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LKA International Inc. <br />Golden Wonder/ Level 6/ Hydrologic Setting Introduction <br />1.0 INTRODUCTION <br />1.1 SITE SETTING <br />The hydrologic setting associated with Level 6 of the Golden Wonder mine has been the <br />subject of regulatory interest since some of the initial mining permits were issued for the <br />mine. At the time of the original mine plan of operations, both the Colorado Division of <br />Reclamation and Mine Safety (DRMS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) <br />agencies recognized the presence of a `waste rock toe seep' at the base of the historic- <br />existing waste rock pile associated with the Golden Wonder Level 6 portal. In turn, the <br />toe seep was identified as a suitable `baseline sampling location' to be sampled (initially) <br />every quarter for five quarters at the onset of exploration efforts, followed by annual <br />sampling thereafter -once mining was pursued. It was also recognized that headwaters <br />flows for the ephemeral Deadman Gulch drainage may originate at the approximate level <br />of the Level 6 pad. Thus, headwaters seeps that emerge at the pad level were also <br />sampled as part of the baseline inventory (since 1997). <br />The potential impacts attributable to water contact with the waste rock were not truly <br />explored until recent investigative activities were completed in order to determine the <br />eventual Deadman Gulch water quality impacts to the receiving system of the Lake Fork <br />of the Gunnison River. There has never been any significant impact to the Lake Fork, <br />however water quality measures from Deadman Gulch identify the gulch has having low <br />pH levels and enriched concentrations of certain metals. These conditions have lead to <br />the concern that the waste rock toe seep may be a source of the low pH and metals <br />enrichment to the Gulch water quality. <br />The geologic setting within the Golden Wonder mine area is fairly complex and has been <br />well studied (Kalliokoski, and Rehm, no date; Billings, P, 1983; Neubert, 2000 and <br />others). The mine occurs within the Uncompahgre Caldera and Lake City Caldera, is <br />adjacent to the Slumgullion slide, and is comprised of several levels of workings within <br />Gold Hill. Features within the Caldera have been documented to contribute naturally <br />degraded water quality (i.e. Red Cloud Peak; Neubert, 2000). The Slumgullion slide has <br />been well studied (Varnes, and Savage, 1996 and others ) and is characterized as lending <br />highly acidic water with high hardness and high concentrations of most major cations and <br />anions to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison (Neubert, 2000). <br />1