INSPEC30901

• Permit No: M1984025
• IBM Index Class Name: Inspection
• Doc Date: 12/17/2001
• Doc Name: MINERALS PROGRAM INSPECTION REPORT
• Inspection Date: 11/20/2001
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

• (Page 2) •
MINE ID X OR PROSPECTING ID 11 M-1984-025
INSPECTION DATE 11/20/01 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO
OBSERVATIONS
This partial inspection was performed by the Division as a follow-up to the noxious weed i{~spection performed on
10130/2000. The operator was contacted, but was not present during the inspection. The site vv~as not active at the time
of the inspection.
The required permit ID sign was posted near the entrance gate on the NW side of the site. The permit area is divided by
a county road crossing the NW portion. The permit area lying NW of the county road has not been recently re-disturbed.
The larger part of the permit area, lying S/SE of the county road, is where operations are approved to occur. Both parts
of the permit area boundary are adequately delineated by fencelines.
There has been no excavation in the pit since the last inspection. Minor amounts of debris and a pile of waste asphalt
still are present in the pit. This is not a problem, but their removalldisposal costs are still include in the bond. The east
highwall of the pit is still rough graded to a stable slope, but it is not considered reclaimed. T e west highwall is still
vertical, with the topsoil stockpile windrowed along the top of the wall. The west wall is presently at the westernmost
limit of mining, since the SW corner of the permit area, west of Mill Creek, will not be disturbed. he operator is reminded
that when this west highwall is reduced to final reclamation gradient, topsoil should be carefully andled so that it is not
mixed with other materials being moved.
The northern part of the permit area is the staging and stockpile area, and there has been no excavation here. It appears
that one or two small stockpiles formerly present in this area have been removed, as well as evidence of removal of
material from the north end of the large fines pile immediately south of the entrance gate. it
The main reason for this inspection was to check the degree of spread or effectiveness of control of the black henbane
IHyoscyamus niger) that was observed to be prevalent last year. At this time of year the weed has normally died and cured
to an almost white color, in contrast with most other plants present there. Last year there were ar as of thick infestations
on much of the large fines pile and the southern ends of the topsoil piles bordering the pit, and thi ly scattered across the
floor and piles in the eastern part of the stockpile area. This current inspection revealed that the a were still dried stalks
present, but they appeared to be deteriorated enough to be from growth during 2000. The stalks not appear to be from
growth of live plants during 2001, and seem to be in much less abundance in all areas inspected. I addition to the possible
removal of some stockpiled material from the stockpile area, debris has been removed and the ve etation also appears to
have been mowed or grazed down. All vegetation (grass, annual weeds, and former black henb ne) in this area seems
uniformly low, and the area has a cleaner appearance. The operator stated that spraying was dd~ne in May 2001.
As noted above, some material has been removed from the north end of the large fines pile, which was one of the worst
areas of the noxious weed infestation. It is hoped that the material removed from the pile did not ~COntain sufficient black
henbane seed to infest new areas. The operator's representative stated during a phone conversation after this inspection
that the material was sold to and removed by a single customer, US Fish and Game, presumably for a project on federal
property. The operator stated that the user of this potentially contaminated material is aware of Ithe infestation risk.
Af er the 2000 ins ec ion Burin which roblems were found the o erator was iven s ecific a es b which to rovide
roof of com letin corrective actions. To-date these have not been submitted and the are n w Ion overdue. The
o erator must still rovide an u dated ma for the last annual re ort reflectin the full 112 er it area an ode uate
noxious weed control Ian for all noxious weeds resent on all onions of the site roof of the ti el im lementation of
it and the commitment to continue monitorin and treatment as needed. Theo erator is reminde that the weed Ian is
re wired to be made art of the ermit but to do so is via a technical revision the fee for whic is S188. These two
outstandin roblems are not noted as new roblems in this re ort but must still be corrected. lease review the 2000
inspection report for the specifics of theinspection report for the specifics of the required corrective actionscorrective actions.
The bond is $55,081. It was calculated for reclaiming a much larger area of disturbance than wh~t currently exists. The
bond is considered to be adequate at this time. Anew calculation will not be performed for another year or two.
There were no additional items observed or discussed. No new problems exist at this time. All~esponses or questions
about this inspection report should be directed to this inspector at the Division's Durango Field ffice. The address is:
Division of Minerals and Geology, 701 Camino del Rio, Room 125, Durango, Colorado 81301; tel~phone [phone],
or fax [phone].