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<br />~r <br />IJ <br />This inspection was conducted by Tony Waldron of DMG along with Alan Waugh of Reclamation <br />Resources. The Alma Placer is located just east of the town of Alm, Colorado and the <br />inspection was requested by the operator for the purpose of determining whether or not <br />previously mined gravel waste could be sold as a secondary commodity from the currently <br />permitted area. The mine is situated on the eastern alluvial terrace of'~the Middle Fork of <br />the South Platte River. The primary commodity is gold which is placer mined and processed <br />through a self contained screen/sluice plant. This obviously creates al substantial amount <br />of screened and washed gravel "waste". Historically this area has also b$en placer mined and <br />as a result there are several piles of washed gravel waste throughout th permitted area and <br />off of the permitted area. In addition, gravel has been mined from thi site for numerous <br />projects throughout the years prior to the inception of the Mined Land (Reclamation Act. <br />Presently, the operator is interested in selling and removing various pipes of washed and in <br />some instances screened gravel which are scattered throughout the appr ved affected area. <br />Due to the swell factor associated with mining the in-situ terrace material, it would appear <br />that the removal of these gravel piles would not have a significant of ect on the overall <br />reclamation plan. In addition, removal of these piles would enhance th appearance of the <br />site near term as the piles in their current configuration are rather u sightly. <br />Also, removal of these coarse materials will likely improve the growthmedium since these <br />gravels would probably have been graded a out and buried under a th n veneer of finer <br />materials that would serve as a seedbed. However, in that scenari the very coarse <br />substratum would provide almost no fertility needs and very little water olding capacity for <br />any potential vegetative community. In the current mining scenario these coarse gravels are <br />buried deeper under the finer cover materials which should prevent the ertility and water <br />holding capacity problems from being too severe. Based on this inspecti n, it appears that <br />there would not be any deleterious effects from allowing removal of these ravel waste piles. <br />However, if sales of gravel become such that in-situ material starts to b processed to meet <br />future commitments, the mining and reclamation plan will need to rev'ewed and possibly <br />amended at that time. <br />I & E Contact Addr ess cc: Jim Steens-DMG <br /> ~ CE <br />NAME Alma Placer ~ BL <br />OPERATOR Reclamation Resources ~ FS <br />STREET P.O. Box 848 ~ HW <br />CITY/STATE/ZIP Fraser CO 80442 ~ HMWMD (CHj <br /> ~ SE <br /> ~ WQCD (CH) <br /> ~ OTHER <br />