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January 14, 2011 C- 1981- 008 /New Horizon Mine MLT <br />OTHER (SPECIFY): <br />• Pond 009 is located immediately west of 2700 Road, on the south side of Tuttle Draw. We <br />observed a series of survey lath, marked with orange flagging, which crossed the northeast <br />confer of the pond and Tuttle Draw. Mr. Gubka explained that the 2700 Road bridge, which <br />crosses Tuttle Draw (Photo 3), may need to be upgraded or replaced in order to handle the <br />additional trick traffic proposed with the New Horizon North Mine. The flagging may <br />represent a potential detour alignment for 2700 Road during construction of the bridge. <br />SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF MINING — Rules 4.22 thin 4.27 - Prime Farmland (Rule 4.25): <br />• There were no active topsoil salvage, stockpiling or redistribution operations at the time of <br />the inspection. Level ground and slopes that were not south - facing were covered with <br />approximately 2 inches of snow, which was beginning to thaw. <br />• Mr. Gubka explained that Lift A topsoil removal in advance of the next pit cut had been <br />partially completed in December, beginning at the southern end of the permit area and <br />progressing northward (Photo 4). Topsoil at the northernmost section of this strip (on <br />Morgan property) had not yet been bulldozed up into a berm for salvage. A portion of the <br />Lift A that had been bermed had not yet been loaded in trucks for hauling to the stockpile <br />(Photo 4). <br />• Lift B topsoil removal for the next pit cut had been partially completed earlier in January. <br />• All topsoil salvaged from the designated Morgan Prime Fannland continues to be placed in <br />stockpiles established on the eastern portion of the Morgan property (Photo 5). There has <br />been no redistribution of Lift A or Lift B topsoil on the Morgan property. Some Mixed <br />topsoil was redistributed in late 2009. <br />TOPSOIL — Rule 4.06: <br />• There were no active topsoil salvage or redistribution activities on the non -prime farmlands <br />at the time of the inspection. <br />• A contractor was at work repairing small surface depressions that had formed on irrigated <br />portions of the reclaimed Benson parcel located east of 2700 Road and north of BB Road <br />(Photo 6). Mr. Gubka stated that the total area to be repaired is approximately one acre. To <br />accomplish the task, topsoil is first peeled back, and piled around the perimeter of the <br />excavation. A lift of suitable material is then placed across the bottom of the excavation, of <br />sufficient thickness to compensate for the settlement which has occurred. Following this, the <br />topsoil will be redistributed across the surface. The stockpiled topsoil included numerous <br />large blocks, and appeared to have been frozen when removed from the area to be repaired. <br />The contractor showed us an adjacent area that he had already repaired. Topsoil replaced <br />across this area was being allowed to thaw out in the warmer temperatures, prior to final <br />grading of the surface. The operations appear to be being conducted in a manner which <br />prevents damage to the topsoil resource. <br />DOCUMENTS RECEIVED <br />The TDN complaint alleged that the operator had handled prime farmland topsoil in saturated <br />conditions. I asked Mr. Gubka to provide me with the precipitation records for the month of <br />December 2010. The mine tracks weather and precipitation on a daily basis. A printed copy <br />of the data was immediately provided, and is attached to this report. WFC will be submitting <br />a formal tabulation of the information to be included with the Division's TDN response to <br />OSM. <br />Number of Partial Inspection this Fiscal Year: 5 <br />Number of Complete Inspections this Fiscal Year: 2 Page 3 of 7 <br />