2009-02-06_INSPECTION - M2008078

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(Page 2) MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID #: nM_90nR_n7R INSPECTION DATE: 1 /2 /09 INSPECTOR=S INITIALS: MA(- OBSERVATIONS The inspection of the West Farm Pit was conducted by Michael Cunningham of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Also present for the inspection was Karl Nyquist of GP Ranches, LLC and Todd Yee of J&T Consulting, Inc. The West Farm Pit is located in Prowers County, approximately 0.5 miles east of Lamar, Colorado. This was a pre-operational inspection of a 112c Reclamation Permit. The permit application is currently under review; the Division's decision date is April 2, 2009. The public notice sign was posted on the southwest corner of the proposed mine site. The permit boundary has not been delineated; the Operator will need to mark the permit boundary before mining begins. The site is located on a relatively flat area of cropland; the primary land use of the surrounding area is agriculture. At the time of the inspection, the fields that comprise the majority of the site lacked vegetation and were being irrigated. The proposed final land use for the site is two lined reservoirs. The pit will be dry mined in 19 phases. The Arkansas River lies approximately 1,000 feet north of the permit area; the six northern most phases lie in the Arkansas River's floodplain. The hydrologic balance will be affected during the life of the mine; the area of concern is subsurface flows. The Operator is currently monitoring groundwater levels from 4 different monitoring wells; the wells are located along each of the permit boundaries. The Operator has committed to installing a perimeter drain around the pit if it becomes necessary to convey groundwater around the lined reservoirs. There are a number of permanent man made structures that are within 200 feet of the proposed permit boundary. County Road HH.5 runs east to west along the south side of the permit boundary; several houses are located immediately on the south side of this road. A dirt road bisects the permit area from east to west; an overhead electric line and an irrigation ditch run along side of the road. These structures will not be relocated and are to remain after mining is complete. The two reservoirs will lie to the north and south of this dirt road. The City of Lamar operates sewer lagoons which lie between the northern permit boundary and the Arkansas River. The sewer lagoons are currently accessed by driving along a dirt road that runs from north to south on the west side of the permit area. The City of Lamar will still be able to access the sewer lagoons by using a dirt road on the east side of the site. During the inspection an overhead electric line was noted that was not included on the Mining Plan Map. The Mining Plan Map will need to be revised to account for this structure. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad lies approximately 250 feet south of the southern permit boundary. A proposed rail spur is to be constructed off of the southwest corner permit boundary, which would connect West Farm Pit to the rail line. In addition, the City of Lamar is proposing to construct a highway bypass that would run from north to south along the western permit boundary. The exact positions of the rail spur and highway bypass have yet to be determined. As result, the Operator anticipates the need to revise the western and southern portions of the permit boundary; this may be done by submitting an amendment to the permit application. Based on this inspection, no observations were made that would restrict the approval of this application. This concluded the inspection. I & E Contact Address NAME: Karl Nyauist OPERATOR: GP Ranches. LLC STREET: 7991 Shaffer Parkway, Suite 900 CITY/STATE/ZIP: I ittlPton, M 80197 CC: Todd Yee J&T Consulting, Inc. 1400 W. 122nd Ave., Suite 120 Westminster, CO 80234