Laserfiche WebLink
1. Introduction <br /> 1.1 General <br /> GEI Consultants, Inc. (GEI) has prepared this report to evaluate revised highwall <br /> configurations in Aggregate Industries (AI) Morrison Quarry mine near Morrison, Colorado. <br /> The evaluations are focused on revised configurations at the existing (active) South Quarry <br /> and proposed highwall configurations in the planned West Quarry. The Morrison Quarry <br /> mine is operating under permit M-1973-021 from the Colorado Division of Reclamation <br /> Mining and Safety (DRMS). This Geotechnical Stability Exhibit is included as an appendix <br /> to DRMS permit Amendment No. 7 (AM-07) and summarizes results of stability analyses <br /> performed to evaluate proposed quarry geometric configurations (e.g., cut slopes and bench <br /> widths) relative to the minimum required factor of safety (FOS) for rock slope stability (FOS <br /> greater than [>] 1.25) as indicated in MLRB Policy 30. <br /> Morrison Quarry currently consists of three mining cells; the North Quarry,the <br /> Central Quarry, and the South Quarry. Active mining no longer occurs within the North <br /> Quarry or Central Quarry and Al is actively mining within the South Quarry, utilizing <br /> highwalls and benches primarily on the western (east-facing)mountain slopes of the South <br /> Quarry. Three below-grade benches have been excavated down to about elevation(El.) 6,600 <br /> feet on the eastern side of the quarry. Al has begun reclamation on some areas within the <br /> South Quarry, primarily at the high elevation benches (El. 7,450 up to El. 7,550 feet) on the <br /> west side of the quarry. <br /> Al is proposing to modify mining operations in the South Quarry to permit a steeper highwall <br /> configuration on the main, east-facing highwall. The proposed modifications include <br /> increasing the highwall slope to a maximum configuration of 30-ft wide benches, 70-ft high <br /> wall benches with vertical cut faces. This will involve re-mining existing benches below El. <br /> 7,000 feet in addition to increasing the steepness of the slope for future excavations. <br /> AI is also planning to create a fourth mining cell on a ridge located north of the South Quarry <br /> and west of the Central Quarry,referred to as the West Quarry. The planned top and bottom <br /> benches are approximately located at El. 7,360 and El. 7,040 feet, respectively. Below El. <br /> 7040 feet is considered the lower South Quarry, which has an anticipated bottom at El. 6195. <br /> The West Quarry is currently inactive and in the final stages of planning for future <br /> development. Mining within the West Quarry is anticipated to begin in 2021. <br /> 1.2 Site Description <br /> The Morrison Quarry is a hard rock quarry, owned and operated by Al, located west of <br /> Colorado Highway 8 and approximately 1/2 mile north of U.S. Highway 285 in Morrison, <br /> Colorado. The mine site is located west of the Dakota hogback along the Front Range of the <br /> Rocky Mountains west of Denver, Colorado, in Section 10 of Township 5 South, Range 70 <br /> West of the 6th Principle Meridian. The site location is shown in Figure 1 in the figures <br /> Aggregate Industries—Morrison Quarry GEI Consultants, Inc. <br /> AM-07 Geotechnical Stability Exhibit October 2020 <br />