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<br />SMUGGLER MINE SITE <br /> <br />sN ExtIIBITc <br />Current plans call for rehabilitation of the major mine levels above the water level. This <br />includes the First Level, Tunnel No. lA, the 75-foot level, the Clark Tunnel, the No. 3 Tunnel, and <br />the No. 2 Tunnel. Some of these workings are in a good state of repair; some are not. The First <br />Level and the No. 3 Tunnel need further work to bring them up to safe operating standards. <br />Reconditioning the Smuggler shaft to the First Level is also planned. [n addition to mining existing <br />workings, exploration of favorable areas on all levels is anticipated. <br />Mining methods will include drifting, crosscutting and raising. Longholing and core drilling <br />will be conducted underground when appropriate. Air for drilling and underground equipment will <br />be provided by one or two permanently installed compressors. Diesel fuel will be used initially but <br />the compressors will be converted to electricity when power capacity becomes available. Although <br />there is considerable natural ventilation, current mine conditions require some forced ventilation on <br />certain levels. It is hoped that as more mine openings are re-established, greater natural convection <br />will occur and the need for forced ventilation will decrease. Historically 18-inch gauge rail haulage <br />was used in all levels. The operator intends to stay with this throughout the mine. Tramming will <br />be by hand or electric mine locomotives. <br />All necessary explosives for the mine are kept on site in an approved surface explosives <br />magazine. The magazine is located and maintained in accordance with federal regulations. <br />Explosives are used in accordance with safety standards of the Colorado Division of Mines and the <br />Colorado Department of Labor. All blasting and explosives work is performed by a certified blaster <br />or qualified personnel under supervision of a certified blaster. <br />Mine water has never been encountered in the upper levels of the mine and is not expected <br />to be encountered in the future. Therefore, there will be no discharge of mine water and a discharge <br />permit will not be required. <br />Blasting may or may not be heard or felt on the surface depending on the location of the <br />blasting in the mine. Blasting will not be of such a magnitude that it will threaten the integrity of <br />structures on or off the mine permit area. <br />C-3.2 Production Rate <br />Smuggler Mine production is not projected to begin until the price of silver increases <br />significantly. The price of silver reached a high of $52 per ounce in 1980, but quickly dropped back <br />to around $18 per ounce a few months later. The price of silver today is in the range of $5.00 per <br />ounce and remains uneconomic to mine on a large scale. Because it is impossible to project when <br />the price of silver will increase, it is impossible to predict when the production at the Smuggler Mine <br />may begin. Mining activity will expand, ifever, beyond maintenance, minimal development, and <br />recovery of wire silver and mineral specimens only when the economics are conducive to such an <br />expansion. The expansion plan is referred to as the Master Plan (see, discussion Section C-3.3). <br />By modem standards the Smuggler Mine is a "small mine", and the rate of mining for the <br />- 18 - SMUGGLER MrNE SITE <br />