2006-04-19_REPORT - M1977004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• EXE i UTIVE SUMMARY ake Mining Company (Homestake) operated the Pitch Uranium mine in Saguache County, o from 1979 until 1984. The mine extracted uranium ore and trucked it to their mill in New Mexico. In 1984, mining was suspended and the mine was placed in a care and ance status. Incremental reclamation and revegetation of mine site disturbances were cen during the period of 1985 to 1993. In 1993, Homestake initiated the process of :ntly closing the mine. Since 1993, closure activities have included pit wall grade-down and partial backfilling of the North Pit to reduce pit wall movement, the contouring and revegetation of approximately 230 acres of disturbed area, construction of a plug in the Pinnacle Adit to reduce seepage and improve water quality, monitoring of slope stability in the North and South pits, construction of surface water controls, and the dismantling and removal of the Radium Treatment Plant (RTP) and associated fouridation materials and soils. During 2005, Homestake maintained existing mine facilities and fulfilled permit related compliance programs and activities: • Monitored water quality discharged at the point of compliance, SW-33, and submitted monthly discharge monitoring reports to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) per the requirements of the Colorado Water Discharge System (CW DS) permit #CO- • • Continued activities under the conditions of the Radioactive Materials License issued by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment- Hazardous Materials & Waste Management Division (Permit #150-01, Amendment 13); • Continued improvements in the drainage, stabilization, and reclamation in the area of the former Radium Treatment Plant (RTP); • (Continued reclamation work on the Tie Camp Creek Disposal Cell including placement and compaction of a final topsoil layer (minimum 24 inches) over the previously placed clay cap; Geotechnical monitoring of pit wall slopes on the south and east walls of the North Pit and the Indian Creek and Tie Camp Creek waste rock dumps; • Conducted tension crack monitoring and Photo Station documentation of the area above the east wall of the North Pit; • Monitoring of the groundwater levels in piezometers within the area of the Pinnacle Mine workings and monitoring of springs and seeps potentially influenced by the resaturation of the • Monitoring of the Sediment Control Embankment perthe requirements of the Colorado Division of Water Resources. . This information is provided for introductory purposes; details of 2005 closure and reclamation activities are presented in the following sections.