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Pitch Reclamation Project Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board — 2016 Annual Reclamation Report <br /> were repeated in 2016. In general, flow from some springs and seeps increased for a brief period after the <br /> adit plug installation and have declined to a steady state since the spring of 1997. Small variances noted <br /> since 1997, are believed to be attributable to a variety of conditions including precipitation, depth of snow <br /> pack,timing of snowmelt,and the potential for infiltration with respect to frozen ground. The"active"spring <br /> and seep locations are shown in Figure 4. Springs and seeps currently designated as"inactive" (no flow <br /> or seepage observed over the past five years) are not shown, but can be found on maps issued with past <br /> reports. Table 1 shows spring and seep data, including flow measurements, from 1995 to the present. <br /> Typically, the springs flow in the until the early summer months and then decrease rapidly to a point where <br /> there is little to no flow in the fall. <br /> 4.3.2 2015 Piezometer Completion <br /> In August 2015,two new piezometers(P-1land P-12)were installed within the underground mine workings <br /> in the South Mine area, as shown in Figure 3,to provide injection and/or extraction locations for the in-situ <br /> source treatability testing in the underground workings and to facilitate water level and water quality <br /> monitoring.The piezometers were designed in accordance with Colorado Office of the State Engineer Rules <br /> for Water Well Construction Rule 14 "Minimum Construction Standards for Monitoring and Observation <br /> Wells/Holes and Test Holes". A Colorado licensed well driller was used to advance boreholes and to <br /> conduct well installation, development, and sampling. HMC completed drilling pad construction prior to <br /> drilling as summarized in the TR-6 supporting information. Well construction logs are provided on the CD <br /> attached to 2015 report. <br /> 4.3.3 Groundwater Levels <br /> There are currently eight active piezometers installed in the area of the underground mine workings (P-4 <br /> through P-12).These piezometers are used to monitor water levels behind the adit plug and throughout the <br /> underground mine workings. Piezometers located within and/or in immediate hydraulic connection of the <br /> underground mine workings include P-4, P-5, P-11, and P-12,whereas P-7, P-8, P-9,and P-10 are located <br /> outside of the underground mine workings, with P-7 located immediately upgradient of the adit plug. <br /> Piezometer P-7 was installed as a replacement for P-6,which was monitored until about one year after plug <br /> grouting/construction. Piezometer P-8 lies just to the north of the underground mine workings and was also <br /> constructed to monitor bedrock water levels upgradient of the Pinnacle adit plug. This is also the closest <br /> piezometer to the Chester Fault Zone. P-8 was converted to a dual-purpose inclinometer in 1999 by <br /> installing inclinometer casing inside the piezometer casing. As described above, the newest of these <br /> piezometers, P-11 and P-12, were installed in 2015 as recirculation/monitoring wells for use in phosphate <br /> injections for uranium treatment as part of the LPL development(see Section 4.7). The locations of these <br /> piezometers are provided in Figure 4. <br /> Water levels in each of the eight piezometers fluctuates seasonally,with the highest levels observed in late <br /> May or early June, coinciding with snowmelt (Figure 5). Spring and summertime water levels vary from <br /> year to year due to the magnitude and timing of snowmelt and heavy summer precipitation events;however, <br /> water levels under low-flow or"baseflow" conditions can be used to assess long-term trends. Overall, the <br /> baseflow water levels indicate a groundwater gradient to the north/northwest. This gradient is steepest on <br /> the southern end of the North Pit, as demonstrated by the decrease in water levels moving from P-4/P-11 <br /> toward P-7, and further to P-8. The complex geology and hydrogeology at the mine site make it difficult to <br /> estimate water flow directions based on potentiometric surface alone. Groundwater is compartmentalized, <br /> as documented in early hydrogeology reports by Dr. David Snow(Leeds, Hill, and Jewett, Inc. 1979),which <br /> is a result of cross cutting faults, as well as the underground mine workings which add another level of <br /> compartmentalization. Regardless, the northward groundwater gradient is consistent with the hypothesis <br /> that groundwater present in the underground mine workings and Chester Fault moves northward and <br /> discharges into the North Pit Lake. Although comparison with P-10 also suggests a westward gradient, <br /> note that comparison of P-4/P-11 with P-9 further to the west suggests that this gradient is minimal following <br /> transition from the Granite/Precambrian east of the Chester Fault (P-10), into the Belden and Leadville <br /> Formations west of the fault(Figure 5). <br /> 20 <br />