2018-02-01_PERMIT FILE - M1977004

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Homestake Mining Company of California Homestake — Pitch Reclamation Project 112 Marshall Street Sargents, CO 81248 January 24, 2018 Mr. Dustin Czapla Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 (111AOMW�ST�A�KE DECEIVED FEB 012018 DMSION OF RECLAMATION MININGAND SAFETY Re: Pitch Project, Permit No. M-1977-004, Long Term Reclamation and Closure Plan, Need for new Permit Amendment Dear Mr. Czapla, The Pitch Project has been a permitted site since 1977. Final reclamation has been pursued since the 1984 approval of Amendment 1, which completely updated the permit's reclamation plan. Since that time the site has undergone numerous changes, which include activities carried out under several technical revisions, such as installation of inclinometers and piezometers to monitor groundwater and slope movement, removal of the radium treatment plant, largescale revegetation and grading, surface drainage controls, placement of the Pinnacle adit plug, and most recently, the phosphate injection study for water quality. The reclamation activity has involved all areas of the site, and though much progress has been made toward final closure, much still remains to be done. While the reclamation accomplished and the revisions made to the permit do constitute progress, it has not all been fully integrated into a complete closure plan. Homestake Mining Company ("Homestake"), as the permitted operator, agrees with the Division that the 1984 amended reclamation plan needs to be updated. We understand that this necessary step must be accomplished through a permit amendment. At a meeting held at the Pitch site on September 18, 2017, attended by several staff of DRMS and representatives of Homestake, such a closure plan amendment was discussed with an outline being the first step. All agreed that the amendment must include all pertinent topics, the most important of which comprise the issues of water quality and geotechnical stability. Besides those main areas, we understand and agree that it must also conform with with other agencies' applicable regulations, and it must be submitted to DRMS according to an agreed-upon schedule.