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Delta County Whiting Pit <br />DMG 112 Application <br />Exhibit D - Minine Plan <br />This mining permit is for a gravel pit on 115 acres owned by Delta County. The property is situated on <br />about three miles east of the town of Delta, Colorado and about two miles south of the Gunnison River <br />on land that used to be part the old Star Nelson Airport. Most of the area to be mined by Delta County <br />has previously been leveled and graded for airport operations. The main runway covers a lazge portion <br />of the land to be mined. The land is currently undeveloped desert land. Access is from G Road at three <br />locations show on the map that correspond to Phase 1, Phase 2 and the borrow area activities. <br />The property contains 8 to 10 feet of glacially deposited gavels on top of shale. The gravel is covered <br />by 0-12" of clay loam topsoil and 12-26" of clay, clay loam and gravelly clay loam overburden. The <br />site is classified as Loamy Salt Desert with sparse vegetation. The azeas to be mined are described in <br />Exhibit I under soil map units 762 and 801. There is very little evidence of wildlife on this site. The <br />gravel covered shale forms eroding mesas at the edge of the Gunnison River Valley. Land on the mesa <br />in the vicinity of this site is gravelly, very sparsely vegetated desert land. The lowlands and valleys <br />below the mesas aze eroded shale with undeveloped desert land or irrigated pasture land. The closest <br />developments to the site are the chicken farm on the south side of G Road that belongs to the site's <br />previous owner and the residence and buildings southwest of the chicken farm that is the center of the <br />old Star Nelson Airport and is now a private airstrip <br />Mining will begin in the SW 1 /4SE1/4 of Section 15 north of G Road, designated Phase 1. A road will <br />be established from G Road just north of the chicken farm along the northeast rim of the mesa to the <br />west boundary of said S W I/4SE1/4 of Section 15. A road will also be established down the draw in the <br />northeast part of said SW 1/4SE1/4 of Section 15. Stripping of topsoil and overburden will be done with <br />scrapers, dozers, and front-end loaders beginning at the west boundary and stockpiled in the draw. <br />Gravel will be excavated from a vertical face of about 10 feet in height using excavators and/or front- <br />end loaders. Raw material will be hauled to the crushing area using front-end loaders and dump trucks. <br />Mining will proceed west to east in Phase 1, starting about 20 feet inside the west boundary. <br />The processing azea will initially be established neaz the center of Phase I to crush, screen and stockpile <br />finished product until needed for County road projects. The process area will be set up on the floor of <br />the mined out area when enough area has been mined to accommodate it. Crushing and screening <br />equipment will be on site only as needed to produce an adequate stockpile of finished material. This is <br />typically less than 90 days at a time. An asphalt plant may also be on site from time to time as needed <br />for County projects. Such plant will be situated in the process and stockpile azea. Should any reportable <br />quantity of hazazdous materials, such as fuel, be released on site, all federal, state and local authorities <br />will be notified, including the Division as required by law. <br />Mining in Phase 2 will begin as Phase 1 nears completion. Topsoil and overburden from stripping in <br />Phase 2 will be used to reclaim mined out land in Phase 1 so that the stock piles created in Phase 1 will <br />not need to be moved until Phase 2 mining is complete. Mining in Phase 2 will proceed southwest to <br />northeast along the old runway path from G Road. Mining will then turn east to west until the western <br />part of Phase 2 is exhausted, and then mining will proceed west to east until Phase 2 is completed. The <br />process and product stockpile area will move from time to time to keep close to the mining face. <br />An azea of about five acres south of G Road in the southwest comer of the SW l/4SE1/4 of Section 15 <br />will be used as a borrow azea to obtain cohesive material that may need to be added to the processed <br />gravel of Phase 1 and Phase 2 to meet the desired properties for road construction aggregates. Material <br />in this area is described in Exhibit I as soil mapping unit 762. This azea contains 0-9 inches of clay loam <br />topsoil and up to 24 inches of clay loam and gravely clay loam that may be suitable for cohesive fines to <br />add to process gravel. Topsoil from this area will be removed and stockpiled along the west side of this <br />