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Mineralization of Sucker Creek and

Analysis of Geologic Hazards Associated with the Tracy Placer Mining Project

For the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Wild Rivers Ranger District

June 27, 2008

Kevin L. Johnson Area Mining Geologist

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This report provides information regarding gold occurrences and mining in the Sucker Creek area, and discusses potential effects that Mr. Tracy’s mining operation could have in terms of slope stability. This report is based on a field visit to the Tracy Placer project area on October 11, 2007. Geology of the Upper Sucker Creek Drainage According to descriptions and mapping by Ramp and Peterson (1979) in Bulletin 100, most of the Sucker Creek canyon is comprised of Triassic-age (approx. 200 million year-old) rocks of the Applegate group, which is composed of metasedimentary1 rocks including slaty siltsone, argillite, quartzite, phyllite, chert and lenses of limestone. Lenses of metalvolcanic2 rocks of the Applegate group are shown to cross Sucker Creek in north-south and southwest-northeast orientations from Tracy Placer to its headwaters (see the Geologic Map from Ramp and Peterson 1979, Plate 1, attached to this report). These metavolcanics can be a source of metallic minerals, including base metal sulfides and gold-bearing quartz veins. The most obvious structural feature in the claim area is a large NW-S trending fault (Ramp and Peterson 1979 shows a fault trace of at least 10 miles) of unknown displacement that runs along Sucker Creek. The fault and corresponding movement likely provide an area that is prone to weathering and erosion, and is the cause for the orientation and placement of Sucker Creek in sections 19 and 12. The fault appears to create a change in the local baseline for Sucker Creek, forming an area of deposition. This is most likely the cause for local deposition of alluvial sediments which form the deposits that Mr. Tracy wishes to mine. Gold Mineralization and Deposition Gold is found throughout this part of the Klamath Mountains and is commonly deposited in quartz veins inside of a rock matrix. Typically, these deposits are very high grade but can be in as small a volume as only a few tens or hundreds of cubic yards. Commonly called “pockets,” many veins were lode mined successfully in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some pockets in Southwest Oregon have yielded several thousand ounces of gold (Close and Ramp 1973, Ramp and Peterson 1979). Placer gold deposits are formed when weathering and mass wasting processes, such as landslides, transport upslope material (including gold bearing veins) into the stream system. Since gold has a high specific gravity (gold has a specific gravity of 19, as opposed to quartz which is 2.65) it tends to move vertically downward through gravels while being transported horizontally downstream. This acts to concentrate gold at or near the bedrock of the stream channel. Additionally, (due again to high specific gravity) more energy is required to move gold as opposed to other materials; therefore, gold tends to accumulate where there are changes in stream energy (that is, in areas where stream energy is high enough to move lighter constituents, but not gold). This mechanism, along with the change in local baseline discussed above, could 1 Metasedimentary rocks are rocks that were originally formed as sediments and were subsequently metamorphosed by tectonic forces. Metamorphism is the alteration of the rock-forming minerals due to changes in heat and pressure. 2 Metavolcanics are rocks that were originally formed as volcanic rocks and were subsequently metamorphosed by tectonic forces. Metamorphism is the alteration of the rock-forming minerals due to changes in heat and pressure.

