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affect the inert nature of such solids. The term includes, but is not limited to, earth, sand, gravel, rock, <br />concrete which has been in a hardened state for at least sixty days, masonry, asphalt paving fragments, <br />and other inert solids." <br />Along the western permit boundary, the mine face is about 20 to 25 feet high and the slope appears to be <br />at steeper than a 3ft: lft horizontal to vertical ratio. The slope appears to be about 2:1 to 2.5:1 ratio (see <br />figure 4). According to the reclamation plan for this site this slope will need to be decreased to a 3:1. A <br />substantial amount of structural material is on the site, that could be used to back fill the high wall to <br />create the proper slope but, as described above this material is mostly structural material that was <br />generated outside of the mine area. Prior to backfilling with this material, the office will need to approve <br />the Notice as described above. <br />A rather large excavation is occurring north of the permit boundary (See figure 3). This excavation is <br />not located within the permit boundary. Mr. Mitchell said he was preparing the site for the construction <br />of a building for the city of Bennett, CO. Upon review of the Divisions records, no evidence has been <br />submitted to the Office proving that this activity is not mining. At this time, this is cited as a problem on <br />the last page of this report. Evidence must be submitted to the office that this excavation is not mining <br />to avoid a violation. <br />At this time 9.9 acres appears to have been affected on this site and mining appears to be complete. <br />According to rule 3.1.3, reclamation shall be carried to completeness with all diligence by the operator. <br />In general, reclamation should be completed within five years once mining has been finished in an area. <br />Mr. Mitchell showed interest in possibly expanding this operation several acres to the west of the current <br />permit boundary. It was recommended to Mr. Mitchell that he should submit a conversion/amendment <br />to his current permit to include both of his mine sites and the areas he would like to expand. This would <br />serve several purposes. One, given the steep slopes of the mine face and the cost of backfilling them to <br />create a 3:1 slope, he could continue mining west. However, at this time the mine face will need to be <br />backfilled to create the final 3:1 slope. Second, this would incorporate the two separate permit areas, <br />and it would update and clarify the reclamation plan for these sites. <br />The financial warranty amount for this site is currently at $3,500 dollars, this does not appear to be <br />adequate to reclaim this site to the specifications of the reclamation plan. This is cited as a problem at <br />the end of this report. In order to reclaim this site to the specifications of the reclamation plan, the office <br />determined that the financial warranty should be increased to $10,430. The Office will be sending a <br />separate notice to Mr. Mitchell regarding the increase of the financial warranty. Mr. Mitchell will have <br />60 days from the date on the notice to post the additional financial warranty.