Laserfiche WebLink
III. COMMENTS -COMPLIANCE <br />Below are comments on the inspection. The comments include discussion of observations <br />made during the inspection. Comments also describe any enforcement actions taken during <br />the inspection and the }acts or evidence supporting the enforcement action. <br />This was a partial inspection conducted by Joe Dudash of the Colorado Division of <br />Minerals and Geology. Basil Bear represented the operator. The topic of this inspection <br />was the field examination of eight gob vent borehole (GVB) sites, the Freeman Gulch <br />vent shaft and their associated roads. The eight GVB s were drilled in 1999 and 2000. <br />The mine site azea was dry and allowed access to the sites. Access began with the light <br />use road above the main mine site and ended in Freeman Gulch, above Hubbard Creek. <br />Roads <br />Except for one case, the mine operator has used pre-existing roads for access to the gob <br />vent borehole sites. The one case is a new road segment that leads from the pre-existing <br />road to sites GVB 2B and GVB 2C. In most cases, minimal grading was needed to <br />upgrade the pre-existing roads. The new road segment had small to moderate amounts of <br />grading. All of the roads were in very good condition. There were several subsidence <br />cracks along the road to pad GVB 3A. The deepest crack was almost two feet deep. The <br />road was still passable since the cracks were generally off to one side of the road. The <br />two gates were locked along the Freeman Gulch road. <br />Gob Vent Borehole Sites <br />At all eight of the gob vent borehole pad areas, several maintenance items need to be <br />done. First, the operator needs to complete the installation of silt fence along the entire <br />toe of the pad outslopes. Second, topsoil has been salvaged where possible, but the <br />stockpiles have to be better defined and marked. Third, surface disturbance markers need <br />to be positioned to define the entire pad disturbance. <br />The operator has made plans to reclaim the gob ventilation borehole pads soon. Once the <br />boreholes have been cemented top to bottom, the pads themselves will be reclaimed. <br />GVB 2A is no longer operational. The area immediately around the capped hole is still <br />fenced off. The mud pit is still open and the small amount of drilling mud in the pit is <br />dry. There are some small subsidence cracks on the pad area. The deepest one was about <br />6 inches deep. <br />