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Historically, the uranium ore body was typically accessed through adits or tunnels driven from the side <br />of the canyon walls. Most of the previous mining operations included construction of haul roads and <br />dumping of waste rock along the sides of the canyon. The Lost Dutchman Mine, which is an <br />unreclaimed pre-law mine (i.e., mine that shut down prior to the enactment of state and federal <br />reclamation laws) is a good example of what these older mines looked like during operation. The mine <br />was accessed by a narrow mad along the edge of the canyon and waste rock was dumped directly into <br />an ephemeral drainage that flows into Lumsden Canyon. Umetco was able to successfully reclaim the <br />post-law canyon wall adits in the azea along with associated roads and waste dumps in the eazly 2000s; <br />however, the steep terrain and surface drainage issues made this reclamation work challenging. <br />EFRC evaluated the potential environmental impacts of various mining alternatives in developing a <br />long-range mine plan for the claim block. This evaluation indicated that potential impacts to soil, <br />vegetation, water, and other natural resources could be minimized by concentrating surface disturbing <br />activities in the vicinity of the Urantah Decline, where the topography is flatter and surface drainage <br />can be controlled relatively easily. This azea became the focal point for the design of the Whirlwind <br /> <br />• Mine surface facilities including primary access roads, buildings, ore stockpiles, waste rock disposal, <br />and surface drainage controls. Secondary access to the Packrat Mine portals was also incorporated into <br />the mine design to provide adequate mine ventilation and an emergency escape way. Surface <br />disturbance at the Packrat Mine, which is located on the side of Lumsden Canyon, is limited to a <br />narrow access mad and small pad azea. The Packrat azea will not be used for disposal of waste rock or <br />primary ore haulage. <br />The mine plan calls for the disturbance of about 22.6 acres, much of which was previously disturbed <br />and reclaimed by the former mine operators. The lazgest single surface disturbance is the mine waste <br />mck pile which encompasses approximately 10 acres and is designed for the life of the mine. This pile <br />will extend eastwazd from the Whirlwind portal (formerly the Urantah Decline portal) within the gently <br />sloping azea between County Road 5/10 to the north and the natural hillside to the south. The north <br />facing side of the waste dump will be graded, topsoiled, and revegetated concurrently as the pile <br />expands to minimize visual impacts and sediment loading of surface water runoff. <br />.~ <br />Whirlwind Mine June 07 i-2 <br />