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(Page 2) MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-1977-416 INSPECTION DATE 8/30/07 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO.AJW OBSERVATIONS This inspection by the Division was pertormed as part of its monitoring of Hard Rock/Metals 110(2) permits and as a pre- operation inspection of the new areas proposed to be added under the current 112 permit conversion application CN-1. The operator was contacted about the scheduled inspection, and the inspectors met the operators at their office in Egnar and then proceeded to the site. The operator's representatives named on page one were present during this inspection. This mine is part of the Sunday Mines complex, a group of five neighboring mines that are all separately permitted by this operator but function together as one operational unit. This site has been reactivated and was active at the time of the inspection. MONITORING INSPECTION: The area permitted underthe existing 110(2) permit includes a portal, several small buildings on the pad near the portal, a temporary mine access road, stormwater control structures, and topsoil stockpile. The portal was open and underground ore haulers were entering and exiting. There was a stockpile of several hundred tons ore on the center of the pad. Contract over-the-road trucks were on the site being loaded for ore shipment to the operator's White Mesa Mill. Hydrocarbons are stored onsite, and the required impermeable secondary containment is adequate. There is no debris orjunk onsite. During past inspections, the access road has been seen to contain patches of knapweed, and a few of these patches still exist. These must continue to be monitored and treated. Mine vehicles and haulers especially may potentially spread this plant onsite and offsite if it is not diligently controlled. PRE-OPERATION INSPECTION: The areas to be added as affected land under the current CN-1 conversion application include several adjoining acres downhill from the toe of the dump and a strip of land across the top of the portal cutwall. The lower area will serve to allow expansion of the waste dump and land for stormwater control structures. Topsoil will be stripped and salvaged for reclamation use. New dumped material will either be placed in lifts or end dumped and then dozed into its final configuration, i.e., 2:1 outslopes. The new area is approximately bounded by the natural drainageways on the east and west. (The current outslope exhibits new dumped waste rock at the angle of repose, with the earthen stormwater retention berm along the toe. All disturbance is still inside the present 110(2) boundary.) The upper adjoining area added to the affected land consist of a strip of land containing a diversion ditch crossing the site, which protects the portal and pad from uncontrolled upland drainage running onto the site. This structure will require monitoring and maintenance to ensure its continued functioning and capacity, as well as to ensure that it does not cause erosion of the hill above it. Other areas to be included in the proposed affected area acreage increase will be for vent shafts and roads, whose exact locations are not yet identified, but which will be within the claim block boundary defined in the application. When those locations are known, the operator must contact this office with such site information. The non-affected area being added to the permit under the conversion consists of a large contiguous block of claims surrounding the existing permit, mainly to the south and southeast. The surface of the claims are managed by BLM, who is reviewing the operator's requirements for existing and proposed roads, drill holes and vent shafts. In the southern upland areas there will be several short lengths of roads and vent shafts that will be necessary for adequate ventilation of the new underground areas that are planned for expansion. One such vent shaft was inspected, and found to be well installed and the surrounding area was clean. If the surface is to be changed by grading for installation, the operator should ensure that surface runoff is controlled by earth berm or f Iter fence, to prevent accelerated erosion until the sites are vegetated and stabilized. Additional pertinent regulations, pursuant to Hard Rock/Metals Rule 7, will be evaluated after this conversion has been approved and 112 permit issued. The bond was recently recalculated and was found adequate for the existing 110(2) permitted operation. As part of the current CN-1 conversion application review, the office will recalculate the needed bond. No further items were observed during the inspection. Responses to this inspection report should be directed to the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, 701 Camino del Rio, Room 325, Durango, Colorado 81301, Attn: Bob Oswald; phone no. 970- 247-5193. (Please note the new room number, and revise your records as necessary.)