INSPEC44661 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• (Page 2) ~ • MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-77-311 INSPECTION DATE 03/11/98 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO OBSERVATIONS This inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of 110 Metal permits. The operator was contacted about the inspection and a time was arranged to meet at the site. The operator was present throughout the inspection. This was a partial inspection, mainly because the upper vent shaft areas and the access roads (these areas being within the permit area) were not inspected. The required permit ID sign was posted on the locked entrance gate. The permit boundary (as depicted on the permit maps) is irregular, but is adequately marked by onsite physical features and fence posts. The outcrop/highwall above the benches is the main upslope boundary, and the line of posts below the toe of the waste rock is delineated. The site consists of two linear benches on the hillside, and on the upper one are several small buildings, a grated portal, overhead electric powerline/pole/transformers, and various parts and pieces of support equipment. There was no weediness and no mining equipment, and no material stockpiles on the surface. Stormwater appeared to be controlled by means of earthen berm structures which line the outer edges of the benches. Some erosion probably occurs on the steeper outslopes of the waste rock, but it too had its downhill structures to contain it: there were geotextile sediment fences and rock drop structures installed on the shallow drainage paths. The structures onsite have been previously measured and included in the bond calculation by the Division. However, these items and the other needed reclamation tasks must again be recalculated to determine the adequacy of the bond amount. The existing bond is $17,500. If an adjustment in the bond is necessary, the revised figures will be sent to the operator. One of the buildings contains two diesel generators and a small fuel tank. There does not appear to be any fuel onsite, and no spillage evident on the soil. The overhead electric service belongs to both the operator and the local utility company. The powerpoles, three transformers, and lines to the transformers belong to the utility. The lines from the transformers into the buildings, etc., belong to the operator. The portal is about 10 ft x 10 ft, and presently closed with a locked, steel grated gate. There is minimal interior timbering, and no exterior shed of any kind. It is located on the vertical face of a sandstone outcrop. The method of portal closure was discussed. The plan now approved is for steel sets to be placed inside and backfilled with rock and earth. The operator expressed interest in a urethane foam plug closure. If such method is desired, this should be proposed to this Division, probably in a technical revision (TR). There is a small wood/steel cribbing structure which defines a portion of the separation between the two bench levels. It appears to be one of the early features of mining at this site. It was not clear whether this would have to be removed during reclamation. The Division will include its removal and the subsequent slope grading of that area in its bond calculation. If this is cribbing is to remain at the site (or any other structure) and the operator wishes to clarify this to the Division, this information should be submitted to this office. Written statements by the BLM may be necessary to support these details, if they are the landowner. The last item discussed during the inspection was the issue of the prolonged period of inactivity at the site. The operator stated that the site is not 'mined" but that there is