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III IIIIIIIIIIIII III 999 February 24, 1999 The Colorado Division of Mineral.; Reclamation inspector asked me to request a hearing with you to explain a recent surface disturbance made at the phoenix mine property. This consists of newly excavated rock brought out from an underground drift of the phoenix property. We refer to this drift as the Comstock drip. The rock being taken From this underground drift is being spread outside as flat building space for additional tourist facilities. Our tourist business is growing rapidly, and we cannot provide enough underground lour area to accommodate this growth increase. We are driving a crosscut drift in the Phoenix-Comstock to connect with a vertical raise that extends from the currently used Phoenix workings. The plan is to stars tours in the Phoenix proper and transport our tourists ihrouehout these connected workings and then ride a train out the Comstock drift out to the surface. Once outside they will have the opportunity to examine our antique mining equipment. I have had much experience with mining and know I can make this venture a success. I am from a pioneer Colorado Hard rock mining family. We may be the oldest continuous line of Colorado miners. Our family has heen working at the mining trade in Colorado since 1833. Horace Tabor and Adolph Coors were personal friends of my Grandfather, George Mosch. At the time of George's death, he had not only been a miner, but also had been the fire marshal and the fish and came warden for his area of Gilpin County. He held a law enforcement office longer than an~~one else in the history of Colorado, for over fifty years. George Mosch is now buried in an unmarked grave with his Indian Friends at the Foot of Corona pass in Gilpin county. The Gilpin county historian recently told us he found an old ghost town named a(ler our family- Moschville. My Aunt Mattie Mosch's grave is in the old Odd Fellow cemetery across from the Boodle mine above Central City. The tombstone on her grave states- Ivtattie Mosch: 'Queen of Central City". She oot that name because as a young nurse many years ago, she braved exposure to a deadly epidemic that was decimating the local population. My other aunt, Elsie Mosch, is the model for the renowned Face on The Bar Room Floor next to the Central City opera house. Few people know this abom her somewhat spirited character. Even though I grew up with mining, f went from school into the military. I was proud to serve my country. Four years laler,l was an honorably discharged war veteran. Then I worked as a miner for several mining companies, and occasionally worked with my father in our small family mine. Our family worked hard to develop and operate a family owned mine, a mine capable of providing us with a decent livelihood. That was when the old reliable ASARCO smelter at Leadville teas still around to process our ore. It was later dismantled. The only American smelter left was in EI Paso, Texas. It was not profitable to send our ore there for processing. Later that smelter Itot into some trouble. It fought a losing battle with the EPA over environmental air pollution restrictions. I visited It a Few years ago. 1 saw they were struggling to survive impossible EPA air pollution restrictions and no longer had any significant value to the small independent minor. I could see the 'handwriting on the wall' so to speak, which made me realize that any small Colorado miner who really thinks he can earn a living working his small mine is fooling himself. L'm quite sure no small miner has made a tieing and certainly not a profit mining in Colorado durine the last forty years. The lack of ore processing facilities combined with the strict laws enlorced by recently created government agencies, has made me realize there is no IongYr any commitment to the sun~ival of the small minis. Our once proud mining heritage has only one value. That is in the history for curious tourists who are thrilled by its lore. am sure i[ will stay this way unless there is renewed commitment to truly understand the importance of the small miner in Colorado. These destructive situations for small mines did no[ exist for the old timers of my family a few generations back. Today, any small miner who sincerely believes he really can earn a profitable living in this occupation is illogically addicted to a financially destructive romantic illusion.