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COLORADO DIVISION OF RECLAMATION MINING AND SAFETY

MINERALS PROGRAM INSPECTION REPORT

PHONE

303 866 3567

1876

The Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety has conducted an inspection of the mining operation
noted below This report documents observations concerning compliance with the terms of the permit
and 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

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

SI

ATURE

SIGNATURE DATE

February 26 2015

Clear

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 Mineral
Rules 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 office
of any failure or imminent failure as soon as reasonably practicable after such person has knowledge of such condition or of

any impoundment embankment or slope that poses a reasonable potential for danger to any persons or property or to the
environment or any environmental protection facility designed to contain or control chemicals or waste which are acid or
toxic forming as identified in the permit

RD ROADS

EX EXPLOSIVES

SF PROCESSING FACILITIES

TS TOPSOIL

FW FISH

RV REVEGETATION

SP STORM WATER MGT PLAN

SB COMPLETE INSP

OVERBURDEN DEV WASTE

SC

RS RECL PLAN COMP

T ACID OR TOXIC MATERIALS

OD

ST STIPULATIONS

RECORDS

FN FINANCIAL WARRANTY

HYDROLOGIC BALANCE

BG BACKFILL

PROCESSING WASTE TAILING

GENL MINE PLAN COMPLIANCE

SIGNS AND MARKERS

Inspected and found in compliance

Not inspected

NA

GRADING

WILDLIFE

EROSION SEDIMENTATION

OFF SITE DAMAGE

Not applicable to this operation

PB

Problem cited

PV

Possible violation cited

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PERMIT

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INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

OBSERVATIONS

The inspection was conducted by Michael Cunningham of the Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety
Division 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 received
through 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 of
February 11 2015 Clear Creek County and the Environmental Protection Agency EPA responded to the
incident on February 11 2015 and made initial site observations According to the EPA s observations the

discharge from the mine was approximately 2 3 gallons per minute on the evening of February 11 2015 and
orange 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 Hawk
and David Holm Clear Creek Water Shed Foundation at the mine site on the morning of February 12 2015
The 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 USFS
property 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 contained
hand 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 along
the flow path of the discharging mine water The mine was discharging water at a rate of approximately 2
gallons 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 monument
immediately above the door which indicated the closure was installed by the Division s Inactive Mine Program
The Division observed several shovels immediately inside of the mine It appeared the shovels had been used
to excavate the iron oxide precipitate which had been naturally deposited near the mine entrance The iron

oxide precipitate had been placed along one side of the portal and was piled approximately 3 feet high Two
steel 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 discharging
through 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 Inc
GRE

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 from
Little Bear Creek reports to Clear Creek which is the source of drinking water for nearby municipalities The
immediate 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 into

Little Bear Creek in the past Typically discharges of this nature occur in the spring during periods of snow melt
and 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 form
a pool behind the dam As noted above an increase in water flowing through the mine can result in
precipitates being flushed from the mine This can also occur when the equilibrium of the discharge is

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INSPECTOR S INITIALS MAC

INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

disrupted by way of excavating the precipitates which are acting as a natural dam Based on the observations
made during the inspection the Division has concluded the discharge from the International Lode Claim mine
was 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 they
confirmed they were the claimant for the International Lode Claim However they were unable to provide any
information relating to the activity within the mine On February 17 2015 the EPA provided the Division with
the 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 was
required On February 18 2015 Clear Creek County informed the Division the tent and equipment had been
removed 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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PERMIT

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INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

PHOTOGRAPHS

View

of

the

adit

view of

the

adit

from

access

entrance

and

road

steel

door

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PERMIT

M 2015 007

INSPECTOR S INITIALS MAC

INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

Looking downhill

Hand

tools

on

the

from the adit

inside

of

the

mine

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PERMIT

M 2015 007

INSPECTOR S INITIALS MAC

INSPECTION DATE February 12 2015

Precipitates

Claim

stockpiled

on

the

side

of

the

portal

marker

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