United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT .~;c{

Salt Lake Field Office
2370 South 2300 West TAKE PRIDE"
Salt Lake City, Utah 84119 INAMERICA
ph: (801) 977-4300; Fax: (801) 977-4397
www.ut.blm.gov/saltlake fo
IN REPLY REFER TO:
3809,3720 (UTWOll) JUL 2 l009
Certified Mail Number -7008323000027182 1619
Return Receipt Requested

Mr. Donald Weihrauch

851 Twin Oaks Dr.
Dayton Ohio 45431

This is in response to your undated letter received in this office on June 12,2009. Attached to
your letter is a June 10,2009, letter by Russell D. Hartill, who apparently is serving as your legal
counsel in this matter. Your letter responds to a May 29, 2009, letter from the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) informing you that the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, Abandoned
Mine Reclamation Program (UDOGM, AMRP) is scheduled to reclaim existing physical safety
hazards within the boundaries of the Silver Queen lode and Silver Queen placer claims (T. 2 N.,
R. 9 W., W1I2 of Section 11, SLB&M), for which you are the claimant of record. Specifically,
the UDOGM, AMRP, is scheduled to close by backfilling an inclined opening on the Silver
Queen lode claim.

In your letter, you object to the closure and state that you have posted signs apparently to prevent
people from entering the inclined opening. In Mr. Hartill's letter, he states that a "valid mineral
discovery" is visible and accessible through the opening and that backfilling it will harm your
ability to prove validity and to sell or mine the claim. Mr. Hartill also states that you "will
. maintain all existing structures, equipment, and other facilities in a safe and orderly manner" and
, will place warning signs to alert the public to hazardous conditions on the claim.

We are willing to accept these·statements at face value as an indication that the inclined opening
is an essential part of your mining operations and that you accept full responsibility for insuring
public safety in relation to the inclined opening. As you are aware, BLM and the State of Utah
have identified the opening on your claim as an unacceptable risk to public safety, and the
scheduled closing was intended to ameliorate this risk. Because you accept full responsibility for
the inclined opening, BLM is willing to forego the scheduled closure.

We emphasize that, as a mining claimant and operator on public land, you are required by federal
law to protect "the public from surface uses, workings, or improvements which, if left
unattended, create a hazard to the public safety." 43 C.F.R. § 3715.2-1(d). Therefore, you must
take appropriate measures to ensure that the mining features and facilities on your claim are
adequately secured (e.g., fenced, gated or blocked). In addition, the BLM will need the
assurance that if you abandon the claim in the future, you will conduct the appropriate
reclamation to permanently close the opening and any others that may become a part of your
operations on your claim.
Weare aware that you have placed no trespassing signs near and at the entrance of the inclined
opening and we acknowledge Mr. Hartill's commitment that you will maintain all existing
structures, equipment and other facilities in a safe an orderly manner. However, please be
advised that this office takes no position regarding whether or not these measures are sufficient
to protect the public. If these measures are not sufficient and the opening on your claim causes
the injury or death of a member of the public, any liability is solely your responsibility. Also,
please be aware that, for any use and occupancy of your claim, you must comply with all
provisions of 43 C.F.R. Subpart 3715. This requires, among other things, that you provide BLM
with a map showing all proposed enclosures, fences, gates, and signs intended to exclude the
general public, and that BLM concur in the proposed facilities before they are installed. See 43
C.F.R. 3715.3-2,3715.3-6.

In this regard, you have not complied with 43 C.F.R. Subpart 3715 in posting the no trespassing
-signs on your claim: Given the safety-eoncernsdiscussed above, we'Me-not requiring-that-you----- -
remove the signs at this time. However, the signs you have posted exceed your authority as a
mining claimant under 43 C.F.R. Subpart 3715 and must be modified or replaced. The signs
state, "Posted, private property, hunting, fishing, trapping, or trespassing for any purpose is
strictly forbidden, violators will be prosecuted." Although your mining claim is an interest in
property, it does not make the subject public lands private property, and you have no authority to
prevent hunting, fishing, or trapping, or trespassing except to the extent necessary to protect
public safety. Please submit to this office as soon as possible your proposal for modifying or
replacing the signs consistent with 43 C.F.R. Subpart 3715 and the foregoing.

You will be sent another letter setting forth additional information we will need regarding your
apparent activities on your claim to insure that you are in compliance with applicable law and
regulations. If you have any questions or concerns with anything mentioned in this letter or this
matter in general, please contact Larry Garahana, Salt Lake Field Office Geologist at (801) 977-
4371.

