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III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during the inspection and the facts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. General Comments This was a partial inspection of the McClane Canyon Mine, conducted by Dan Mathews of the DBMS Grand Junction Field Office. Mine Manager Gary Isaac was contacted at the beginning of the inspection, and Safety Manager Rodney Head was contacted at the conclusion of the inspection, but I was not accompanied during the field inspection. Weather was cloudy and cool. Ground conditions were moist to muddy from recent precipitation. The inspection was limited to the reclaimed emergency drill pad site and associated reclaimed light use road, located along the Nonh Fork of Munger Creek. The drilling was done in December 2005. Site reclamation was performed in January 2006 (drill pad area) and April 2006 (light use road from southern permit boundary to drill pad). The upper segment of the road and the drill pad are located within the McClane Canyon Mine permit area; tower segment of the road is within the Munger Canyon Mine permit area, and ties into the Munger portal access road. Please refer to the Munger Canyon Mine inspection report dated April 19, 2007, for comments on the reclaimed road segment within the Munger permit area. Support Facilities The lower section of the light use road within the Munger permit area follows an old two track road along the North Fork of Munger Creek. The road along the lower segment is located primarily outside of the channel, but crosses the channel in several locations. Approximately 200 yards northeast of the 4`" crossing of the North Fork, the road crosses a tributary side channel that enters the North Fork from the west (the 2nd side channel crossed by the road). At this point the canyon begins to narrow, with junipers becoming more prevalent along the channel. This location appears to be close to the point where the road passes into the McClane Canyon permit area. Significant segments of the road within the McClane permit area were located within the channel of the North Fork; minimal grading work was required to build or reclaim the road along the "in channel" segments. As noted in past inspection reports, the reclamation grading was properly completed; slopes blend well into adjacent terrain, surfaces were properly roughened to prepare a seedbed, stream fords were properly eliminated and channel segments restored at approximate uniform grade to tie into undisturbed channel segments above and below. Rock and woody debris were properly pulled back across the reclaimed road, to further minimize the visual impact of the disturbance and facilitate stabilization and vegetation establishment. At the reclaimed drill site seeded in January 2006, there is very good establishment of seeded perennial grasses and shrubs, Reclaimed slopes have held up well in the drill pad area, with essentially no erosion. Perennial establishment is somewhat spotty along most the reclaimed road segments seeded later in the year; establishment will need to be checked later in the growing season to determine if follow-up seeding is warranted in some locations. A short road segment within the fee property that followed an older drill route, but was abandoned in favor of the channel route and reclaimed in January 2006, has held up well; seeded and volunteer perennial vegetation is becoming established along this segment. There were several areas, primarily on lower segments of the reclaimed road section in the McClane permit and along the Munger section, where the noxious weed whitetop is present along and adjacent to the reclaimed road. The patches will need to be sprayed within the next couple weeks when the plants are flowering, to limit spread along the disturbance corridor. Access to these sites will be limited to foot or horseback. 3