ENFORCE21528

• Permit No: M1978091UG
• IBM Index Class Name: Enforcement
• Doc Date: 10/21/2002
• Doc Name: Board Presentation
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman St., Room 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
L?URANGO
GFFiC~

DIVISION OF
MINERALS
GEOLOGY
RECLAMATION
MINING•SAFETY
January 9, 2002
.f~.Q~
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/ b Bill Owens
Governor

Lance Barker ' ""
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( Greg E. WaI<her
Executive Director
Au Mining "" +~ ~ ~~ Michael B. long
Divi
i
Di
t
P.O. Box 821 s
on
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or
Lake City, CO 81235
Re: Golden Wonder Mine, DMO Permit No. M-1978-091, Hard R ock and Metals Rules Pertaining to the
Stockpiling of Ore.
Dear Mr. Barker,
Thank you for your letter discussing the issue of the stockpiling of ore from the above-named mine at a location im
or near the parking lot at the Vickers Ranch headquarters, which was received here on December 18, 2001. You
were asked to remove all ore material in question, and provide written confirmation of such removal, by the end of
November 2001. This situation did not become a problem to be dealt with through enforcement. Your letter asked
that I comment upon the question of stockpiling at Vickers Ranch, since you wish to keep your operation in
compliance. This letter explores the question of including ore stockpiling within a permitted area boundary.
The Vickers Ranch location is not within the permitted area boundaries. It is not one of the approved
Environmental Protection Facilities (EPF), which is a requirement of all DMOs, including the Golden Wonder
Mine. In your letter you cite Rule 1.2 as the justification for why the Vickers Ranch stockpile location should not
be considered part of the mining activities and therefore should not be required to be within the permitted area
boundary, nor subject to DMG regulations. In this letter I outline why the stockpiling of this ore is, in fact, a
mining activity and should therefore be included in the permitted area boundary and subject to the necessary
controls and containment..In this letter I will include citations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act (the
Act), CRS 34-32-101 et seq., and the Hard Rock and Metals Rules and Regulations (the Rules), though I will not
attach copies of those statute sections or rules cited since I presume you have a current set.
1. The basic criteria for consideration of the ore stockpile come from Rule 1.1. Please refer to the defmitions set .
forth in Rules I.1(1) "Acid and Toxic Producing Materials," Rule 1.1(2) "Acid Mine Drainage," Rule 1.1(3)
"Activity," and Rule 1.1(4) "Affected Land." (Portion of these are reiterated in Section 103 of the Act.) The
permit file contains documentation, from yourself and from the Division, that the ore material being mined has
"serious acid generating potential."
These rules explain why a material with a recognized acid-producing quality (such as this ore) must be in a
managed site and and handled in regulated manner so that its adverse effects can be controlled. Such sites are
considered to be affected land, and the practice of storage of such materials is apermit-related activity. If a
material has acid-generating potential, when it is disturbed during the course of mining and during the time it is
stockpiled, then its handling is considered a mining activity, and there must be consideration given to the potential
impacts to groundwater.