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<br />MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID # M-1987-091 UG
<br />INSPECTION DATE 5/6/08 INSPECTOR'S INITIALS RCO, AJW
<br />OBSERVATIONS
<br />This partial inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of Hard Rock/Metals 110d permits. The
<br />operator's agent was contacted about the scheduled inspection. The operator was not at the site during the inspection, but an
<br />agent representing the operator, Ms. Karmen King of Gault Group, Inc. was present during the inspection. Also onsite were a
<br />crew of miners working under Mr. J-P Roy of Richmont, Inc., and Mr. Stan Whinnery. Observations and discussion in this
<br />report are limited to those at and around the 6 level (access road, pad, dump, and portal) unless otherwise noted. The 3 level
<br />features (access road, portal and dump) were not inspected at this time. There were no sacks of ore at Vickers Ranch.
<br />The required permit ID sign and some boundary markers were observed. There is onsite activity, including some by personnel
<br />not familiar with the permit boundaries and the need to stay within them, so the operator must continue to maintain the markers
<br />and ensure that personnel onsite understand that mining-related activities must remain in the boundaries.
<br />The site was generally free of snow and all work areas were accessible. A portion of the access road between the 3 level
<br />turnoff down to the 6 level pad has been upgraded by installing drainage catchment ditching and several diversion structures,
<br />and safety berms along several hundred feet of the road. The drainage structures were installed partly to satisfy CDPHE-
<br />WQCD stormwater issues, and the berm is being installed mainly for MSHA concerns. This work has affected the road corridor
<br />on the uphill and downhill sides, which widens and increases the affected area. This work was done to satisfy MSHA and
<br />WQCD primarily. But since this road segment serves only the permitted mine, and a significant part of this affected segment of
<br />the road is outside the permitted area, it must be added to the permitted acreage through an amendment to the permit. Further
<br />items related to the need for modifications to the permit will be mentioned below.
<br />Mr. J-P Roy of Richmont Mining was directing the above-ground and underground activities being carried out by mining
<br />personnel present at the site. Activities included clean-up and removal of the former operator's debris and structures,
<br />retimbering and spiling the drift, placing a layer of clean fill and grading the pad surface, and berming the pad margin. There
<br />were several pieces of equipment, including generator, compressor, loader, backhoe, and portable light set. There were two
<br />500-gallon double-walled diesel fuel tanks. The former operator's crusher, conveyor, tool shed and office are gone, replaced by
<br />a new wooden doghouse and dry room. The present operator has a large stack of new timbers, hardware and spiling rods, and
<br />has rehabilitated the first 70 feet of drift. Plans are to continue rehab work as far as needed to make the workings safe before
<br />mining or drilling underground commence. There was no mining being carried out at the time of the inspection, and there was
<br />no ore stockpiled onsite.
<br />Discussion onsite included the need for directing water underground through the use of ditches, in order to control the
<br />movement and collection of water, to better contain and characterize the locations where the water originates. There was no
<br />water exiting the portal, but there were several springs and seeps outside the mine and around the dump. The same 3 seeps
<br />at the toe of the dump, observed and sampled by the Division during its June 2007 inspection, were again observed and
<br />sampled during this inspection. These 3 seeps appear to be seasonal, corresponding to or slightly following peak periods of
<br />spring snowmelt. The Division measured the following water parameters:
<br />Sample #1, NW seep, pH 4.2, temp 4.3 degrees C, estimated flow rate 100 gpm.
<br />Sample #2, Central seep, pH 3.6, temp 4.3 degrees C, estimated flow rate 5 gpm.
<br />Sample #3, SE seep, pH 3.8, temp 4.5 degrees C, estimated flow rate 30 gpm.
<br />Bottled samples were sent to an analytical lab, and results will be distributed when they are available.
<br />Deadman Gulch exhibited surface flow above and below the 6 level pad and dump.during this current inspection. Similar flows
<br />were observed during the Division's 6/8/07 inspection. At that time a problem was noted that required the operator to
<br />determine surface water sources and to propose and implement a solution. This was done concurrently with the operator's
<br />preparation of a stormwater management plan (or SWMP, for CDPHE-WQCD) and includes many of the same structures and
<br />practices that this office considered necessary. One issue that was being addressed was isolating gulch flows from physical
<br />contact with mineralized material in the 6 level dump. The operator installed a lined trench to convey gulch surface water from
<br />the upper side of the 6 level pad to below the dump. Installation occurred during August 2007. The Division's 8/31/07
<br />inspection revealed that the gulch liner had been installed from the cut above the pad down to an outfall location in the woods
<br />south of the pad and dump, and away from the gulch thalweg. The liner was keyed in and anchored adequately, but the outfall
<br />location at the lower terminus was not engineered or riprapped and was not in the gulch or a drainageway.. A copy of the
<br />operator's SWMP plan, received by this office, identified the geotextile liner in the gulch as a best management practice (BMP).
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