2003-09-03_REVISION - M1985029 - Laserfiche WebLink

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INTRODUCTION O ~, The Alma Placer site is located immediately east of the town of Alma in Pazk County and was initially mined for placer gold by many different methods dating back to the 1870's. The fast recorded work at the site took place on the banks of the South Platte in 1872. Sluicing, hydraulicking, tunneling and other methods were employed over many decades. All of this old mining was done without any salvage of topsoil and without any regazd to reclamation of the site. In 1979, Timberline Enterprises erected a modem processing plant and planned on moving lazge volumes of gravel from surface mining into the plant. In 1980, 227,000 cubic yazds were processed but problems kept the operation from continuing. Their 112 permit was revoked in 1984. The property, under the ownership of the Ducommun Business Trust, was permitted fora 112 gold extraction operation in the summer of 1985, under the name of Panhandle Drilling Company. The CDMG assigned the operation a permit number of M-85-029. The initial permit area was 160 acres of land that was in part previously disturbed and some that was designated for new disturbance. In February of 1990, the permit was transferred to Reclamation Resources, Inc. which was still partially controlled by the Ducommun Business Trust. At this time, the permit was also amended and the reclamation bond for the site was set at $19,068. Reclamation Resources Inc. operated the operation intermittently in the early 1990's but without lazge production. In August of 1995, Farley's Machine Shop subleased the Alma Placer to mine gold. A processing plant was erected on the site and additional overburden was removed from a designated azea neaz the plant location. Some glacer material was run through the plant azea for a few yeazs but significant gold operation has not taken place on the site since 1997. Since We existing site contains approximately 40-45 acres of pre-law disturbance that consists primarily of gravel piles left from old gold mining and since the best way to remove these piles and regrade the site is to process and sell sand and gravel, a 110 operation was permitted to the Duwmmun Business Trust in the year 2000 as a sand and gravel operation. The CDMG assigned the operation a permit number of M-2000-063. Bob Willits was a subcontractor to the Tmst and Willits began the sand and gravel operation with portable crushers, stackers, trailers, etc. on a 10 acre azea within the Alma Placer property. This operation has steadily operated since the summer of 2000 and is now (Apri12003) in need of expanding into other areas of the Alma Placer property. By processing I • Alma Placer 7/03