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Benson Brothers Red Shale Pit <br />DMG 112 Application <br />Exhibit D - Minin¢ Plan <br />the mining operation and this pemut are defined by a line 50 vertical feet below the crest of the east- <br />west trending ridge and coming no closer to the southern boundary of the Benson Brothers' property <br />than 200 feet. This condition is also described in paragraph 23 of Delta County SD OS-001 and is <br />shown on Exhibit C -Mining Plan Map as the permit boundary on the south. Eventually, the ridge <br />will be lowered up to 50 feet in the area indicated on the map to obtain the material needed to create a <br />2:1 h:v final slope in reclaimed areas. <br />Should any reportable quantity of hazardous materials, such as fuel, be released on site, all federal, <br />state and local authorities will be notified, including the Division as required by law. The operator <br />anticipates mining 20,000 to 30,000 tons per yeaz. The expected life of the mine is 20 years. <br />The following narrative addresses the itemized requirements of Section 6.4.4 of the Rules <br />a) Material will be mined using dozers, front-end loaders and/or excavators. Mined material will <br />be pushed down slope or loaded on trucks and transported to the process area and hauled with <br />Front-end loaders to the crusher. There will be no explosives used in this operation. <br />b) Topsoil and overburden will be removed from the deposit using scrapers, dozers, and/or front- <br />end loaders and stockpiled in the process area or on the benches created by the mining <br />operation. High-walls will be reduced using cut and fill technique and dozers and excavators. <br />Topsoil and overburden will be replaced using dozers and scrapers. <br />c) There will be no water diversions or impoundments. A 24" culvert will be installed where the <br />mine access road crosses the dry creek bed. There will be no ground water encountered on the <br />site. <br />d) The process azea will be approximately 3 acres. Backfilling and grading will be performed on <br />depleted mining azeas as soon as practical so that approximately 3 acres of un-reclaimed <br />disturbance (not counting re-vegetation, process area, and road) is present at any one time. We <br />estimate a maximum of 400 lineaz feet of un-reduced high wall present at any one time. The <br />total area to be mined, based on our estimate of the location of desirable material, is <br />approximately 10 acres. <br />e) The process azea will be established as soon as the permit is issued and will remain in place <br />until all mining is complete. Active mining will occur within a 3 acre area that will begin <br />adjacent to the south side of the process area and move south up to the ridge as the operation <br />progresses. The operation will consist of mining, crushing and stockpiling for 4 to 8 weeks at a <br />time. Then mining and processing will cease until sales deplete the stockpiles enough to <br />require another round of mining and processing. It is expected to take 15 to 20 years to <br />complete mining and reclamation, depending on mazket conditions. <br />f) The deposit to be mined consists of 10 to 50 foot thick layers of red shale that aze often not <br />continuous and are inter-bedded with layers of sandstone and off-color shale that may not be <br />marketable. We will remove 0 to 10 feet of overburden of debris and soils derived from <br />breakdown of the shale and sandstone. We anticipate mining an average of 20 feet of material <br />over the 10 acre area. The stratum immediately below the red shale is sandstone or unbaked <br />shale. <br />