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MINING PLAN <br />All mining will be done within a conventional dewatered pit. Ground water <br />entering the deposit will be pumped out to a discharge system where sediment contained <br />in the water is removed by settling prior to final discharge. <br />Specific Methods: Because conventional dewatering will be used, the dewatering will <br />begin by exposing the groundwater and pumping it directly to the discharge system. <br />Aggregates will be removed from the deposit by front-end loader and will be <br />transported directly to the processing plant via conveyor. No specific conveyor routes are <br />shown on the mining plan map because these will frequently change as the deposit is <br />mined. As mining proceeds the mining location becomes further and further from the <br />hopper that feeds the conveyor. This reduces mining efficiency. When the inefficiency <br />becomes too great, either the conveyor is moved to a new orientation or the hopper is <br />moved and more conveyor is added. Thus, all conveyors will be portable in the sense that <br />they will not be placed on permanent supports. The supports, usually in the form of <br />concrete blocks, but also wooden beams can be used, can simply be picked up and moved <br />to a new location and the conveyor placed on top of the supports. <br />Extraction of the aggregate, of course, will only occur where the topsoil and <br />overburden has been previously removed. Mining aggregate prior to such removal would <br />not Only waste the soil and overburden resource, but would necessarily create a severe <br />contamination of the final product and render washing far more difficult. <br />Topsoil Salvage and Stockpiling <br />As indicated in the Soils Information (Exhibit I), topsoil is present over most or all <br />of the land to be mined. However, the quality and quantity of the topsoil varies widely. <br />As a general rule, the top 8" to 24" of material (about 12" to 18" is average) will be <br />salvaged and stockpiled separate from the overburden which will primarily be used for <br />backfilling. The topsoil will be stockpiled at the location indicated on the mining plan <br />map (Exhibit C-3 and C-4). The topsoil stockpile may become large due to the volume of <br />material stockpiled. However, as lands on the south side of the pit are completed with <br />mining and backfilled, some of this soil will be used to reclaim those areas. While <br />stockpiled, the soil will be protected with the topsoil stockpile protection seed mix shown <br />in the "Revegetation" section of the Reclamation Plan (Exhibit E). For purposes of bond <br />calculations, it is estimated that a maximum of about 1/3 of the total soil resource will be <br />stockpiled at any one time. This amount is about 45,000 to 50,000 cubic yards. <br />Pueblo East Pit Amendment Exhibit D Page <br />