I have already answered your same exact question a week ago and you thanked me for the response. Why are you bringing the same question up again?
I will re-post this information from last time...
Here is some info on DBA and a couple older projects DBA completed that I could find. Remember if a company is not publicly traded then their is no reason you would be able to find an NI43-101 that was completed for them. The only reason I was able to find these projects is from pouring over DBA's old website source code from 2003. DBA has extensive knowledge in the mining sector and is more than qualified to complete the report. By the way just because a company does not update or have a website does not make them under qualified. Also having a normal company complete the report and not some promo company that has done a million NI43-101 for a million pinksheet companies is a very good thing.
David Brown & Associates experience in the mining industry dates back to well over twenty-five years, with one of our Staff Consultants having experience that dates back into the 1950s. The staff experience includes work underground as well as in open pit mining for both precious metals and aggregate. Members of our staff have been involved in day-to-day operations of crushers and rock pits as well as being mining regulators. We feel this gives the DBA staff an edge in providing superior service…we know the issues in mine operation first hand, not just as a consultant.
We have been tasked by our clients with review or evaluation of precious metal and industrial mining sites throughout the western United States. Much of this has required a close and day–to-day, on-going relationships with mining regulatory authorities.
DBA Staff
David Brown, RG/CEO
Kim Armstrong, Office Mgr.
Ryan T. Houser, CEG
Merideth Gibson, GIT
Mitch Giesbers, Graphics Tech
A couple examples I was able to find-
Avery Sand and Gravel Mine, Klickitat County, Washington
The new operator of this well-known, high quality sand and gravel resource, located onthe north bank of the Columbia River in The Dalles Dam pool on Yakima Indian Nation property, retained David Brown & Associates, Inc. as their primary mining and regulatory consultant. The initial task was to investigate possible discrepancies in reported production volumes from before the client began operations. This involved locating and reviewing historical aerial photographs from the 1930s up to present time. Historic stereo-pair aerial photos from 1951 were obtained and topography from 1951, six years before the mine was opened, was generated. This topography, versus that known to exist in late 1997, allowed for a reliable estimate of the total volume excavated from the site. Close inspection of historical construction documents from the time of The Dalles Dam construction in the late 1950s, and relocation of infrastructure from the dam pool area, gave further information as to the disposition of a large share of the missing material.
David Brown & Associates, Inc. has been tasked with a number of additional projects for the mine, including:
q Evaluating the quality and quantity of potential sand and gravel and rock quarry prospects directly adjacent to the eastern, northern, and western boundaries of the existing Avery Pit, using a number of geologic, geophysical, and mining evaluation techniques;
q Performing a geostatistical analysis of the distribution of size gradation samples taken throughout the exposed mine highwalls;
q Mine safety issues;
q Barge transportation issues;
q Railroad transportation issues; and
q Other regulatory issues with the BLM and BIA.
Present work tasks include preparation of an up-dated Mining and Reclamation Plan and Environmental Assessment to be submitted to the BLM for analysis. Because the site is located on Yakama Indian Nation allotment land, the supervising regulatory agency is the BLM. This work calls for the development of pre- and post-mining contours and volume calculations using various scenarios relative to the presence of the State Highway, local homes, and protection of local Native American burial sites.
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Molalla Quarry Expansion, Clackamas County, Oregon
A natural resource development company wanted to expand their quarrying operations to the full limit of their land holdings, which meant they needed to expand their ongoing mining operations through an existing topographic high into an abandoned quarry south of the active mine. In 1997, David Brown & Associates, Inc. (DBA) successfully completed and submitted a Conditional Use Permit for land use change and operation expansion of the existing rock quarry, which was then issued by the County.
Tasks included:
q Confirmation of the presence of 14 million tons of high quality quarry rock resource;
q Definition of the local biological, riparian and wetland habitats;
q Performance of a reconnaissance-level archeological and cultural resource surveys;
q Monitoring of operational noise levels during crusher and loader operations and during a blasting event;
q Performance of a truck traffic review.