Sincerely,

Michael G. Nelson
Assistant Field Manager
Non-Renewable Resources

cc: Connie Jo Garcia, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Program, 1594 West North Temple, Suite 1210, Box 145801, SLC, UT 84114-5801

Russell D. Hartill, 140 W 9000 S Suite 1, Sandy, UT 84070

UT-923- Snyder
 United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Salt Lake Field Office
2370 South 2300 West
Salt Lake City, Utah 84119
ph: (801) 977-4300; Fax: (801) 977-4397
www.ut.blm.gov/saltlake fo
IN REPLY REFER TO:
3809, 3720 (UTW011) JUL 22009
Certified Mail Number-7008 3230000271821626
Return Receipt Requested

Mr. Cory Shuman

Gold Rush Expedition, Inc:
14056 South Pepi Band Road
.Draper, Utah 84020

Dear Mr. Shuman:

This is in response to your letter dated and received in this office on June 8, 2009, included with your
letter was a June 10,2009, letter by your attorney, Russel D. Hartill, and a «Notice of Operations."
Your letter responds to a June 2, 2009, letter from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
informing you that the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Program (UDOGM, AMRP) is scheduled to rec;laim existing physical safety hazards within the
boundaries of the Monarch placer and lode mining claims (T. 2 N., R. 9 W., NW1I4 of Section 11,
SLB&M), of which you are claimant of record.

Mr. Hartill's letter, which you reference as your "official response," objects to the proposed
reclamation and asserts that "a valid mineral discovery was visible and accessible through the
openings" that are pr_oposed to be reclaimed. He states that backfilling "the discovery points will
jeopardize" your ability to prove a "valid mineral discovery" and harm your "ability to sell or mine
the claim." He also asserts that you "will maintain all existing structures, equipment and other
facilities in a safe and orderly manner" and that "[s]ignage has and will be placed to adequately
identify and alert the public to any hazardous conditions on the claim ...." In your Notice of
Operations, you state that the "site will be signed to deter vandals" and that
"the entrance to the adit will be secured so that the average person will know that it is a private site
and will not inadvertenty wander into the workings."

We are willing to accept your and your attorney's representations that the existing openings on your
claims are essential to your mining operations and that you accept full responsibility for insuring
public safety as it relates to the openings. According to our records, the openings on your claims
consist of one horizontal adit and two vertical shafts. There is a third vertical shaft just outside your
claim boundary to the east; if you intend to claim this feature, you will need to amend your location
notice appropriately. We note that your Notice of Operations refers to a map apparentiy showing
features of your mining operations, but we did not receive the map in your letter.

As you are aware, BLM and the State of Utah have identified all these openings as posing an
unacceptable risk to public safety, and the scheduled closing was intended to ameliorate this risk.
Because your letter and the attached letter from your attorney establish that the openings are an
integral part of your mining operations on your claims and that you accept responsibility for insuring
public safety, BLM is willing to forego the scheduled closure of the three openings on your claims.
"'. With respect to the fourth opening described above, BLM will temporarily postpone closure of that
 opening for no less than 30 days to give you an opportunity to amend your location notice to include
the opening.

We emphasize that, as a mining claimant and operator on public land, you are required by federal law
to protect "the public from surface uses, workings, or improvements which, if left unattended, create
a hazard to the public safety." 43 C.P.R. § 3715.2-1(d). Therefore, you must take appropriate
measures to ensure that all mining features and facilities on your claims are adequately secured (e.g.,
fenced, gated or blocked). In addition, the BLM will need the assurance that if you abandon the
claims in the future, you will conduct the appropriate reclamation to permanently close the openings
and any others that may become a part of your operations on your claim.

We acknowledge that your attorney's letter and the Notice of Operations identify certain actions that
you plan to take to insure public safety. A field inspection of your claims on June 18,2009, indicates
that you have not taken any of those actions and that the openings remain unsecured. Please take the
-- -necessary---actiorls as soon-as possible. .. This--should· not--be-construed-as--thisoffice~- position
regarding whether or not the measures you have identified are sufficient to protect the pUblic. If the
measures are not adequate and the openings on your claims cause the injury or death of a member of
the public, any liability is solely your responsibility.

Also, please be aware that, for any use and occupancy of your claims, you must comply with all
provisions of 43 C.P.R. Subpart 3715. This requires, among other things, that you provide BLM
with a map showing all proposed enclosures, fences, gates, and signs intended to exclude the general
public, and that BLM concur in the proposed facilities before they are installed. See 43 C.F.R.
3715.3-2,3715.3-6.

You will be sent an additional letter under separate cover informing you of further information we
need to consider and accept your Notice of Exploration. If you have any questions or concerns with
anything mentioned in this letter or dealing with this matter please contact Larry Garahana, Salt Lake
Field Office Geologist at (801) 977-4371.

Sincerely,

Michael G. Nelson
Assistant Field Manager
Non-Renewable Resources

cc: Richard Mulvey, 522 West Clover View Drive, Murray, UT 84123

Connie J 0 Garcia, Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, Abandoned Mine Reclamation
Program, 1594 West North Temple, Suite 1210, Box 145801, SLC, UT 84114-5801

Russell D. Hartill, 140 W 9000 S Suite 1, Sandy, UT 84070

UT-923 -Snyder