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March11, 2013 <br />Gold Hill Mill, Permit No. M 1994 -117 <br />Dear Mr. Cunningham, <br />Gold Hill Mines, Inc. <br />P.O. Box 1523 <br />Longmont, Colorado 80502 <br />(303) 651 -2985 <br />orado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety <br />r. Michael A. Cunningham <br />Environmental Protection Specialist <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, Colorado 8020 <br />RECEIVED <br />MAR 1 4 2013 <br />Division of Reclamation, <br />Mining & Safety <br />Re: Technical Revision No. 9; Water Monitoring Locations and Sample Parameters <br />Gold Hill Mines, Inc. received your Review Letter in response to its February <br />14, 2013 request for a Technical Revision for the Gold Hill Mill's Permit, and is <br />requesting an extension of time to allow for a continued review of this Technical <br />Revision. <br />After discussing this request for a Technical Revision for the number of water monitoring <br />locations and sample parameters for the Gold Hill Mill with you on the telephone, I am <br />responding to the comments that you made in your Adequacy Review Letter dated <br />March 6, 2013. <br />1. After our telephone discussion, the sampling location at Left Hand Creek can be <br />eliminated, because it serves no practical purpose. This site was originally <br />selected to prove that the tailings pond water was not migrating to Left Hand <br />Creek through the relatively impermeable Boulder Creek Granite and Idaho <br />Springs Schist that constitute the country rocks in this area. The general <br />southwest to northeast trend of the fractures in these country rocks would also <br />tend to prevent any mill process water from migrating north to Left Hand Creek. <br />Since Left Hand Creek receives water runoff and mine waters discharging from <br />dozens of abandoned mines located upstream from the sampling site, this is not <br />actually a good site to determine if mill process water is reaching the creek. <br />Nothing significant has ever been detected in several decades of sampling at this <br />location. This water sampling location can be removed without creating any future <br />concerns about using this site to determine the integrity of the mill tailings pond's <br />liner. <br />2. The sampling point at the Wynona Mine can also be eliminated, since the mill is <br />not operational and no water is being stored in the mine. Gold Hill Mines will <br />