Tasks also included the design of a 40-year Mine Plan and design of a Mine Reclamation Plan that returned the land back to its primary use as forest. This plan included design of a mine drainage plan using a combination of windrows, bio-filters, and check dams that incorporated infiltration into a mapped bedrock fracture zone in the bedrock, which effectively eliminated all offsite discharges.
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Aggregate Exploration for Dam and Nuclear Power Plant Sites
During exploration for dam and nuclear power plant sites at the Oregon Coast, in Central Oregon, in Northeastern Oregon, on the Snake River Plain in Idaho, and near Saveh, Iran, in the late 1970s, DBA personnel conducted exploration and evaluation of rock quarries and gravel mines for use in constructing the projects. The resources investigated and evaluated included jettystone and crushed rock for haul roads, rip rap, dam facings, and asphalt; round rock for select backfill and drain material and concrete; pit run for bulk backfill and structural fills; and fine to impervious material for impermeable cores and slurry trenches. The resources were explored using churn drills, core drills, air drills or track-mounted backhoes, and sampled for laboratory testing for quality. Each prospective resource site was evaluated for volume, rock quality, and economical trucking distance to the point of use.
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Sandy River Gravel Mine Development, Clackamas County, Oregon
A natural resource development company retained David Brown & Associates, Inc. in 1997 to evaluate a large ranch holding, east of the town of Sandy, in the Sandy River Valley for development as a source of round rock aggregate for the East Portland, Gresham, and City of Sandy markets. DBA personnel performed the initial exploration and testing of the property, confirming the presence of high quality aggregate ranging from sand and pea gravel to jetty-stone size, on a glacial bench, isolated by bedrock ridges from the nearby Sandy river, a well-known salmon and steelhead stream. In the course of the investigation, DBA geologists identified the resource as glacier-derived gravel deposited at the end of the last Ice Age at the distal end of an alpine glacier originating in the High Cascades Mountains. This type of gravel deposit is somewhat geologically unique to the Portland area.
The deposit and local hydrogeological setting was then further explored with a number of Becker Hammer drill holes, which were completed as monitoring wells. The test drilling confirmed the presence of approximately 12 million tons of easily mineable resource. At that point in time, the client directed DBA to complete a Goal 5 Resource Inventory and Mining Permit Application to Clackamas County in the form of a Post-Acknowledgment Plan Application (PAPA). During preparation of this application, a number of tasks were carried out either by DBA personnel or by subcontractors under the direction of DBA personnel.
These tasks included:
q a detailed 40-year mining plan (see figure above) with a detailed mine reclamation plan;
q a detailed mine runoff and stormwater drainage plan;
q a delineation of habitat and definition of any critical habitat;
q an in-depth cultural resource and archeological study;
q performance of a noise engineering study, performance of a traffic impact study; and
q a detailed geological and hydrogeological study of the area,
In addition to the Mineral Overlay Application and Resource Inventory Report in the PAPA, an Economic, Environmental, Social, and Energy Analysis was made of the project by DBA staff. The PAPA was submitted to Clackamas County, deemed complete, and has been approved. The mine plan developed for this mine site included a closed-loop drainage system and a mine operation plan that insulated operations from any impact to the nearby Sandy River and to nearby inventoried cultural, historical, and visual resources.
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Blockhouse Butte Cinder Mine, Klickitat County, Washington
The owner/operator of the Blockhouse Butte cinder mine near Goldendale, Washington needed to come into compliance with the Washington Surface Mining Act. DBA staff were retained in 1996 to perform the work, and successfully complete a fully-revised Washington State Department of Natural Resources Surface Mining Reclamation Permit for the existing pit. Issues involved in the permitting process included;
q post-mining topography that would protect the scenic beauty of the Klickitat Valley;
q an Operating and Reclamation Plan that would fit with past schemes and allow for future expansion;
q design of the mine;
q water diversion and retention facilities to control stormwater run-off; and
q State Environmental Policy Act documents and additional DNR guidelines.
