The Plan of Operations for the Gold Star was submitted on Feb. 24, 2006, 43 CFR 3809 and given Arizona Case file number AZA-33557.
The sampling described in this Plan will be done on the GoldStar #A and #5 claim. Mining will be done predominantly on the Gold Star #5 claim, but a small area will be mined as a buik sampling program on GoldStar #A. This material will be transported by dump truck to the processing plant at GoldStar #5.
Access to the project from Skull Valley is via Copper Basin Road, turning left onto an unnamed road about 3.5 miles north of Skull Valley and proceeding down an unnamed gulch about ¾ miles to the plant site on GoldStar #5. The road continues down the gulch to GoldStar #1A.
Operations will commence within thirty days of receiving the required approvals and permits. The project will normally operate eight to ten hours per day, five days per week.
The project will operate year round with temporary shutdowns due to weather conditions, including snow, high precipitation, excessive summer heat and extreme fire danger. The life of the project based o the initial mining area is about two years. The life of the project could be extended if additional ore reserves are identified by sampling.
The project will include a sampling program to identify economic gravels. Small samples will be processed by a 1 to 2 cubic yard per hour Gold Screw test plant. Larger bulk samples will be processed through a U-Tech processing plant with a capability of 50 cubic yards per hour. Sampling will be within the “high bars” on the northern ridge and on both sides of unnamed gulches.
Sampling will be conducted at 36 locations on GoldStar #5 and 20 locations on GoldStar #1A, as shown in Figure 2. The exact location of each sample site will be determined predominantly by access routes chosen to avoid environmental damage. Access to the sample sites will be constructed by cutting brush, moving rocks and leveling with hand tools to create temporary tracks – no dozing or grading will be done.
Sample pits will be excavated to a depth of 20 feet or less by 4X4 backhoe and/or trackhoe. Pits will be approximately three feet wide by eight feet long. Reclamation of each site will be done after sampling and prior to moving to the next site. Bulk samples will be transported by front-end loader or dump truck to the U-Tech processing plant. The smaller samples will be hauled by pickup truck to the Gold Screw test plant. Water from the testing plant will be directed to a pond and recycled. Reclamation of sample sites will include backfilling each pit, covering with stockpiled topsoil, smoothing and leveling the surface and seeding with a BLM approved seed mix.
The access road from Copper Basin Road to the plant site will impact about .03 acres of waters of the U.S. The mining area and plant will be located on uplands and will not affect waters of the U.S.
Prior to surface disturbance, a Notice of Intent to Discharge Storm Water as required by the Arizona Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. A Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) will be prepared to cover construction and mining.
So why was the Gold Star abandoned in 2006 after all that work had been done?
Why are GDSM and WSRA doing a repeat of all that testing?
