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(Page 2) <br />MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-1983-011 <br />INSPECTION DATE 8/27/04 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS ESC <br />This was an inspection of the Willow Creek Mine conducted by Erica Crosby of the Colorado <br />Division of Minerals & Geology. No operator was present during the inspection. <br />The site is located approximately 12 miles southwest of Leadville, in Lake County Colorado. <br />The approved permit area is 9.9 acres. The Division holds a reclamation bond in the amount <br />of $17,000.00. The bond was adjusted as a result of the Division's last inspection, and <br />appears sufficient. Amine identification sign was posted, and permit boundary markers were <br />noted. <br />The mine is an open pit placer gold mine. The site is located on a hillside at a grade of <br />roughly 10~. 'The mine site was permitted to Jon R. Mallette in~1983 and the permit was <br />transferred to Jelen & Son, Inc. in 1984. Material consisting of sand, gravel and rock is <br />extracted from the hillside and dumped into the vibrating hopper feeding a grizzly. The <br />material is screened and fed to two sluices. Remnants of the sluce go into two settling <br />ponds located on site. The two process ponds are roughly 10 feet deep. No chemicals in the <br />mining or processing operations are permitted. The water is obtained from a canal adjacent <br />to the mining claim. The process water consists of a mixture of pond and canal water. The <br />effluent is pumped back to the ponds for settling of particles and re-used. The processing <br />plant was initially .9 miles south of the mine. The area has been reclaimed, and the <br />facilities moved to the mine area. <br />No mining was taking place during the inspection. According to telephone conversations with <br />the operator, the site has not been mined for a number of years. A portion of the pile <br />stored at the processing area has been reclaimed into the pit. The pit extends into a <br />hillside towards the north, approximately 15 feet to 20 feet high. The pit and processing <br />facility have not been reclaimed to the required 3h:ly slope. The processing ponds contained <br />only water from surface runoff that has accumulated in the pit, and stability of these ponds <br />is no longer an issue. However, if the ponds are to be used again, the operator will need to <br />recompact the embankment to ensure the pond will not fail and not adversely affect surface <br />and/or groundwater and the area outside the permit area. <br />I & E Contact Address <br /> ^ CE <br />NAME Kay Blecha ^ BL <br />OPERATOR Jelen & Son, Inc. ^ FS <br />STREET PO Box 103 ^ HW <br />CITY/STATE/ZIP Castle Rock, CO 80104 ^ HMWMD (CH) <br /> ^ SE <br /> ^ WQCD (CH) <br />Cc: Carl Mount; DMG (via a-mail) <br />