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<br />Blue Ribbon Mine (Permit No. C-1981-047) <br />Bond Release Inspection - Phase III - Application No.2 (SL-2) <br />Thursday, August 27, 2009 <br />Participants: Elizabeth Shaeffer - OSM <br />Joe Dudash - Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety <br />Stan Muhr - MINREC, Inc. <br />'Weather conditions: sunny and warm, clear skies. <br />By letter dated June 4, 2008, Minrec, Inc, permittee for the Blue Ribbon Mine, applied for final <br />bond release for the Blue Ribbon Mine. The current total bond amount held by DRMS is <br />$48, 000. The Blue Ribbon Mine was an underground room and pillar mine which started <br />'mining in 1977. Continuous miners were used, producing approximately 192,000 tons per year. <br />i <br />The ownership of the land and minerals includes federal and private entities. The permit area <br />covers 340.8 acres. There are only 16.9 acres of actual disturbance, and 16.2 of these acres had <br />been reclaimed, which left only 0.7 acres to be reclaimed. <br />In 2004, these 0.7 acres of the permit area were transferred to Oxbow Mining's Elk Creek Mine <br />permit area for access to exploration drill hole sites. The following year, another 2.8 acres were <br />transferred for the construction of vent shaft facilities. <br />This inspection was a follow-up to an inspection held one year ago on August 27, 2008, where <br />DRMS found issues at the mine site. DRMS required MINREC to submit a technical revision <br />for work that needed to be done to the embankments of Pond 4 and Pond 5. The company <br />included a Soil Loss Comparison evaluation in Technical Revision 15. <br />lHistorically, there was an issue with the mine bench slumping. In 1984-1985, the bench was <br />stabilized with fill of underground coal mine waste. Three rock drains were placed in and under <br />the waste fill to channel water out of this area. In 1993, two areas of the mine bench slumped. <br />This reinitiated the ten year liability period for vegetation. Vegetation surveys were performed <br />in 2006 (9 year mark) and 2007 (10 year mark). The surveys showed successful diversity and <br />establishment of the vegetation. <br />We began at the mine entrance gate, where the signs had been removed. Oxbow has also <br />assumed responsibility for the 9 foot culvert and road section that provide access across Hubbard <br />Creek to the Blue Ribbon Mine. They wanted the road to remain to provide access to the vent <br />fan site. The culvert was clear of debris. <br />