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Introduction <br /> The Alma Placer Mine (M-1985-029; MSHA ID No. 05-04427) is located immediately east of <br /> and adjacent to the town of Alma in Park County at an elevation of 10,333 feet. The Alma Placer <br /> Mine mined placer gold since the 1870s with the first recorded work on-site commencing on the <br /> banks of the South Platte River in 1872. Sluicing,hydraulicking,tunneling and other methods <br /> were employed over many decades. All old mining was completed without any salvage of topsoil <br /> and without any regard to reclamation of the site. <br /> In 1979, Timberline Enterprises erected a modern processing plant and planned on moving large <br /> volumes of gravel from surface mining into the plant. In 1984,the previously issued Colorado <br /> Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) 112 permit was revoked due to non- <br /> compliance. In 1985, the Alma Placer Mine was re-permitted with the DRMS (M-1985-029) and <br /> a 112 permit was awarded for 160 acres of mining under the ownership of Ducommun Business <br /> Trust under the name of Panhandle Drilling Company. <br /> In August 1995, Farley's Machine Shop subleased the Alma Placer to mine gold but significant <br /> gold mining did not take place until 1997. Since the site contains pre-law disturbance that <br /> consists primarily of gravel piles left from old gold mining and since the best way to remove <br /> these piles and regrade the site is to process and sell sand and gravel, a 110 sand and gravel <br /> operation was permitted with the DRMS to the Ducommun Business Trust in the year 2000. The <br /> DRMS assigned the operation a permit number of M-2000-063. In 2000 Bob Willits, operating <br /> as a subcontractor to the Trust and Willits, began the sand and gravel operation with portable <br /> crushers, stackers,trailers, etc. on a 10 acre area within the Alma Placer property. <br /> In 2003, the 1 10 gravel excavation permit needed to be expanded to include additional acreage <br /> within the Alma Placer property and permit the use of portable concrete and asphalt plants. The <br /> town of Alma rejected the use of an asphalt plant to be revisited at a later date. The above <br /> changes were accommodated by changing the DRMS 112 permit—M-1985-029—with an <br /> amendment to include a larger sand and gravel mining area within the Alma Placer gold mine <br /> permit area as well as incorporate a portable concrete plant and rejuvenate good reclamation <br /> standards. The 110 sand and gravel permit, M-2000-063,was released by the DRMS in May <br /> 2004. <br /> Alma Placer Mine Gr v IA Kk,r0,1 n}uwiam N,A <br /> December 2017 i-1 <br />