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violations of the permit and section 34-32-124, C.R.S. The letter also informed <br />Operator that the matter had been set for a hearing before the Board at its August <br />19, 2020 meeting. <br />4. The Division conducted another inspection on July 15, 2020. The <br />inspection focused on the unauthorized underground mill facility. During the <br />inspection, Operator described its milling process, the use of xanthate in the <br />process, and that it had been dumping mill tailings mixed with sand and course <br />development rock into a trench in the western portion of the site's waste rock dump <br />for several years. The Division also observed water from the milling process in the <br />mine, which is well above the water table, including significantly wet ground <br />conditions in the lower level of the mill and a small pool of water at the face of a <br />decline near the lower level of the mill. <br />5. Operator responded to the Reason to Believe a Violation Exists letter <br />on August 6, 2020. Operator argued that the permit and environmental protection <br />plan allowed for exploration mining, crushing, and production testing. According to <br />Operator, the project was still in an exploration and testing phase and that given <br />the nature of the area, extensive testing is necessary to prove than an economical <br />deposit exists. Operator also stated that it was necessary to generate ore <br />concentrate to be shipped to an out-of-state refiner. Operator claimed that its <br />"intermittent one ton per hour test plant" was not production scale. Operator also <br />argued that xanthate was not on a designated chemical list because there was no <br />list. Operator also claimed that the dumping of "sand mixed with mine rock on the <br />waste dump" was not a violation and that it affected an area less than 1/ of an acre. <br />Operator did state that it had committed to no longer using xanthates. <br />6. At the hearing, the Division presented testimony regarding the alleged <br />permit violations. The Division described the milling facilities at the site, including <br />that it proceeds on two levels of the mine, includes shaker tables for gravity <br />concentrate, flotation machines, water tanks, and the use of xanthate during the <br />milling process. The lower part of the mill had 4 1,250-gallon tanks for fresh water, <br />and the process does involve quite a bit of water. The ground in the lower level of <br />the mill was saturated with water. The Division explained that if this type of mill <br />was permitted, typically it would be a zero -discharge operation with adequate <br />containment of process water. Operator's milling procedure, however, allows water <br />to flow down the mine's tunnels and had the potential to pool and infiltrate down <br />and into groundwater. The milling operation was not "exploratory" and <br />significantly larger than would be necessary for testing. <br />7. The Division testified regarding the trench where mill tailings were <br />dumped, stating that trench was large and messy considering the size of the <br />operation. Typically, designated mining operations have contained tailings <br />Mineral Mountain Gold, LLC <br />M-2014-045 <br />MV-2020-021 <br />