1999-01-27_PERMIT FILE - M1999004

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MINING PLAN Second, although this site shows high reclamation potential, as evidenced by the rapid natural recovery of old disturbances, a number of different techniques must be perfected before venturing into the mining of the larger Phase 2. The soil is generally very rocky. Therefore, methods must be found to efficiently salvage the soil without so much rock included so it will produce a better growth medium for revegetation. That will require some testing. Seed mixtures need to be tried to determine what mixture works best. There are other aspects that also need to be perfected. The phase arrangement allows this testing to be done on the much smaller Phase 1 area before the larger and more complex Phase 2 is entered. This is not to say that reclamation in Phase 1 will be of lesser quality than required or necessarily lesser quality than Phase 2. This simply means that until these various techniques are perfected in an already disturbed area there is little point in designing or disturbing the large Phase 2 area. Phase 1 Stages: Phase 1 contains two stages. Stage 1, as shown on the mining plan map (Exhibit C-2131), occupies roughly the north half of the Phase. Actually, Stage 1 is defined as all that land north of the southern extent of the existing, abandoned quarry operation. Stage 2, of course, occupies all land south of that line. Stage 1 will definitely be mined. Stage 2 is slightly more questionable. It appears that at least a significant portion of this stage contains mineable rock. Basically, that rock exists under the current disturbances that were formerly used as a processing and stockpile area. The most serious question exists with respect to the presence of mineable rock in roughly the southern V4 of the Phase 1 area. Indications are that there is mineable rock there, but as it is approaching the edge of the quartzite deposit it might be too thin to mine efficiently. These stages are established by reclamation requirements. The mining will be done in such a fashion that no matter where the mining stops the topography can be "feathered" into the undisturbed land to the south. This allows reconnection of drainages and the avoidance of highwalls on the south end of the mining area. Because all drainage is more or less to the south it is important to configure the south end of the mined area so water is not retained behind walls. Mining by any approach other than this would present great difficulty in achieving the proper kind of topography and drainage connection so as to re-establish the premining drainage characteristics. Overburden/Topsoil Salvage and Storage There actually isn't any overburden on this material. In essence, the soil is the overburden. Therefore, this section will only address soil salvage. However, as indicated in the Soils Information (Exhibit I), not all of the soil profile contains good topsoil. Over much of the area, depending on the soil series, soils below about 18" to 24" contain considerable calcium carbonate and have a moderately to seriously alkaline reaction. Although these deeper, more alkaline soils could be used in revegetation, separating the upper, more neutral layers from the lower more alkaline layers will greatly increase the probability of success in revegetation. Dealing with alkalinity in a revegetation environment such as this one would present considerable challenge and would probably greatly slow the revegetation process and could severely limit the vegetation that could be grown. In recognition of these structural features in the soil, the salvage process must separate the upper, much more favorable soils from the deeper, less favorable soils. Hereafter, the upper portions of the soil will be referred to as "topsoil" and will be considered the growth medium. The lower more alkaline materials will be referred to as subsoil. This distinction will also be used in the Table Mountain Quarry - Castle Concrete Company Exhibit D Page D-4