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• (Page 21 • MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-80-055 INSPECTION DATE 07/10/97 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO OBSERVATIONS This inspection was conducted by the Division as part of its monitoring of 110 metal mines, and as a result of the recent transfer of the permit from Energy Fuels Nuclear Inc. to International Uranium (USA) Corp., which requires that the bond be recalculated. The operator was contacted about the inspection, and a time was arranged to meet at the operator's office before the inspection and then proceed to the site. The operator named on the first page was present throughout the inspection. The permit ID sign was posted at the entrance to the site, [hough the new operator should update the sign to reflect the name of the new permittee. There were no permit boundary markers observed, but this topic is not a problem at this time. Onsite disturbance is limited to the portal, face up, dump pad, shop and road, which combined appear to occupy roughly half of the 9.9-acre area. The corner markers, if present, would have been located a couple hundred feet from the main dump, probahly in the brush. The operator present during the inspection requested that a copy of the survey map of the permit area be sent to him, and one is attached to his copy of this report. Presumably, it will be used to locate and mark the corners on the ground and to depict new activity each year in the annual reports. Please ensure that the boundaries and corners are marked, since the dump limit is not far from the north boundary line. Expansion of the dump and any downslope stormwater control work will encroach on that line. IThe operator is reminded that offsite disturbance is a possible violation, and is a matter to be heard by the Mined Land Reclamation Board.l The site is now being reactivated. In 1994 the portal and face up were backfilled and the dump was graded and seeded. There was an upstream diversion cut into the hillside to direct runoff away from the disturbed area. Onsite conditions and activity observed during this inspection include: the portal has been reopened land a shed of some type of construction will be installed soonl, the face up/highwall is again present (its upper edge will be "rounded" to stabilize itl, crews were installing electric power to the building and adit, the metal shop building was open and being used for servicing mine equipment, the dump pad had been regraded to construct upper and lower sediment containment ponds Ithe lower pond is also fed by the diversion berm constructed at the toe of the padl, and the access road has been newly graded. The pad area is small, and future material placed there will be oif the edge and will enlarge its area. It appeared that the area for the new material may be on top of the upper sediment pond, which might even contain a significant amount of soil. Please ensure that the footprint of where the new dump material is to be placed is stripped of all soil before placement of waste rock. The operator should take care in the reactivation of this site, to adequately segregate and protect any topsoil encountered. It is presumed that this site was topsoiled to some extent prior to the last revegetation efforts, and recent reopening of the site may not have included soil stripping. This concern also applies to all areas where soil has been stockpiled in the past and on areas that are being disturbed far the first time. The permit map depicts two topsoil stockpile areas, combined totalling about one acre. A small area of topsoil was observed onsite, but it did not contain much soil. Future activities which could disturb soil resources, especially earthwork related to stormwater control, access roads, or reconfiguration of the dump pad, should include careful salvage of all available soils. stormwater berms above and below the site, for example, should not be constructed trom topsoil since, in the event of a large precipitation event, it might be the material most in danger of washing away. At present there is not a problem under the topic of topsoil. There is presently a 57,500 bond for this site, which is based on an amount calculated many years ago. The reclamation costs will be estimated again, and the figures sent to the operator for review. At this time, it is not known if the amount is adequate to reclaim all present disturbance according to the approved reclamation plan, but this topic is not noted as a problem in this report. There were no other items noted or discussed during the inspection, nor problems observed. If there are questions about this report, please contact this inspector at the address or phone shown below: Division of Minerals and Geology 484 Turner Dr„ F-101 Durango CO 61301 Phone: 970/247-5193. cont.