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(Page 2) MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID #: M-~nm-nna INSPECTION DATE: _A ril 1 ~nn7 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: A1W OBSERVATIONS This was apre-operational inspection conducted by Tony Waldron and AI Amundson of DMG. Representing GCC Rio Grande, Inc. were Brian McGill, Daniel Chacon, Paul Seby, Sarah Lord Reeves, Bill Ruzzo, ]im Gill, and Henry Sauer. The proposed site is located approximately 8 miles southeast of Pueblo, Colorado primarily on State Land Board leased property. The proposed permitted area will encompass approximately 2500 acres with a total proposed disturbance of 895 acres fully mined out. The public notice was properly posted at two locations that are clearly visible from the road. The proposed disturbance is set within the Colorado Piedmont physiographic province and is comprised of a rather featureless plain that dips slightly to the northeast. The controlling geologic feature is the underlying Fort Hayes Limestone, which is the target of this mining operation. This deposit is deeply dissected on the south and west sides by Greenhorn Creek and slightly less so on the east side by the Edson Arroyo. Both of these drainages conFluence into the St. Charles river which runs in a northeasterly direction on the north side of the permit area. The plain is cut by very shallow ephemeral drainages which are separated by low level ridges. The site is typical short-grass prairie with the dominant vegetation being blue grama and western wheatgrass interspersed with sand drop seed, red three-awn, side- oatsgrama, buffalo grass, ring muhly, etc. In addition there are several fortis common to this environment along with yucca, cholla and prickly pear cactus, and some shrubs and small trees like four-wing saltbush, skunkbrush, and juniper. Overall, the range condition would best be described as poor to fair with less than ideal cover and limited diversity. Part of this may be due to the recent lack of moisture or the grazing management or a combination of both. No noxious weeds were observed during the course of the inspection. The inspection began at the St. Charles River just east of the DRGRR bridge over this river. The operator will be constructing a single span bridge over the river at a point where the limestone formation outcrops near the river. This bridge will serve as part of the primary road access to the mine site and will remain in place once mining is completed. The Colorado State Land Board has apparently agreed to assume ownership of the road once mining is completed. In addition, there will be a rail spur coming in a little further south of the river. The rail line will be removed during final reclamation. The inspection continued at the air monitoring station that has been set up to capture baseline data for the CDPHE's Air -Emission Permit.-This is also~ery-near-where-the cement~lanEwill-be~Catecl-and Fhef~st-pi~will~e~penedtffr. The typical lay of the land is gently sloping to the northeast with wide ephemeral drainages separated by low level ridges running from south-southwest to north-northeast. The slope is fairly constant until it reaches a point just south of the St. Charles River where the arroyos drop off of the plain and into the river. At this point the arroyos cut through the overburden and into the limestone outcrop and are more deeply dissected. The vegetative cover is more diverse in these locations, as one would expect, due to the more severe topography. Over the remainder of the site, the vegetative cover is fairly consistent rangeland dominated by Blue grama. However, in the arroyo bottoms there is clearly an increased percentage of Western wheatgrass, as is typical in Eastern Colorado rangeland settings. For the most part the arroyo bottoms are competent and show very little erosional activity until they start to drop off into the river. There were a couple of segments in the upper reaches of the arroyos where some erosional downcutting had occurred. These areas were typified by cuts approximately 10-20 feet across and 5-8 feet deep extending for 100-150 yards. Above and below these areas the arroyo bottoms exhibited broad stable channels. Overall, the mining and reclamation of this site should be a straight forward matter with relatively simple post-mining topography to re-construct. However, a couple of concerns were identified that will require some additional submittals through the adequacy review process. The first concern is the presence of a stock pond in the year 20 mining block. This structure(s) will need to be added to the list of structures along with the appropriate damage waiver/agreements. In addition, there are several stock fences that will need to be accounted for in a similar fashion. The second concern is the proposed location of a sedimentation pond in the first pit. The concern that arises is twofold. The first part is using captured water for various mine uses. This will likely require an augmentation plan and approval from the State Engineer's Office. The second is how the pond will be discharged or the watershed will be restored once mining is completed. During mining the pond can be discharged through pumping as stated in the application, however, once mining is completed, haw will the surface water run-off be allowed to flow unimpeded back into the St. Charles River? It presently appears that a permanent impoundment will be formed due to the elevation loss on the north end of the pit as the result of resource extraction. In other words, once 30