2003-05-14_REVISION - M1977342 (3)

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Summary of Amendment AM-04 Permit No. M-1977-342 Henderson Mine and Mill 3 May 14, 2003 Cropland Pastureland General Agriculture Rangeland Forestry Wildlife Habitat Residential Recreation IndustriaUCommercial Developed Water Resource Open forest was a definition conceived by Henderson in the 1970s during the planning and development of their reclamation program. The Mined Land Reclamation Board accepted this definition for Henderson and for the Climax Mine. The definition of open forest is: a) establishing a diverse herbaceous growth of moderate to dense cover, b) planting a mixture of evergreen seedlings at a rate of 300 per acre with an expected survival rate of 75 percent, and c) planting a mixture of transplants (or purchased plants) at an average rate of 40 per acre of site specific native species (mostly shrubs), again with an expected survival rate of 75 percent. The definition of rangeland is: those areas, which by reason ofphysical limitations -low and erratic precipitation, rough topography, poor drainage, or cold temperatures -are unsuited to cultivation and which aze a source of forage for free-ranging native and domestic animals, as well as a source of wood products, water, and wildlife.' It can be observed in these definitions that open forest is more of a specification that should rightly be described in the reclamation plan, whereas the definition of rangeland is a true land use description that is sufficiently flexible to include the type of reclamation required under Henderson's approved and proposed reclamation plans. DMG will be recommending approval of the component of the amendment changing the post mining land use from open forest to rangeland. Amount of the Required Reclamation Bond DMG will estimate the costs for reclamation of those components of the plan that will change as a result of the amendment. The estimated costs and recommended bond amount will be included with the Division's recommendation for the amendment. For example, the cost to demolish structures to be retained at the mine will be eliminated. The tree and shrub planting costs within the tailing impoundment will be reduced, while the soil cover placement costs within the impoundment will be increased. Landtrll Topics Technical Revision TR-12 to the Henderson reclamation permit was approved by the DMG in January 2003. This included an approval for disposal of inert debris generated during demolition of building and structures at the time of reclamation. Inert material is defined in rule 1.1(24) as: Stoddart, L.A., Smith, A.D., and Box, T.W., Range Man~ement, Third Edition, Mcgraw-Hill, 1975.