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Introduction <br />The white marble of Yule Creek was discovered in the 1880's and soon became known as one of the <br />finest white marbles in the world. It was selected for the exterior of the Lincoln Memorial in 1916 <br />and the Tomb of the Unknowns in 1936. The quarry closed in 1941 and remained a tourist destination <br />until 1990, when it was re -opened by the new Colorado Yule Marble Company (CYMC). During <br />the 1940's through 2007 the hike to the quarry had been a special experience for thousands of tourists <br />each summer. The hike included a walk through a narrow gulch where Yule Creek cascades across <br />brilliant white marble. The trail concluded at the entries to the Yule Quarry where the visitor could <br />look down into the massive underground rooms excavated by early -20th -century miners. <br />CYMC failed in early 1999 and Sierra Minerals re -opened the quarry under new management and <br />under a new permit (M-1999-058) issued with the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (now <br />Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety) effective on August 20, 1999. On April 26, 2004, Sierra <br />Minerals sold its interest to Colorado Stone Quarries, Inc., which is the current operator. <br />This application to convert the existing 110c Permit to an 112c permit expands the current operation <br />from the historic Washington Gallery (Yule Quarry) and newly established Lincoln Gallery to <br />include the Jefferson Quarry and Franklin Quarry (historically known as the Smith Quarry). <br />Additionally the historic mill site is included in the permit as a transload facility from the local truck <br />haulage to over the highway trucks. With this expansion, the mine has been renamed as the "Pride of <br />America Mine" to reflect its position as the preeminent white marble quarry in the United States and <br />the inclusion of the new Lincoln Gallery, Jefferson Quarry, Franklin Quarry, and Historic <br />Washington Gallery. <br />Quarrying operations at the site utilize mechanical cutting techniques rather than drilling blasting. <br />Similar techniques are utilized both underground in the galleries and outside in the quarries. Finished <br />blocks are shipped to the historic millsite for transloading onto highway trucks. Waste marble either <br />is utilized as blocks for erosion protection or is broken to create stable waste rock landforms. <br />The final landuse for the site has been changed from wildlife habitat to a tourist mine. The site is <br />historically important to the region and the operator wishes to all public viewing of the site during <br />The Pride of America DRMS 112c <br />i - 3 12/23/15 <br />