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STATE OF COLORADO <br />DIVISION OF RECLAMATION, MINING AND SAFETY <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />1313 Sherman St., Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />Phone: (303) 866 -3567 <br />FAX: (303) 832 -8106 <br />November 28, 2012 <br />Mr. George Patterson <br />Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. <br />Southfield Mine <br />Florence, CO 81226 <br />Re: Southfield Mine, C1981 -014, Rehabilitiation of Monitoring Well MW -NW <br />Dear Mr. Patterson: <br />COLORADO <br />ID IV I S I O N O F <br />RECLAMATION <br />MINING <br />SAFETY <br />John W. Hickenlooper <br />Governor <br />Mike King <br />Executive Director <br />Loretta E. Pineda <br />Director <br />The Division,on August 8, 2012, instructed Energy Fuels Coal, Inc. of the need to ensure that <br />groundwater monitoring well MW -NW continues to function as designed in accordance with <br />Rules 4.05.13(1)(c), 4.05.13(1)(e)(i), 4.05.13(3)(a) and (b). MW -NW is located in Township <br />70W, Range 20S, NWl /4SW1 /4 Section 19, and is a part of the approved water monitoring plan <br />for the Southfield Mine (Exhibit 25). <br />The North Well was converted from a mine dewatering well to a groundwater monitoring well, <br />and designated MW -NW (TR35). The MW -NW well was included in the Southfield ground <br />watering monitoring plan. The MW -NW well is reported to intercept the Southfield workings <br />(First North Mains) in the Red Arrow coal seam and the bottom of the well is noted by Energy <br />Fuels as 383 feet below ground surface. (TR35). <br />Groundwater well MW -NW is presently the only groundwater monitoring well in the approved <br />hydrologic monitoring plan that intercepts the Southfield Mine underground workings. Former <br />Division hydrologists Kent Gorham and Jim Burnell previously identified the requirement to <br />monitor this well to provide information regarding the elevation of the mine pool and the water <br />quality in the mine pool. <br />The Division lowered a down -hole camera into MW -NW on May 15, 2012. At 336.2 feet below <br />ground surface, the camera encountered a tangle of steel cable. EFCI notified the Division on <br />August 31, 2012 that EFCI had removed the cable from MW -NW on August 27, 2012. <br />The Division lowered a down -hole camera into MW -NW on September 17, 2012, to confirm <br />removal of the obstruction. The observation on September 17, 2012, confirmed that the cable <br />had indeed been removed from MW -NW. However, a wooden block was encountered at 353 feet <br />below ground surface. You were present representing EFCI during the Division's inspection on <br />September 17, 2012. At the time of the inspection, you confirmed that the wooden block was a <br />piece of 2 x 4 approximately 8 inches long, that had been tethered to a cable, and functioned as <br />EFCI's water probe. <br />Office of Office of <br />Mined Land Reclamation Denver • Grand Junction • Durango Active and Inactive Mines <br />