2008-05-01_REVISION - M1973007SG (5)

Home Browse Search

MINING PLAN needs to be completed in this area. Portions of this area will eventually become the new sediment basin when the Sediment Area is filled and can no longer be used. The South Area also includes the J Property. This arrangement, defined by geography and topography,will remain workable for quite some time. Defining the boundary between the North and South areas by the current ditch corridor will continue to be useful until all excavation is completed for the new ditch corridor, as well as the slope north of the corridor extending to the highway right of way. When the new ditch corridor is ready, the Fountain Mutual Ditch will be moved to its new location. Construction of the concrete lined ditch must occur as a single operation as the gradient of the ditch is critical. Once all of that is done then the current ditch corridor can be removed. As the current ditch corridor is removed the North and South areas will merge into a single area that will include all permitted and affected land east of Academy Boulevard. At that point, the entire area will be worked and reclaimed as more or less a single unit. That will continue until the completion of the operation. SEDIMENT AREA The sediment area is all that remains of the permitted land west of Academy Boulevard. This area contains a large sediment basin that has been used for many years to deposit th ash fines produced by the processing of the sand. Originally, this site was the location of the Castle Sand Pit, operated by Castle Concrete Company. When that operation was completed, it was merged with the Daniels Sand Pit#2,which is this operation. The Fountain Mutual Ditch originally ran along a high ridge of sand separating the Castle Sand Pit from the processing area of the Daniels Sand Pit. The ditch was relocated to the north side of the Castle Sand Pit where it currently is located. The ditch was routed under Academy Boulevard through a 72" steel pipe. The ridge of sand between the two sites was then removed, physically merging the Castle Sand Pit and the Daniels Sand Pit. The original Castle Sand Pit was nearly 100' deep in some places and provided an excellent location for the deposition of wash fines. Today about two-thirds to three-fourths of the original depth of the Castle Sand Pit is now full of wash fines. As the settling ponds rose in elevation, the berms along the south side of the sediment basin have been elevated. When completed, it is expected that only about one-fourth of the original sand pit will remain above the sediment deposit. Thus, most of the 90 to 100 foot deep Castle Sand Pit will be completely eliminated. Obviously, with the sediment basin approaching the full point and many millions of tons of sand yet to be mined and processed this sediment basin will not likely supply all of the needs. It is Daniels Sand Pit Amendment (2008) Exhibit D Page 7 of 28