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N III IIIIIIIIIIIII III ~ STATE OF COLORADO Roy Romer, Governor DEPARTMENT UFNATURAL RESOURCES MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVISION DAVID C. SHELTON, Director DATE: February 17, 1987 T0: Clyde~la1~^C /Ci~~///~ FROM: Davi /-G~' Shel tof n ~"e'Gv RE: REVIEW OF TH ALVIN MOSC AFFAIR Alvin Mosch is a operator o a very small metal mine near Idaho Springs. This mine was permitted in 1982 with a reclamation financial warranty set at 5100.00. This very low level of financial warranty was due to our understanding of the mining and reclamation plans and the pre-existing disturbance at the area. A July 1986 inspection, conducted while our inspector was on the way to another mine in the area, indicated that E100.00 may not be sufficient to reclaim all the disturbed areas at the site. The law requires that the Board adjust financial warranties from time to time for good cause in order to ensure that the financial warranties are sufficient for the Board and Division to conduct the reclamation should individual mining operator be unable to.. What occurred from that point forward is very adequately described in Mr. Mosch's letter and in our response. It is clear that there is some disagreement as to the facts and specifically what our regulatory process and the financial warranty requirements are. The real issue is that Mr. Mosch, as the owner of a small operation in the mining business, is finding it difficult to make a living. There is no question that with the uncertain nature of mining and the very high front end capital costs of starting up a mine that it is indeed a difficult way to make a living. Mr. Mosch and all other small miners struggle with all the regulatory requirements but even more with the ability to raise capital in a very risky venture to mine rock of inconsistent and difficult to predict grade. The Mined Land Reclamation requirements on Mr. Mosch surely are not going to prevent him from operating a mine in that location nor will they prevent any other small operator. Our regulations and implementation of them are reasonable and in discussions with small miners we have found that the attitudes and requirements of MSHA, Health Department, local government and other regulatory bodies make the mining more difficult to undertake, I have a great deal of sympathy for Mr. Mosch, but mining will never be easy. Many more mining ventures have failed that succeeded. What can we do to assist Mr. Mosch? I think his particular case history indicates that we have done a substantial amount to assist him by establishing the financial warranty at only 5200.00. Additionally, rather than taking the issue to the Board after the first inspection, in July, we waited and even made two more inspections to make sure of our observations prior to going to the Board. I have had discussions with legislators regarding this issue and 423 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203-2273 Tel. (303) 866-3567