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Evaluation of Topsoil Resources <br />The soils resources found in the NHN Mine permit area are shown on Map 2.04.9 -3, <br />New Horizon North Mine - Topsoil Salvage Map, and are typical of soils found in the <br />semi -arid Colorado Plateau Physiographic Province, Canyon Land Section. A total of <br />eleven different soils mapping units were delineated in the soils survey performed on the <br />NHN Mine Area. Five of these soils mapping units lack salvageable topsoil and include <br />Livestock Ponds, Roads, Drainage Channel, soils mapping unit 78UT, Ustic <br />Torriorthents, 5 to 30 percent slopes, and soils mapping unit R0, which includes Rock <br />Outcrop — Orthents Complex, 40 to 90 percent slopes. These soils lack salvageable <br />topsoil either because the topsoil has already been removed or they contain coarse <br />fragment contents which are too high for use as a plant growth medium. The area of <br />these four soils mapping units which lack salvageable topsoil is 5.39 acres and they <br />correspond to 1.92 percent of the estimated 280.83 acres of topsoil disturbance projected <br />for the NHN Mine area. <br />As shown on Map 2.04.9 -3, New Horizon North Mine — Topsoil Salvage Map, there are a <br />total of six soil mapping units containing salvageable topsoil. These include soils <br />mapping unit 81 PRO, containing 97.86 acres; soils mapping unit 77PIN, containing <br />79.88 acres; soils mapping unit REC, containing 74.67 acres; 82 PRO, containing 11.02 <br />acres; soils mapping unit 78PIN, containing 8.06 acres; and soils mapping unit Aquolls, <br />containing 3.76 acres. <br />Correlating the soils mapping units within the proposed NHN Mine disturbance area with <br />the existing land uses prior to mining by comparing the soils mapping units shown on <br />Map 2.04.9 -3, New Horizon North Mine — Topsoil Salvage Map with Map 2.04.3 -1 Land <br />Use Map, reveals that nearly all of the Intensively Managed Irrigated Pasture areas <br />correspond to soils mapping units 81 PRO and 82 PRO. Most of the Irrigated Pasture <br />Land Use areas correspond to soils mapping units 81 PRO, with minor inclusions of <br />77PIN. Most of the Dryland Pasture areas correspond to soils mapping units 77PIN, with <br />some minor inclusions of 81 PRO. Essentially all of the existing Sagebrush areas <br />Section 2.05.4(2)(d) <br />Page 8 <br />January 2012 <br />