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.' • (Page 2) • MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-97-086 INSPECTION DATE November 26, 1997 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS AJW OBSERVATIONS This was a pre-opex'a tional inspection conducted by Tony Waldron of DMG along with Ferd Mueller of Siloam Stone. The site is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Pueblo, Colorado approximately halfway between Colorado Highways 76 and 96 on Siloam Road. The site is essentially a sandstone mesa that abuts against the wet mountains to the west and slopes gently to the northeast. The site is bisected by Siloam Road which runs in a north-south direction and is bounded on the north by Red Creek Road. There are two existing mines along the east side of Siloam Road and near the southern most boundary which will be enveloped by the permit area of this proposed mine. The northern most of these mines, the Pinon Mine, is situated near the head of a small watershed that begins to cut through the sandstone approximately 200 yards north of the mine and forms a small canyon as it continues northeast. This canyon grows to a maximum depth of approximately 20-30 feet and a maximum width of approximately 75-100 feet. The bottom of the canyon generally consists of massive stone found below the sandstone cap. There are numerous isolated pools or baths that have been eroded out of the stone and typically retain water after precipitation and runoff events. A few of these pools are fairly sizeable and appear to be large enough to support fish populations. Some of the baths have collected soil which has created numerous small micro wetlands. Although water 'xas standing in the collection basins and some runoff was occurring during the inspection, no determination was made about whether there were perennial springs present in the drainage bottom. The vegetation is generally sparse in the canyon sides and bottoms, however, it is very diverse. There appear to be a wider variety of grass species including most of the ones mentioned later in this report along with little bluestem, some wheatgrasses and stipas, along with a variety of carexes and sedges in the wetter areas. This sparse grass mixture was complimented by a smattering of shrubs such as skunkbush sumac, mountain mahogany and oakbrush along with yucca, cholla and prickly pear cactus and the occasional juniper and pinon tree. Near the canyon rims sandstone is exposed as large slabs which appear scattered as the canyon slopes upward to more level ground. The more level areas up out of the canyon are generally covered with a thin layer of soil that supports a healthy range plant population consisting primarily of blue grama, sideoats grama, ring mulhy, cactus, yucca and a reasonably dense population of junipers and pinons. Scattered throughout this area are small pockets where the sandstone is exposed and displayed as multi-sized rocks ranging from small boulders to slabs. Although the soils appear to be very thin, they should be suitable for reclamation. With respect to permanent man-made structures within the proposed boundaries or within 200 feet of the affected area the following items were observed. A small powerline crossing the permit area in the southwest quadrant, Siloam Road runs through the permit area along the west side and red creek road runs adjacent to the proposed affected area on the north side, there are two bridges on Siloam Road that are also within the affected area, a three strand fence runs along both sides of Siloam Road and along Red Creek Road, and there is a buried phone cable with approximately 4 service boxes running parallel to Red Creek Road but within the affected area. 'Phis may also include a right-of-way concern. The application will be reviewed to verify that these structures have been identified and protection addressed. The mining plan calls for quarrying type activities to mostly occur near the existing stone mine with the potential to expand over most of the area. However, the major activity that will occur over the vast majority of the area is surface removal of exposed sandstone slabs that are covered in lichen. According to Mr. Mueller, no mining is planned for the bottom of the canyon area, however, some selective sandstone removal would probably occur along the canyon rim.