international lode illegal mining inspection report

coO COLORADO DIVISION OF RECLAMATION MINING AND SAFETY

y o MINERALS PROGRAM INSPECTION REPORT

PHONE 303 866 35671876

The Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety has conducted an inspection of the mining operationnoted below This report documents observations concerning compliance with the terms of the permitand applicable rules and regulations of the Mined Land Reclamation Board

MINE NAME MINE PROSPECTING ID MINERAL COUNTY

International Lode Claim M 2015 007 NA Clear Creek

INSPECTION TYPE INSPECTOR S INSP DATE INSP TIME

Monitoring Michael A Cunningham February 12 2015 09 30

OPERATOR OPERATOR REPRESENTATIVE TYPE OF OPERATION

NA None I IM Is it Mining

REASON FOR INSPECTION BOND CALCULATION TYPE BOND AMOUNT

Other Agency Request None NA

DATE OF COMPLAINT POST INSP CONTACTS JOINT INSP AGENCY

NA Local Government None

WEATHER IN O SI ATURE SIGNATURE DATE

Clear February 26 2015

GENERAL INSPECTION TOPICS

This list identifies the environmental and permit parameters inspected and gives a categorical evaluation of each No problems

or possible violations were noted during the inspection The mine operation was found to be in full compliance with MineralRules and Regulations of the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for the Extraction of Construction Materials and or

for Hard Rock Metal and Designated Mining Operations Any person engaged in any mining operation shall notify the officeof any failure or imminent failure as soon as reasonably practicable after such person has knowledge of such condition or ofany impoundment embankment or slope that poses a reasonable potential for danger to any persons or property or to theenvironment or any environmental protection facility designed to contain or control chemicals or waste which are acid ortoxic forming as identified in the permit

RECORDS N FN FINANCIAL WARRANTY N RD ROADS N

HYDROLOGIC BALANCE N BG BACKFILL GRADING N EX EXPLOSIVES N

PROCESSING WASTE TAILING N SF PROCESSING FACILITIES N TS TOPSOIL N

GENL MINE PLAN COMPLIANCE N FW FISH WILDLIFE N RV REVEGETATION N

SIGNS AND MARKERS N SP STORM WATER MGT PLAN N SB COMPLETE INSP N

OVERBURDEN DEV WASTE N SC EROSION SEDIMENTATION N RS RECL PLAN COMP N

T ACID OR TOXIC MATERIALS N OD OFF SITE DAMAGE N ST STIPULATIONS N

Y Inspected and found in compliance N Not inspected NA Not applicable to this operation PB Problem cited PV Possible violation cited

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INSPECTOR S INITIALS MAC

INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

OBSERVATIONS

The inspection was conducted by Michael Cunningham of the Division of Reclamation Mining and SafetyDivision On February 12 2015 the Division received notification of unauthorized entry into a mine resulting

in a release of acid mine drainage into Little Bear Creek in Clear Creek County The notification was receivedthrough the Emergency Preparedness and Response Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and

Environment According to the report the discharge from the mine was first noticed on the evening ofFebruary 11 2015 Clear Creek County and the Environmental Protection Agency EPA responded to theincident on February 11 2015 and made initial site observations According to the EPA s observations thedischarge from the mine was approximately 2 3 gallons per minute on the evening of February 11 2015 andorange staining was observed around the adit and along the banks of Little Bear Creek

The Division met with Duc Nguyen EPA Trent Hyatt Clear Creek County James Ford City of Black Hawkand David Holm Clear Creek Water Shed Foundation at the mine site on the morning of February 12 2015The mine was identified as the International Lode Claim and is located 1 5 miles south of Idaho Springs and is

situated approximately 30 feet above Little Bear Creek The mine is located on U S Forest Service USFSproperty in the Arapaho National Forest No one else was present at the mine site at the time of the

inspection The Division observed a tent adjacent to the access road leading to the mine the tent containedhand tools and clothing In addition the Division observed several screens and plastic buckets outside of the

tent The hillside below the adit was stained orange and deposits of iron oxide precipitate could be seen alongthe flow path of the discharging mine water The mine was discharging water at a rate of approximately 2gallons per minute and the water was reporting directly to Little Bear Creek

The adit had a locked steel door across the entrance The Division identified a brass cap monumentimmediately above the door which indicated the closure was installed by the Division s Inactive Mine ProgramThe Division observed several shovels immediately inside of the mine It appeared the shovels had been usedto excavate the iron oxide precipitate which had been naturally deposited near the mine entrance The ironoxide precipitate had been placed along one side of the portal and was piled approximately 3 feet high Twosteel pipes were located on either side of the steel door the pipes appeared to have been installed as part of

the closure of the mine and were most likely installed to allow the mine to drain The Division observed a 3

foot section of PVC pipe which had been inserted into the end of one of the steel pipes water was dischargingthrough the PVC pipe at the time of the inspection Two wooden stakes were located near the mine entrance

which contained location information about the claim as well a business card from Gold Rush Expeditions IncGRE a Utah based company that files and sells unpatented claims online

During the inspection the EPA collected water samples for total and dissolved metals In addition pH

measurements were taken from the mine discharge as well as points along Little Bear Creek The water fromLittle Bear Creek reports to Clear Creek which is the source of drinking water for nearby municipalities Theimmediate concern was to determine if the mine discharge resulted in an imminent threat to public health

and safety According to the USFS and Clear Creek County the mine has discharged iron oxide precipitate intoLittle Bear Creek in the past Typically discharges of this nature occur in the spring during periods of snow meltand run off As the sulfide minerals present in the mine precipitate out of solution a yellow orange solid is

deposited The precipitates build up over time and create a natural dam which causes the mine water to forma pool behind the dam As noted above an increase in water flowing through the mine can result inprecipitates being flushed from the mine This can also occur when the equilibrium of the discharge is

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disrupted by way of excavating the precipitates which are acting as a natural dam Based on the observationsmade during the inspection the Division has concluded the discharge from the International Lode Claim minewas the result of excavating the precipitates near the mine entrance

Following the inspection Division confirmed that neither a Reclamation Permit nor a Notice of Intent to

Conduct Prospecting had been issued for the International Lode Claim mine The Division was able to confirm

a lode claim CMC286754 for 20 66 acres had been filed by GRE in 2014 The Division contacted GRE and theyconfirmed they were the claimant for the International Lode Claim However they were unable to provide anyinformation relating to the activity within the mine On February 17 2015 the EPA provided the Division withthe results of the water sampling as well as the pH values collected in the field Based on the analytical results

the EPA concluded that there was no threat to human health or safety and that no further sampling wasrequired On February 18 2015 Clear Creek County informed the Division the tent and equipment had beenremoved from the site

The Division was unable to identify the individual s who were in the mine and as a result a determination of

whether prospecting or mining was occurring illegally could not be made This concluded the inspection

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PHOTOGRAPHS

1 View of the adit from access road

2 view of the adit entrance and steel door

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3 Looking downhill from the adit

4 Hand tools on the inside of the mine

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5 Precipitates stockpiled on the side of the portal

6 Claim marker

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international lode illegal mining inspection report

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