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explain why the area of the Tracy proposal may have higher gold values as opposed to other areas of Sucker Creek. Mining History Mining has a long history in the area that was to become Josephine County. Gold was first discovered in the Oregon Territory at Josephine Creek in 1850 (or perhaps 1851?), which is just a few miles to the west of the Tracy Placer proposal. Upon hearing news of this first strike, prospectors flocked to the southern part of the County and began placer mining in a few creeks near the California border. Further discoveries were made and placer mining quickly spread to other steams while lode mines were established on hillslopes. Gold, silver and copper deposits have all been successfully exploited in the last 150 years. Ramp and Peterson (1979) report that gold produced in the County between 1852 to 1979 exceeded 560,000 ounces. Gold mining has occurred in Sucker Creek since 1853 for both placer and lode deposits. The Briggs pocket, in the headwaters of Sucker Creek, was mined in the early part of the 20th century and yielded about 2,000 ounces of gold from a small pocket (Ramp and Peterson 1979). Similarly, another lode deposit, the Rainbow Mine, located about two miles downstream from the proposed Tracy mine site, produced approximately 2,300 ounces between 1917 and 1927 (Oregon Metal Mines Handbook 1952). Both the Oregon Metal Mines Handbook (1952) and Bulletin 100 (Ramp and Peterson 1979) mention a number of placer prospects and mines along Sucker Creek although production figures were not available for most of these mines. The Four Leaf Clover Placer, which was in about the same location as the proposed Tracy mine site, was in operation sometime prior to 1939. The description (in Oregon Metal Mines Handbook 1952) of this placer mine noted that there was about 150 feet of bedrock tunnel driven into the old channel. Currently, the only active mine along Sucker Creek is on private lands in section 36, of Township 39 South, Range 7 West. This operation, named Carlon's Gravel Pit, LLC, is using mechanized equipment to process placer gravels and to separate gold. No production values have been made publicly available for this operation. Mitigation Measures Proposed mine excavations have potential to destabilize hill slopes adjacent to the placer terrace and to supply sediment to Sucker Creek. To mitigate for and minimize these possible effects, two measures are recommended:

1. Backfilling any mining excavations at the toe of the hill slope, where excavated cuts are higher than four feet, prior to seasonal suspension of operations.

2. Sequencing mining operations so that excavations near any stream occur later in the

mining season.

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Slope Stability and Sediment Delivery Impacts Discussion Hill slopes in the areas adjacent to the project have an average incline of 40 to 55 percent. According to Natural Resources Conservation Service (2008), soils mapped on the hill slopes above the mine are described as gravel and silty sands (both with fines of >12%). Typical angles of repose3 for gravels are 38 degrees (firm consistency) and silty sands (firm) are 30 degrees (Hough 1957); this corresponds to slope percentages of 78 and 58, respectively. Failures in the form of landslides occur when slope conditions and other forces act to exceed soil shear strengths. Soils have little potential of failure if they rest on slopes lower than their natural angle of repose. Forest soil shear strengths are also increased by the roots of trees and brush. Since the soils on the hill slopes adjacent to the Tracy mine site area are below their angle of repose, and their shear strength is increased by abundant vegetation and trees, they have a low probability of creating landslides. Another factor decreasing the probability of landsliding is that the mining operation will be conducted during the dry season. Consequently, the soils will be relatively dry and not influenced by seasonal storms, reductions in soil cohesion or an increase in weight due to increased water absorption. It is possible that surface slumping could be caused by slope modification when gravels are removed at the toe of hill slopes, which could result in oversteepening of soil. The probability of this occurring would decrease substantially by backfilling all exposed mining excavations prior to seasonal suspension of the operation in the fall. (This would also decrease or eliminate any potential for sediment delivery to Sucker Creek during the wet season, since a breach of the mine excavation would be precluded.) In the unlikely event that a landslide were to occur during mining operations, it would flow into the mined area. Furthermore, the stream would have an undisturbed gravel buffer between it and the mining excavation, so any soil movement would be confined by the active excavation area or be deposited on the gravel bench. If possible, the operation should be sequenced by mining the gravels closer to the hill slope at the start of seasonal operations in the spring and work toward Sucker Creek as the season progresses. In this way operations would occur near Sucker Creek in the late summer or early fall when stream flows would be at their lowest, reducing chances for flooding or potential breeches of the excavations.

3 The angle of repose is the maximum angle of a stable slope for granular materials and is determined by friction, cohesion and the shapes of the particles. For soils with cohesion (containing clay) angles will be steeper when moist.

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References Close, T. and L. Ramp. 1973. Mineral Resources of the Illinois River Basin, Oregon. Spokane, WA. U.S. Bureau of Mines, unpublished report. Hough, B.K. 1957. Basic Soils Engineering. The Ronald Press Company. Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2008. http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx Oregon Metal Mines Handbook. 1952. Bulletin No. 14-C Volume II, Section I, second edition. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Ramp, L. and N.V. Peterson. 1979. Geology and mineral resources of Josephine County, Oregon. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, Bulletin 100. Portland, OR. 45 pp.

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Geologic Map. Excerpt of a portion of Plate 1 in Bulletin 100 (Ramp and Peterson 1979). Cedar Gulch Group claims are located in Section 19 near the center of the map. A legend for rock types is shown on the next page.

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