C1x4
B2x3
You order the retrieval of the alien artifact on P-4Y-J886, send a portable mining rig to the same location, and tell Dr. North to start working on upgraded vehicle plating.
2to5
The retrieval goes smoothly, and the SGC gains custody of the artifact without incident.
Early August2
Dr. North is having considerable difficulty creating larger armor plates suitable for vehicles. His modifications to the existing armor plates have rendered them somewhat brittle, and the regular shock and vibration of the Hawkei vehicles is causing the new armor panels to crack and shatter. He's working on incorporating a few elements into the composite in order to correct the issue, but he warns it might take a few more weeks of testing.
5
A few days later you get news from P-4Y-J886. Very loud, slightly incoherent, highly enthusiastic news. Experimental mining has already turned up a few hundred pounds of ore. What kind of ore is anyone's guess, since your field scientists have been unable to classify the mineral it carries easily. It's non-radioactive, but interacts oddly with most forms of analysis, seeming to multiply the energy input and blow out most sensors. For now, it has been classified as a quartz-like semi crystal of complex structure. In short, it's like nothing anyone has seen before on earth.
A- Set up a steady schedule for the experimental miner to bring back the ore back to the SGC at regular intervals.
B- Expand the research post into a mining post, expending more manpower and funding to exploit the ore veins.
C- Retask Dr. North to study the properties of the ore before you start storing 'hundreds of pounds' of unknown mineral that inexplicably multiplies energy.
D- As C, but use a generic brand scientist.