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DATE: August 10, 2008 <br />TO: Berhan Keffelew <br />FROM: Jared Ebert <br />RE: Revegetation Revii of Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine, file number M- <br />1980-244, AM09, Mine Life Extension <br />The Division has conducted a review of the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold / Cresson Project <br />amendment (AM09) application for their Mine Life Extension project. <br />This Mine Life Extension will provide additional mining in the Main Cresson Mine, the <br />Wildhorse Extension of the East Cresson Mine and the extension of the North Cresson Mine to <br />include extension of Schist Island portion and the remaining portion of the Globe Hill Deposit. <br />The Squaw Gulch Overburden Storage Area will be extended and a new overburden storage area <br />will be constructed North of the East Cresson Mine Area. The Valley Leach Facility will be <br />extended through a Phase 5 extension. Other facilities will be relocated or updated as necessary to <br />accommodate the Mine Life Extension. <br />The operator is proposing two separate reclamation plans for this site. They have a general plan <br />outlined in the Project Description section of 11.3. This method ofrevegetation will be used for <br />the majority of the disturbed areas except the North Cresson Mine Area Viewshed, where a <br />second revegetation plan has been formulated. The following outlines various concerns the <br />Division has regarding the two different reclamation plans. <br />General Plan (Project Description section 11.3): <br />1.) Topsoiling: Based off the soils information that was submitted to the Division as part of this <br />amendment application, it appears that there is more than six inches of <br />salvageable topsoil present on the mine site. The operator should salvage at least <br />10-12 inches of topsoil to be used for reclamation. <br />2.) Seeding: Two seed-mixtures were submitted for this section. The list on Table 11-1 is the <br />primary seed mix that is planned to be used. The Table 11-2 seed mix is planned <br />to be used as a substitute for the 114 mix. Several species contained in the seed <br />mix in Table 11-1 are not currently found on the site according to the baseline <br />data that was submitted. However, all the species that are listed in Table 11-2 <br />seed mix are found on the site currently. What criterion determines when the <br />second seed mix will be used? In regards to the seed mix found on Table 11-1, <br />why is sheep fescue used as opposed to Arizona fescue which is found on the site <br />currently? What is the seeding rate for Cicer milkvetch? This plant is very <br />competitive and it is a useful legume for adding nitrogen to the soil, however, if <br />too much is planted, it may out-compete the other vegetation. <br />For both seed mixtures, the operator will need to report how many pounds of <br />pure live seed per acre will allocated for each of the species listed in the mixture. <br />It is advised that the amount of each species to be used should be representative <br />of the current species plant cover of the site.