GENERAL42417

• Permit No: M1977403HR
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 5/2/2006
• Doc Name: BLM Directors Hard Rock Mining Award
• From: DMG hbh
• To: U.S. Dept. of the Interior BLM
• Permit Index Doc Type: General Correspondence
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

STATE OF COLORADO
DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY
DepattmeM of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman SL, Raom 215
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
May 2, 2006
Mr. James E. Edwards, Jr.
Chief, Branch of Solid Minerals
US Department of the Interior /
Bureau of Land Management
Colorado State Office
2850 Youngfield Street
Lakewood, CO 80215
DIVISION OF
MINERALS
GEOLOGY
EECIANATION•NIN ING
EAf ETY•SCIENCE
Bill Owem
Governor
Russell George
Executive Director
Ronald W. cottony
Division DirecYOr
Naturd Resource Trustee
Re: BLM Director's Hardrock Mining Award, Newmont Mining Corporation's Idarado Mine,
DMG Permit No. M-1977-403-HR.~
Deaz Mr. Edwards,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment about the Idarado Mine in the context of this BLM award
program.
By way of giving some brief background, the DMG permit for the Idarado Mine was issued in 1979, though mining
operations were carried out for many years prior to that time. At the fime of permit issuance, Idarado Mining
Company (a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corp.) owned or controlled thousands of acres in the Telluride and
Red Mountain Mining Districts, but their permitted area only includes about 150 acres, within which the company
would contain all its mining and reclamation disturbances.
Around the time the permit was issued all mining and milling activities ceased, though reclamation would not begin
for several years, that is, until after the settlement of the water quality-related lawsuit brought by the State of
Colorado during the mid-1980s. At that time, under the Consent Decree's Remedial Action Plan (RAP), Idarado
committed to an ambitious program of water quality activities and surface reclamation activities. An adequate
reclamation plan existed for the 150-acre DMG permitted area, but the details of the reclamation contained in the
RAP went beyond.
Most of the land areas to be reclaimed under the RAP are also contained in the DMG permit, and though the
reclamation plan of the RAP is more extensive, its details largely conform to those in the DMG reclamation plan.
Since 1979, Division staff has monitored those portions of the Idarado Mine that are within DMG jurisdiction (i.e.,
the I50 acres contained in the permit) but have also provided input regarding areas that lie outside the permit.
Therefore, though Division staff may have informal knowledge about many of the activities currently ongoing on
Idarado properties and in the communities, we can only formally speak about those within the permit. We can state
that the operator is in compliance with the permit, the Rules and Regulations, and the Act, and the bond amount
appears to be adequate to perform all required reclamation.
Idarado Mining Company is following its approved reclamation plan, which includes elements from the original
1977 permit application and the 2004 technical revision (TR-04). The approval of TR-04 allowed the operator to
clean up areas outside their DMG permit and proceed with the curent "Legacy" program. If their vision of
Office of Of9ce of Colorado
Mined Land Reclamation Active and InaRive Mines Geological Survey