2023-12-13_REVISION - C1981022 ‎(20)‎

• Permit No: C1981022
• IBM Index Class Name: Revision
• Doc Date: 12/13/2023
• Doc Name: Proposed Decision and Findings of Compliance
• From: DRMS
• To: Oxbow Mining, LLC
• Type & Sequence: SL8
• Email Name: LDS
• Email Name: AME
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

facilities area, including part of the East Refuse Pile; the West Valley Fill, including the haul
road west of the fill; and the II West Valley Fill. The Division approved the application on
September 8, 2022, and released $63,319.
Partial Phase III bond release(SL-7)was received by the Division on April 26, 2022, and
requested the release of 21.24 acres of Gob Vent Boreholes and associated pads and roads. The
Division approved the Phase III release of 21.24 acres on January 18, 2023. With SL-7 an error
made in SL-3, where 0.62 acres were mistakenly given Phase II release, was also corrected.
SL-7 did not release any Phase II acreage. Following the issuance of SL-7, the required surety
for the Elk Creek Mine was set at$1,690,969.00.
An application for Partial Phase III bond release (SL-8)was received by the Division on November 9,
2022. The application was deemed complete on November 21, 2022. Oxbow published notice of the
bond release application in Delta County Independent once weekly for four consecutive weeks,
beginning November 16, 2022. Oxbow also notified landowners within and adjacent to the mine permit
area, and other interested parties of the application for bond release, as required by Rule 3.03.2(l).
No comments, written objections, or requests for an informal conference regarding the bond release
application were received by the Division.
The Division scheduled a bond release inspection for May 17, 2023, but the inspection was postponed
due to damage to access roads caused by unusually high spring run-off. The inspection was eventually
conducted on October 25, 2023. The site inspection was conducted in accordance with Rule 3.03.2(2).
The inspection was attended by Doug Smith of Oxbow, Dan Gray of the U.S. Forest Service,Paonia
Ranger District(USF S), and Tom Medlin of the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and
Enforcement(OSMRE). The Bureau of Land Management, Uncompahgre Field Office(BLM)was
notified but no representative attended the inspection.
The final list of sites to be Phase III released with SL-8 is given in Table 1, below. All of the sites in the
table were Phase I and Phase II released with SL-2.
Table 1
Phase I Phase II
Phase Site Landowner/manager Reclamation Date Release Release Acreage
III GVB-LW-8-03,pad only BLM 2010 SL-2 SL-2 0.16
III GVB-LW-9-05,pad plus 1300'road Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 1.15
III GVB-LW-10-05,pad plus 896'road Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 0.79
III GVB-LW-12-03,2013'road only Hotchkiss Ranches Road remains at SL-2 SL-2 0.83
landowner request
III GVB-LW-15-02,-01A,-0113,pad(and road) Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 1.77
III GVB-LW-15-08,pad plus 200'road BLM 2012 SL-2 SL-2 0.91
III GVB-LW-17-01A,-0113,pad plus 319'road Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 1.09
III GVB-LW-17-03,pad plus 500'road Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 0.86
III GV13-LW-17-04,-04B,-04C Hotchkiss Ranches 2012 SL-2 SL-2 0.96
III GVB-LW-17-09,pad only USFS 2012 SL-2 SL-2 0.98
Toal Acreage for SL-8 9.5
C-1981-022,SL-8 Page 5 of 10