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C17YSfAL PIT <br />large areas of mined land which are unprotected. It also increases <br />the efficiency of the operation. This is highly adaptable to such <br />slowly changing operations as little land need be opened at a time. <br />Of course, the very first soil to be encountered in the early <br />stages of each phase will need to be stockpiled. Topsoil protection <br />will be achieved by planting with the stockpile mixture discussed in <br />the reclamation plan. Stockpiling will occur next to the current <br />mining area and therefore topsoil stockpile locations cannot feasibly <br />be shown on the maps. <br />The depth of soil salvage will be the full extent of whatever <br />soil is encountered. Unfortunately, such depth in most of the area to <br />be mined is measured in inches rather than feet. It is unlikely the <br />topsoil depth exceeds 12 inches anywhere on the site and is usually <br />only about 2 to 4 inches in the main mining area, if there is any soil <br />at all. <br />SITE PREPARATION: OVERBURDEN SALVAGE: Overburden salvage is not a <br />part of this operation. The material to be mined is, in some <br />• respects, the overburden itself. The material desired is basically <br />the decomposed, gravelly granite which lies under whatever soil is <br />present and on top of the Pikes Peak Granite bedrock from which the <br />overburden is derived. <br />THICKNESS OF THE DEPOSIT TO BE MINED: The thickness of the deposit to <br />be mined is hard to define. If it is defined as Pikes Peak Granite W~ <br />then the thickness is perhaps 30 to 100 MILES deep. But if the (a.~ <br />deposit to be mined is more specifically defined as the decomposed -~'~f~ <br />material resting on top of the bedrock then the thickness ranges from ,~~ <br />2 to 20 feet. ~ <br />However, the topography of the valley rather than the depth of <br />the deposit largely defines how deep the mining can occur. In <br />general, it is expected that by mining to a maximum depth of about 5 <br />to 6 feet all the necessary material can be removed from the site. <br />Mining to this depth also helps to maintain the existing topographic <br />configuration and produce only slightly steeper slopes than are <br />currently present on the site. <br />11 <br />