Laserfiche WebLink
(Page 21 <br />MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-1977-004 HR <br />INSPECTION DATE 9 1/ 1/02 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO <br />OBSERVATIONS <br />This partial inspection was performed by the Division as part of its annual monitoring of this Hard Rock and Metals 112 <br />permit. The operator was contacted about the inspection, and a time was arranged to meet at the site for the inspection. <br />The operator's representative named on page one was present during the inspection. <br />The site is inactive and kept secured by a locked gate at the entrance. The required permit ID sign was posted at the <br />entrance gate to the site. <br />The former location of the Radiation Treatment Plant (RTP) was inspected. It was demolished and, along with much of <br />its contaminated contents, hauled to the low grade ore stockpile area on the Tie Camp Creek Dump. The Radiation Control <br />Division (CDPHE) has approved the amount of building rubble and materials which have been removed from the former <br />building site, which allows the operator to begin final grading in this drainageway. The RTP debris now on the Tie Camp <br />Creek Dump has been flattened and partially covered with earthen fill, which should be finished later this season. The <br />material will then be covered by a compacted sericite cap, a layer of topsoil, and revegetated. (These materials exist in <br />sufficient quantities in stockpiles on the dump.) Final drainage pattern is planned but has not yet been established. <br />The gulch in which the RTP was located has been shaped by recent grading. The south-facing slope is nearly all covered <br />by plantings of seedling lodgepole pine, most of which are surviving. There is little left to do on the north-facing slope, <br />except for some grading near the North Pit Lake outlet, where part of a rock knob may be removed, supplying an onsite <br />rock and soil need, and stabilizing the steep slope. The North Pit Lake outlet and the Pinnacle adit both drain into the same <br />channel, now being shaped to become wide and flat. A series of shallow ponds, separated by leaky dams, will be created <br />and planted with wetland vegetation to filter sediment and absorb contaminants, and the water will provide a reducing <br />environment to encourage the precipitation of contamination. <br />If the operator wishes to modify the grading or revegetation plan for this or other areas of the permit, please contact this <br />office to see if a technical revision is needed. <br />The North Pit Lake level is presently fairly high, which accelerates the infiltration of lake water into the collapsed adit, <br />saturating it, but improves the conditions for the same type of reducing environment mentioned above. The fake dam is <br />not expected to be modified in the future. The lake exhibits a noticeable increase in the amount of sediment deposited from <br />North Pit wall sloughing compared to past years. <br />The Indian Creek Dump showed no change in the riprapped drainageways, due to the low amount of moisture this year. <br />Various areas of the dump benches and faces exhibit very good grass and forb vegetation, even in this dry year. No <br />fertilizer has been applied in several years, and does not appear to be necessary. The many areas of seedling tree and shrub <br />plantings (mainly lodgepole pine) show various stages of establishment and growth. The revegetation is regularly grazed <br />by the local elk, and on rare occasions, livestock. With enough numbers of planted trees, eventually the adverse effects <br />of elk browsing will be less noticeable. Ilt is hoped that trials of a different elk repellent spray the operator plans to use <br />will be successful.) The operator has continued to acquire pine slash from nearby clearcut areas, to strew on portions of <br />the dump faces. <br />If the operator feels that certain stands of existing mature lodgepole pine in the permit area should be cut to produce slash <br />or other reason, this should be proposed to the Division as a technical revision, since it may involve additional reclamation <br />needs. <br />The head scarp above the east wall of the North Pit seems to exhibit some slowing in the rate of movement, since many <br />areas appear to be silting in and revegetating. There are still steep outcrop faces and narrow, vertical cracks, but evidence <br />suggests that they have existed as such for some time now. Movement here and downslope was caused by groundwater <br />in and near the fault, and loss of a the natural buttress at the toe of the ridge. Adequate moisture control and slope <br />stabilization may not be possible until earthwork can be performed at the top of the ridge to eliminate entry of water. If <br />the operator wishes to propose a plan for such work, that is not currently part of the file, a technical revision may be <br />needed. <br />The shop and other buildings are in good condition. The roads which continue to be needed are in good condition; other <br />roads are becoming reclaimed, as required by the permit. There is an accumulation of parts and small equipment out on <br />