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PERMIT #: M- 1977 -285 <br />INSPECTOR'S INITIALS: RCO <br />INSPECTION DATE: July 31, 2013 <br />OBSERVATIONS <br />This inspection was performed by the Division as part of its monitoring of Hard Rock and Metal 112 DMO <br />permitted operations. The operator named on page one was present throughout the inspection. Also present <br />representing the operator were Frank Filas, Jaime Massey, David Turk, and Race Fisher. BLM personnel <br />present during the inspection were James Blair and Greg Welton. The site was not active at the time of the <br />inspection. <br />A new permit ID sign is posted at the entrance to the site. Permit boundary markers were observed. The <br />entrance gate and buildings onsite were secured against unauthorized entry. The operator is not storing any <br />fuel, hydrocarbons or contaminants on the site. No ore is currently stockpiled out on the surface of the mine <br />permitted area. <br />There is no earthmoving or mining equipment on the site. The portal is secured by a locked steel grate and by <br />the adit being backfilled with waste rock (filled to approx 25 feet inby). <br />Topsoil is stockpiled on the site, in the approved location. The vegetative cover on the topsoil is pretty thin, <br />mainly due to recent years of droughty weather. The operator must monitor the condition of the topsoil <br />stockpile, to prevent it from becoming weedy and /or eroding. The operator is reminded that additional <br />topsoil must be stripped and salvaged from areas that are to be disturbed by future mine development. <br />The site has received recent rains. The portal level pad is bermed and contains stormwater. Other <br />stormwater control structures, such as the retention pond at the toe of the waste dump, berms and ditches <br />along the entrance road, and water bars, appear to be intact and functional. The large stormwater pond <br />above the shop and office buildings has had interior divisions constructed in it, dividing it into three cells. The <br />operator stated that this has helped prevent overtopping and failure of the impoundment after heavy <br />precipitation events. The operator is reminded that, because this permit is a DMO, stormwater control <br />structures are considered to be Environmental Protection Facilities (EPFs). The structures must conform to <br />the designs that were approved in the EPP, and be maintained to be fully functional. If a significantly different <br />design or additional structure is required, it must meet design standards and be proposed to the Division and <br />incorporated in the permit under a revision. The operator must provide to the Division the as- builts for this <br />updated structure, along with the design (in terms of frequency and duration) of the storm it was planned for, <br />and a certification of construction, pursuant to Rule 6.4.21. The Division will assess whether it is sufficiently <br />different from the approved design that it requires a revision to the EPP. <br />Most of the groundwater quality monitoring wells have been constructed in the Topaz Mine permitted area, <br />and sampling has begun. The operator is working toward completing the remainder of the required wells, <br />which are part of and must conform to the EPP. <br />The operator has a weed control plan in the permit. It appears that weed control has not been carried out <br />diligently enough this summer. Though knapweed is under control and no thistle was observed, the <br />Halogeton is quite healthy. The operator stated that the seasonal treatment has not yet been carried out. <br />The Division feels that the operator must be more aggressive and timely in treating the weeds. <br />The operator is not planning to reactivate the site in the immediate future. The ore pad liner (one of the EPFs <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />