin reviewing it and flagging any logistical or technical concerns. We will finalize the protocol as of March 18, 2022, incorporating any feedback from Redstone. Please treat the attached draft as confidential and subject to the privilege designations noted above.
The custodian list identifies **34 custodians** at TMC whose data must be collected. All 34 are current or former personnel of TMC's U.S. Specialty Minerals Division.
**Scope of Collection — Data Sources**
For all 34 identified custodians, Redstone should plan to collect data from the following sources:
1. **Corporate Email** — TMC operates a centralized email system for its U.S. Specialty Minerals Division personnel. Redstone should collect the full mailbox contents (including sent items, deleted items, drafts, and archived folders) for each custodian.
2. **Shared Network Drives and Departmental File Shares** — The U.S. Specialty Minerals Division maintains shared network drives and departmental file shares. The protocol identifies specific drive paths and share locations; Redstone should collect all files and folders to which any of the 34 custodians had access.
3. **VaultChat Encrypted Messaging Application** — This item requires particular attention. VaultChat is an encrypted messaging application that was used by certain TMC personnel for business communications and is **specifically called out in the subpoena**. Redstone should work directly with TMC's IT department (coordination process described below) to identify and preserve any server-side archived VaultChat messages as well as any device-side VaultChat data that may exist on corporate or personal devices. Given the ephemeral nature of certain encrypted messaging platforms, we need Redstone's assessment early on regarding the feasibility and completeness of VaultChat data recovery.
4. **Personal Devices** — Mobile phones, tablets, and personal laptops belonging to identified custodians where business communications may reside. The protocol details the process for imaging personal devices, which will require documented custodian consent. We will provide consent forms to each custodian through TMC's General Counsel.
5. **Cloud Storage Accounts** — Any cloud-based file storage services (e.g., personal or business cloud drives) used by custodians for business purposes. The protocol provides further detail on identification and collection of cloud-based data.
**Priority Custodians**
While all 34 custodians must be collected in full, I want to flag three individuals as **highest priority** for collection given the subpoena's focus areas. Redstone should plan to collect data from these custodians first:
1. **Gavin Holt** (former Vice President, U.S. Specialty Minerals Sales) — Mr. Holt departed TMC effective September 30, 2021, and no longer has active access to TMC systems. His corporate email account and any retained device images should be collected from TMC's IT archives. Please coordinate with TMC IT to confirm that Holt's mailbox and any archived data have been preserved and are accessible for forensic imaging.
2. **Sandra Chu** (Director, Pricing Analytics, U.S. Specialty Minerals Division) — Ms. Chu is an active employee. Full collection is required across all data sources: email, network drives, VaultChat, and any personal devices used for business communications.
3. **Thomas Eriksen** (Regional Sales Manager, Western Region, U.S. Specialty Minerals Division) — Mr. Eriksen is an active employee. Full collection is required across all data sources. We ask that Redstone pay **particular attention** to Mr. Eriksen's communications and materials related to the North American Specialty Minerals Council ("NASMC") conferences and trade-association events. These events are a focus of the government's investigation, and any calendaring data, travel records, presentations, or correspondence related to NASMC should be flagged and segregated during processing if feasible.
**Collection Methodology**
The protocol sets forth detailed requirements, but I want to emphasize the following:
- All forensic imaging must be **defensible and documented** in accordance with accepted industry standards (including, without limitation, standards recognized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and applicable case law governing electronically stored information). - **Chain-of-custody documentation** must be maintained for all collected media, including serial numbers, hash values, and transfer logs. - All collections from TMC's U.S. Specialty Minerals Division systems should be coordinated through TMC's **principal U.S. office** at **8750 West Sahara Avenue, Suite 210, Reno, NV 89117**. - Redstone should coordinate with TMC's IT department for system access and technical logistics. Calderwood & Harkness will provide the IT department point of contact once confirmed by TMC's General Counsel, **Priya Anand**. I expect to have that contact name to you no later than end of day March 17. - **Date range for collection: January 1, 2015 through the present.** This range is intentionally broader than the alleged conspiracy period (approximately January 2017 through August 2021) in order to capture pre-conspiracy baseline data and any post-conspiracy communications that may be responsive to the subpoena or relevant to TMC's defense.
**Subpoena Context and Timeline**
To provide additional context for your planning:
- The collection is in response to **Grand Jury Subpoena No. GJ-22-0194-SD-003**, which was served on TMC on **February 14, 2022**. - Calderwood & Harkness submitted a letter to the DOJ Antitrust Division on **February 22, 2022** requesting a 60-day extension of the initial return date, and the Division has granted that extension. - Our **first rolling production is targeted for early April 2022**. Redstone should plan its collection and processing timeline to support that target. Given the volume and the number of custodians, I recognize this is aggressive, and I would appreciate your candid assessment of what is achievable. - We anticipate a **substantial production volume** given 34 custodians, the broad date range, and the breadth of the subpoena categories. The protocol includes preliminary data-volume estimates based on information provided by TMC IT, but we will need Redstone's updated estimates once collection is underway.
**Processing and Hosting**
Once data collection is complete (or as collections are completed on a rolling basis), Redstone should **process and load the collected data into Redstone's review platform** for use by Calderwood & Harkness's document review team. Standard processing protocols should apply, including:
- Global de-duplication across custodians - Email threading - Full metadata extraction and indexing - NIST de-NISTing of system files
Calderwood & Harkness's **privilege review protocol** is being finalized separately and will govern the review workflow, including privilege-log requirements and clawback procedures. I will transmit that protocol to you as soon as it is completed, likely by early next week.
**Monica Reyes** (cc'd on this email) will serve as the **day-to-day contact** for processing questions, review-platform access and permissioning, and any technical issues that arise during the review phase. Please do not hesitate to reach out to her directly on those matters.
**Next Steps**
I would ask the following:
1. **Please confirm Redstone's availability to commence on-site collection at TMC's Reno office within the next five business days** — i.e., by approximately March 21–23, 2022. If there are any staffing or equipment constraints, please let me know immediately so we can plan accordingly.
2. **Please review the attached protocol and custodian list and revert with any questions, comments, or logistical concerns by end of day Thursday, March 17, 2022.** In particular, I would appreciate Redstone's input on the VaultChat collection methodology and any technical challenges your team anticipates.
3. **I propose a brief call on March 17 or March 18 to finalize the collection plan before field deployment.** Please let me know your availability and I will circulate a calendar invitation.
**Confidentiality**
I want to reiterate that **all materials, data, and information** related to this engagement are **privileged and confidential**. Redstone's work is being performed at the direction of counsel and is protected by the attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. All communications regarding this engagement should be directed to Calderwood & Harkness — **not directly to TMC personnel** — unless we specifically instruct otherwise. If TMC IT or other TMC personnel contact Redstone directly regarding any substantive matter, please redirect them to me or to Monica.
Thank you, Neil. I look forward to your confirmation and to getting collection underway promptly. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any immediate questions.
Best regards,
**Aaron Liu** Associate, Antitrust & Competition Practice Group Calderwood & Harkness LLP 555 California Street, 40th Floor San Francisco, CA 94104 T: (415) 773-8420 E: aaron.liu@calderwoodharkness.com
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