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(Page 2) MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-2000-030 INSPECTION DATE 2/25/04 OBSERVATIONS INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO This inspection was pertormed by the Division as part of its monitoring of Construction Materials 112c permits. The operator was contacted and a time was arranged to meet at the site. The operator's representative named on page one was present during the inspection. The site was inactive at the time of the inspection. There was a 6-inch snowcover at the time of the inspection, but the site was fully accessible and all pertinent inspection topics were able to be inspected. The required permit ID sign was posted at the locked gate along the road to the pit, west of the county road. The western permit boundary is defined by the N-S fenceline, which was observed at the site. The operator has been maintaining the required 90-foot setback from the fenceline, which is the western boundaryof the affected area. The operator should mark and observe this affected area boundary as well as the others, upon commencing activity at the site. This is a phased operation, approved for operating in a specific sequence of phases, and with a limit on the amount of disturbance at any one time. The approved sequence of phases is being followed, and the operation is still well below the approved 20-acre limit. It was estimated that there were 6 acres or less of total disturbance presently at the site. (No disturbance related to the onsite gas well was inspected, nor is any of that disturbance included in the bonded liability under this permit.) Local topsoil is red and somewhat clayey, and seems to vary in depth. Topsoil was stripped before excavation of the pit and before set up of the crusher, and is stockpiled in the west part of Phases 1 and 2, as approved. The topsoil amount appears adequate for reclamation. Overburden layer is fairly deep (several feet in most places), contains a caliche layer, and is distinct from the topsoil and the gravel deposit being mined. It has been stripped and stockpiled in the west part of the phases also. All topsoil, if it is not to be replaced on reclaimed surtaces within one year of stripping, must be protected from erosion and degradation. This includes proper stockpile slopes, seeding, and weed control. So far, there are no weed problems atthe site. There is evidence of the former crusher location on the unmined west part of the phases, but it was removed prior to this winter. There are about 5,000 cubic yards of crushed gravel stockpiled onsite. There are about 400 cubic yards of a different topsoil (black) which is assumed to have been excavated from the access road borrow ditch, or (more likely) from the pond bottom at the north end of the property. If this black soil is, in fact, a suitable growth medium, and small amounts of it are generated occasionally from the property, it maybe used in final reclamation. (If any of these details are incorrect, the operator should provide better information for this file.) The pit is being excavated from east to west in Phases 1 and 2. The highwall is nearly vertical and 20 feet high. It appears that the pit floor is presently at the elevation of the underlying shale layer. The floor dips gently to the west, providing some stormwater control, but the operator must ensure that adequate runoff controls exist for all disturbed areas of the site, including roadways and topsoil stockpiles. Hillsides providing drainage from the site exist on the north, east and south sides of the disturbed area, presenting potential for offsite sediment transport if not monitored and controlled. There is a small adobe structure on the unmined east part of Phase 3. It is presumed that this will be removed prior to stripping and excavating there, rather than mining around it, but this is not a large concern. A water tank on skids is also in this area. There is an elevated diesel tank, which is currently empty, at the south edge of Phase 2. It has no impermeable secondary containment under it, though that should be installed below the tank prior to resumed fuel storage there. There is a little debris in the 90-foot mining buffer, some of which may be ranch- or gas well-related. As long as the amount of debris is controlled, and contaminants are contained, they may be allowed to remain onsite. The present bond amount is more than adequate to reclaim the site. No further items were observed during the inspection. No problems are noted at this time. Responses to this inspection report should be directed to the Division of Minerals and Geology, 701 Camino del Rio, Room 125, Durango, Colorado 81301, Attn: Bob Oswald; phone no. 970-247-5193. Cont.