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Mayo and Associates, LC <br />(~ <br />~~ <br /> <br />J <br />Test holes drilled from the Blind Canyon workings intercepted groundwater west of the <br />Blind Canyon Fault. This water was sampled in May 1996 for 3H. The 3H content of this <br />water was 2.2 TU. However, in December 1996, water dischazging from these holes <br />contained no 3H. Because one of the test holes encountered the soil zone, the 3H content <br />of the water in May 1996 is attributed to snowmelt water entering this test hole. <br />Consequently, the December 1996 sample is more representative of groundwater in the <br />rocks west of the Blind Canyon Fault. The14C content of this water was measured in a <br />sample collected in November 1996. The calculated 14C age of this water is 5,400 years. <br />The disparity between the 14C ages of water encountered west of the Blind Canyon Fault <br />and groundwater inflows to the Beaz Canyon Mine suggests that the Blind Canyon Fault <br />is a hydraulic barrier (Mayo and Associates, 1999a). <br />Mayo and Associates (1997e) estimated the volume of water stored in the sandstone <br />channel and the mean rechazge rate of less than 0.1 gpm assuming a mean14C age of <br />1,000 years (Table 4.) <br />Evaluation of Potential Groundwater Inflows 43 <br />Associated with E Seam Mining, <br />West Elk Mine, Somerset, Colorado <br />February 24, 2004 <br />