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quality material is present. If that is successful then exploring this area in more detail would make <br /> sense. <br /> The extensive erosional dissection of this area also presents a problem for draining the pit to <br /> the north through this area and into the valley. This aspect has never been examined in any detail and <br /> even the Cooley Gravel plan which would begin mining here did not address this issue in any detail. It <br /> might be better to stop mining before reaching the end and installing a final controlled drainage <br /> structure that handles the water more effectively than just opening it up. It is important to note, <br /> though,much of the pit north of this area should mostly be vegetated and so runoff will be much less <br /> than is the case today with what is open over the original Christian Pits area. Also, the steeper slopes <br /> here that erode easily are composed mostly of overburden that has thinned and sits atop a possibly <br /> thinning layer of gravel that may have a more level lower boundary that generally aligns with the <br /> bottom of the gravel beds to the north. Therefore, once a nominal part of the gravel is removed the <br /> general slope would be less steep that it appears it would be now. However,that is an assumption that <br /> has not been verified. It is also very difficult to verify without extensive and expensive drilling that <br /> may not even be worth the effort if there is actually little present to mine or if the poor material to the <br /> north ends up causing the conclusion of mining. <br /> The plan presented on the map shows the mining going all the way to the south end,but does <br /> not have the drainage issue addressed. The important point to be made by combining the map and this <br /> narrative plan is that the map alone is presenting the most optimistic view while the narrative shows <br /> that such optimism may be unwarranted and the mining could end anywhere north of the far south <br /> end. Whatever happens it will be necessary to provide for whatever surface and subsurface conditions <br /> are present at that time. Unless the land and climate essentially goes dry something will need to be <br /> provided to conclude the mine. <br /> Amount of New Land Opened for Mining at One Time <br /> The first step in preparing undisturbed,permitted land for mining is removal of the material on top of <br /> the material to be mined. Here this constitutes the soil and/or overburden. Because equipment for <br /> doing this is not always present at Fountain Pit but must be moved here from other locations, a fairly <br /> large area is opened at once. Historically, this operation has consumed an average of about 5 acres <br /> (range=3 to 10 acres per year) of newly uncovered gravel per year. But it is more convenient to strip <br /> enough land for at least 3 years of mining which is about 15 to perhaps 20 acres at a time. This <br /> stripping goes all the way through the overburden to the top of the gravel. The soil and overburden <br /> layers remain as a highwall at the edge of the stripped land that is 6 to 10 feet high(average of around <br /> 8 to 9 feet), depending on the depth of the soil/overburden column at that location. These walls tend to <br /> Fountain Pit Technical Revision#3 - June 2022 M-1982-155 Mining Plan Page 12 of 22 <br />