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OBSERVATIONS <br />PERMIT #: PF.Id <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: RCO <br />INSPECTION DATE: August 26, 2011 <br />This was a routine inspection performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of Hard Rock /Metal 110(2) <br />limited impact permits, as well as to verify that the amount of bond posted by the successor operator, Walker <br />Ruby, was sufficient to approve the succession of operator SO -2. No mining or milling was occurring on the <br />day of the inspection, but Mr. Castle and another miner were cleaning the mill facility of the materials and <br />equipment left by the former operator, Mount Sneffels Mining Company. Much of the milling equipment had <br />recently been removed from the underground mill rooms, and was stored on the benches of the site. No <br />chemicals were observed at the site. Several pieces of heave machinery (backhoe, dozer, loader, skidsteer) <br />were also left by the former operator and were parked on the bench outside the mill portal. These items are <br />approved to be onsite under the mining plan, but are required to be removed in the reclamation of the site. <br />The equipment was reportedly damaged or inoperable, but there were no leaks or stains noted underneath. <br />There is a new generator onsite, next to the office building, but it presently lacks a roof over it. The generator <br />was not running, since the site now receives electricity from the overhead lines that reach the site. <br />A series of fairly severe localized storms in this area has resulted in native materials washing down the steep <br />gulches that cross the Camp Bird/ Yankee Boy road, and down the gulches that report to the permitted site. <br />The entrance gate was damaged from debris that flowed down the gulch at the east end of the site, and the <br />two gulches that bracket the mill portal deposited debris on the mine bench, damaging outside equipment <br />and clogging drainages. The operator has been digging out these areas of the site and trying to re- establish <br />drainage across the bench to Sneffels Creek. High stream flows in Sneffels Creek in 2001 have scoured bank <br />alluvium, widening the channel and steepening the north bank which abuts the permit boundary. The <br />operator has not encroached on the stream, having maintained a berm of placed material, but with the <br />natural erosion and Toss of so much former bank material, the berm is now perched above the vertical bank. <br />The operator is not dewatering the lower level, since no mining is planned for the near future. The lower <br />portal is discharging, and the water is routed to a series of approved earthen discharge settling ponds, and <br />from there to the creek as approved under the CDPS permit. The operator has cleaned and reconstructed the <br />ponds to ensure sufficient capacity. <br />There is a small pile of "ore" material on the concrete pad, which should be protected from the weather <br />before winter, such as in the underground mill or securely tarped in place, if not removed from the site <br />altogether. There is presently no visible staining or leaching of metals issuing from the pile. There were no <br />sacks of ore noted during this inspection. <br />The new operator is reminded that the annual fee and annual report are due. Even though no mining or <br />milling was reported to occur during this operating year, the report should include description of all onsite <br />activities. <br />This site is impossible to access for several winter and spring months each year, so it is hoped that the new <br />operator performs all the necessary tasks to stabilize and secure the site soon, before winter arrives. <br />The bond was recalculated in 2010 (as part of Amendment AM -1) and is considered adequate at this time. <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />