2014-01-24_REVISION - X201222311

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agreement has been signed or verbal confirmation that access has been given is obtained. Oxbow claims the right to enter this surface based upon the Act of December 29, 1916 (39 Stat., 862), in which the coal was exempted from the land patents for the United States, and provides for prospecting or exploration of this coal for the currently approved Federal coal license COC- 74911, and upon approval of the north BLM of Federal Coal License # COC- 76319. 4. Attach a description of the land to be affected. For example: The condition of the topsoil, the general hydrology, type of vegetation and topography, Rule 2.02.2(2) (c). 4.0 DESCRIPTION OF LAND TO BE AFFECTED (Rule 2.02.2(2)(11)) Coal exploration is needed to provide data on available reserves for possible development of a new underground coal mine in Delta County, by Oxbow Mining Oak Mesa, LLC. The proposed Oak Mesa area is located in Delta County to the west of the Orchard Valley Mine. This exploration drilling will be used to confirm the quality and quantity characteristics of this coal resource. There are two proposed exploration licenses that cover upland areas located between the West Roatcap Creek and Leroux Creek drainages and north of the community of Hotchkiss. The areas are covered by the Original Oak Mesa Exploration License COC- 74911, and the currently applied for license COC- 76319, which is a smaller area of two drill holes north of the original area. The geology and coal character are anticipated to be similar to that found during the Original Oak Mesa Exploration Drilling but will allow Oxbow to identify the maximum recoverable reserves in this area. The surface lands of these proposed exploration areas consist of private and BLM owned surfaces. The elevation in the exploration area ranges from approximately 7,350 ft. above mean sea level (amsl) in the drainages of the exploration license area to 9,200 ft. (amsl) in the north portion of the area. The two (2) additional proposed drill sites have elevations of approximately 9,120 and 9,160 feet (amsl)We are also proposing to relocate three currently approved drillholes in the original license to new locations closer to the outcrop which will provide us with additional information about what the coal is doing close to the outcrop on the west side of the exploration area These three drillholes will have elevations of from 7650 to 8670 ft. (amsl) This area is semi -arid with annual precipitation of approximately 17 inches, mostly as snow. Both Leroux Creek and West Roatcap Creek are perennial drainages with minor flows occurring all year long. The flow volumes vary in response to spring snowmelt and runoff from major rainfall events. Flow volumes will also vary depending upon the amount of runoff that is diverted into irrigation channels that run through this area and provide water to local orchards and farm land. There are two other drainages, the Dever, and Jay Creek drainages that are in the area of the proposed exploration drilling activities. These drainages have intermittent flows that varying depending upon runoff available and varying amounts captured by local irrigation canals. Soils vary in thickness from 0" on steep side slopes and rocky outcrops to possibly 2' — 3' in drainage bottoms. Due to the general steepness of the terrain, the drainage bottoms often contain a high percentage of rocky materials deposited by erosion and /or other mass wasting processes. Vegetation cover types are projected to be consistent with the terrain and semi -arid climate found on the upland area. Seven upland vegetation types are found in the original exploration area ranging from Gambel Oak - Mountain Shrub to Pinyon- Juniper and minor amounts of Meadow, cottonwood, riparian and aspen communities. The north area contains five upland vegetation types ranging from Gambel Oak — Mountain Shrub to Meadow, Aspen and Aspen Regeneration communities and minor amounts of Riparian. A wide range of wildlife species inhabit the general area, although use and habitat values maybe limited by the semi -arid climate and terrain and vegetative cover types. -3-