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New Horizon Mine <br />Complete Oversight Inspection <br />October 5, 2010 <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) Permit # C-1981-008 <br />Participants: <br />Sandy Brown, DRMS <br />Marcia Talvitie, DRMS <br />Christine Belka, OSM <br />Elizabeth Shaeffer, OSM <br />Tom Fry, Western Fuels - Colorado <br />Conditions: Cloudy and dry, 68 degrees. <br />All Mine ID signs were visible and contained the required information. After arriving at the mine, Rick Wolney <br />briefed us on the current situation at the mine. The San Miguel Power Plant that takes all of the coal produced <br />by the Mine is currently down due to a down turbine. The turbine is being repaired and the plant is expected to <br />be operational the 1St or 2nd week of November, 2010. Asa result this circumstance, there was no active <br />mining occurring at the mine during this inspection. <br />After we took safety training, Tom Fry briefed us on the activities at the mine, and showed us aerial photos <br />while describing mining and reclamation activities. We performed a records check. All records were complete <br />and up to date. <br />We then started our inspection of the facilities and the surrounding area, escorted by Mr. Fry. We observed the <br />Irrigated Pasture reference area which is located just south of the facilities area. A portion of the reference area <br />had recently been tilled to expose Quackgrass roots. It was then seeded with an irrigated pasture seed mix (see <br />Photo 1). <br />Blue and white containers were spotted north of the reference area. The blue containers were labeled, but the <br />white ones were not. Tom later informed us that these containers held bentonite pellets and vegetable oil <br />lubricant. Initially Ms. Talvitie was wondering if secondary containment was required here, but after learning <br />the contents of the containers, she was satisfied with the current storage on pallets. <br />Next the group observed the open warehouse storage. Synthetic lubricant and used oil is safely being stored in <br />this facility. The containers are properly labeled and secondary containment has been provided. Since these <br />containers are in a sheltered area, the mine is not required to account for increased volume from a precipitation <br />event. <br />From this vantage, we could see the "deconstructing" of Mt. Nucla (spoil stockpile). A front-end loader was <br />loading material that was then being hauled to the west end of the permit area for backfill on the Lloyd and <br />WFC properties (Photo 2). <br />We then moved on to the diesel pump and storage area. The area was properly lined with a fabric membrane. <br />There was a small amount of staining on the ground near the back of the contained area, indicating that the spill <br />containment area was functioning properly and serving its intended purpose. The liner itself had some small <br />holes presumably caused during loading and unloading processes (Photo 3). It was agreed that the mining <br />company should install a step ladder to provide access over the membrane which would reduce wear on the <br />membrane and repair the damaged membrane as necessary. Near the main office there were tanks with oil used <br />to heat the shop. The cement containment tub looked fine with no leakage observed.