2010-01-29_INSPECTION - M1984036

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MINE ID # OR PROSPECTING ID #: M-19Ra-03A_ INSPECTION DATE: 1-gO-9nIn INSPECTOR=S INITIALS: ]IF OBSERVATIONS This was a normal monitoring inspection of the Dakolios Pit #1, DRMS File# M-1984-036 operated by Varra Companies, Inc. This site is located seven miles west and two miles south of Platteville, Colorado in Weld County. I, Jared Ebert of the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety conducted the inspection. Mr. Chris Varra and Brad Janes of Varra Companies, Inc. accompanied me on the inspection. This is a 120 acre 112c operation. It appears mining is complete and the site is in the process of reclamation. The approved post mine land use designated for this area is developed water resource. The plan was to create two un-lined ponds, the north pond and south pond. Technical Revision 02, updated the reclamation plan to allow a significant portion of the north east excavation to be backfilled with inert fill. Also, the revision indicated an amendment was in the works to change the reclamation plan to allow for installation of a clay liner in the southern pond. However, no revision or amendment has been approved by the Division to allow any of the pit excavations to be lined with clay. At this time, two clay lined ponds exist at the site, one in the southern portion of the permit area and the other in the northwest portion of the permit area. Lining of these ponds is not approved in the current reclamation plan. This issue is cited as a problem at the end of this report and will require corrective action to be taken by the operator. Given the post mine land use designated for this site is developed water resources a permit amendment will not be necessary to change the reclamation plan to allow lining the pits with clay. However, the Operator will need to submit a Technical Revision and update the reclamation plan and possibly the financial warranty to account for lining the pits with clay. The details of the Technical Revision are discussed below. The side slopes of these ponds are stable and are set at a 4:1 ratio or flatter for the entire length of the slope. It does not appear the areas surrounding the ponds have been topsoiled. According to Mr. Varra, the southern lined pond has passed the Office of the State Engineers leak test, but the northwest pond has not. About 40-50 trees have been planted on the southern boundary of the south pond. The northeast portion of the permit area is still being backfilled with inert material. Several stockpiles of inert material are in place north of the southern pond. Only a small 2.5 acre portion of the northeast pit excavation remains to be backfilled. In summary, the site has not been reclaimed to the specifications of the current approved reclamation plan in terms of the configuration and the lining of the reclaimed ponds. In order to update the reclamation plan to account for these discrepancies, the operator will need to submit a Technical Revision to the approved Reclamation Plan. Please include the following in the Technical Revision: 1.) For each portion of the permit area, please provide a description of the proposed changes to the reclamation plan. For example, for the northwest portion of the permit area, the current approved reclamation plan indicates this site will be an open water pond; please describe the new plan to reclaim this site. Provide a narrative explaining the construction of the clay lined ponds. a. For the clay lined ponds, Mr. Varra indicated the Office of the State Engineer (SEO) conducted a leak test on the liner for the southern pond and approved its integrity. Please submit evidence the SEO approved the clay liner. For the northwestern clay lined pond and/or if the leak test was not conducted for the southern pond, the operator will need to submit the design and as- built plans for the clay liner that include the information outlined in the document "Guide to