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Whirlwind Mine Groundwater Characterization Report <br /> According to information in the mine permit, the Packrat Mine, Lumsden No. 2 and Lumsden <br /> No. 5 (also known as the Rajah 49) had approximately one gpm of mine water discharge as <br /> recently as 1995. Pooled water at the portal of the Rajah 49 Mine is currently being sampled by <br /> EFR on an annual basis (EFR, 2008a). No discharge was reported from the other portals in <br /> Lumsden Canyon area including the Bonanza, Dutchman, Hubbard, La Sal, La Salle No. 1 and <br /> 2, Lumsden No. 1 and No. 3, and Austin No. 4 even though they are all located at the downdip <br /> edge (northeast edge) of the mesa (EFR, 2008a). WWL visited these mine adits in 2008 and <br /> confirmed that no discharge was occurring at that time. <br /> The Packrat Mine likely has flooded floors in some workings, and this may be the case for other <br /> historical mines as well. However, WWL was not able to access and map the Packrat Mine as <br /> the portal is locked with metal grating and not suitable for human entry. Past underground <br /> observations that predate EFR's Whirlwind Mine permit, revealed that one open exploration <br /> borehole that penetrated the Packrat Mine workings was yielding about 1 gpm (EFR, 2008a). <br /> Considering historical drilling in the vicinity, it cannot be stated with confidence that the <br /> occurrence of groundwater in historical mines, whether it discharged to the surface or not, <br /> originated directly from the Salt Wash Member. <br /> From a water chemistry aspect, Brushy Basin groundwater that may enter the mines through <br /> exploration holes may not exhibit a specific Brushy Basin chemistry signature after contact with <br /> the Salt Wash and mineralized detritus associated with mining activities. Therefore, water <br /> chemistry data from mines undergoing this process may represent a hybrid chemistry that is not <br /> representative of any one hydrostratigraphic unit. <br /> The Rajah 30 Mine (and John Brown Tunnel) discharge of 5 to 15 gpm was observed by past <br /> operators to be originating mostly from the Rajah 30 Shaft, which intersected the central portion <br /> of the Brushy Basin Member. When the shaft was later sealed with concrete for reclamation <br /> purposes, most of the flow into the mine ceased, and later ceased completely after the main <br /> portal was sealed with a concrete bulkhead in 2001 (EFR, 2008a). <br /> Western Water& Land, Inc. 15 <br />