The state mining board made the order Wednesday for Wildcat Mining to stabilize the road that cuts steeply to the bottom of the canyon and provides access to the Mayday mine.<\/p>\n
It took just five minutes for the Mined Land Reclamation Board to enter the order.<\/p>\n
Wildcat\u2019s lawyer, Penfield Tate, said the company welcomed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a matter that\u2019s been going on for quite some time. We\u2019re pleased we\u2019ve gotten to the point where \u2014 both with the division (of mining) and La Plata County \u2014 that we can move forward,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n
The brief, cordial hearing betrayed none of the frustration evident in a report and letter to Wildcat by state mining inspectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe illegal construction of the access road and related environmental impacts and safety concerns has remained unresolved for an unreasonable amount of time,\u201d wrote Anthony Waldron, supervisor of the state mining division\u2019s minerals program, in a May 31 letter to Wildcat.<\/p>\n
Wildcat first came to inspectors\u2019 attention in 2008, after neighbors complained that the company\u2019s previous owner, James \u201cMike\u201d Clements, had illegally cut a steep road down the banks of the La Plata River. Clements also dug a new mine shaft and installed a mill inside the mine \u2013 all without a permit. The mine shaft has collapsed.<\/p>\n
The mining board did not revoke the company\u2019s permit, but it amended it tightly in an attempt to get the company to clean up its messes before it could begin mining for gold. The road was to be the first priority.<\/p>\n
Clements has since sold his company to Varca Ventures, which is run by Roger Tichenor, a businessman in Sarasota, Fla.<\/p>\n
Wildcat was waiting on approval from La Plata County for the road, but an April letter from the county told the company it didn\u2019t need further permission to begin re-construction.<\/p>\n
But when mining inspectors visited the site on June 5, they saw no work being done on the road.<\/p>\n
They also noticed that sand bags that Wildcat had used along its access roads to prevent sediment from washing into the La Plata River were deteriorating, spilling sand and adding to the sediment problem.<\/p>\n
The road presents an imminent danger to human safety and the environment, Waldron wrote in his letter to Wildcat.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllowing the environmental impacts and safety concerns to remain, unabated, through another construction season is untenable,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Although previous inspections and orders from the mining board highlighted the importance of fixing the road, the board never set a deadline until Wednesday, said Jeff Fugate, attorney for the state mining agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s now in Wildcat\u2019s court to pull some bids and get the work done,\u201d Fugate said.<\/p>\n