The permit was approved on both County and State levels, and the mine was able to continue production.
In addition, DBA was tasked with evaluation and completion of all local and state requirements for expansion of the mine to the remainder of Blockhouse Butte by a new operator of the site. This project, which is presently on hold, will include preparation of a Surface Mining Reclamation Permit, as well as Forest Practices Permits, filing of a Department of Ecology “Notice of Intent” (an NPDES general permit), State Environmental Policy Act preparation and mitigation, County approval, and site and access layout.
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Eagle Creek Sand and Gravel Permitting
An operator of an off-channel sand and gravel operation in rural Clackamas County was denied an operating permit, after he had operated a mine and distribution facility on the site since the 1980s. David Brown & Associates, Inc. was retained in 1999 to prepare a Non-Conforming Use application to be presented to the Clackamas County for the operation. The initial task was to confirm continuance of the Non-Conforming Use Permit for the property. The permit was presented to the County and has been approved.
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Selah Sand and Gravel Mine, Selah, Washington
One of the largest Yakima Valley aggregate producers had their major source of concrete aggregate made unavailable for mining, due to concerns raised after the mine ponds were captured during an avulsion event of the Yakima River during the February, 1996 100-year flood event. The mine was closed by order of the Washington Department of Natural Resources until a detailed hydraulic/hydrogeologic and avulsion risk study could be made of the relationship between the local groundwater, the mine ponds, and the adjacent Yakima River. The study was completed by another contractor, and proved to be controversial and raised a number of additional questions. The foremost question raised by the study was the thermal loading effect of the mine ponds on the nearby river and its potential impact on endangered fish species.
David Brown & Associates, Inc. was retained in 1999 by the mining company to perform a thermal monitoring and modeling study of the interaction between the mine ponds, the groundwater, and the Yakima River. The initial task was to prepare a monitoring and modeling study Work Plan that would be acceptable to all agencies. The Work Plan was accepted and, based on the Plan, the mine was allowed to re-open, putting entire mining, hauling, and processing crews back to work. The Work Plan was implemented and data was being collected within one week of the issuance of the mining permit. The key to allowing the mine to re-open was the performance of a hand-measured thermal and hydrogeochemical monitoring program instituted for several months before the thermal study work plan was submitted to the DNR. The data collected during the preliminary study was used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed Work Plan approach.
The accepted Work Plan called for the placement of thirty thermal logging devices in the Yakima River. In order to hold the sensors, special devices were designed and built in the client’s shop that could be anchored to the river bank, but would suspend the thermal loggers above the river bottom (see picture above). In addition, a number of thermal loggers were placed in monitoring wells and stilling wells at the mine site, and thermal gradients were measured in the mine ponds on a regular basis. An aerial thermal infrared (IR) survey of the Yakima River reach near the mine, and the mine ponds was carried out using a helicopter and portable IR video equipment. The results of the aerial survey were found to be consistent with the initial results of the in-river study.
A comprehensive model of the groundwater flow at the mine site and on both banks of the river was prepared using the Visual MODFLOW® hydrogeologic modeling program. Thermal loading into the local aquifer and the nearby river was modeled using customized probabilistic methods because no pre-made software was applicable.
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East Rowley Rock Quarry, Selah, Washington
A large asphalt and crushed rock producer in the Yakima Valley had just reclaimed an old mined-out quarry in the East Selah area of Yakima County, Washington. Because of the mine closure and loss of resource within economical hauling distance to their new asphalt plant, they acquired a new property, directly adjacent to the old mine. In 1998, the producer retained David Brown & Associates, Inc. to design a Mining Plan and prepare an application to the County for a Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment to the Yakima County Comprehensive Plan and attending SEPA documentation. The application was accepted and the map amended with a finding of non-significance to the SEPA portion.
The next step in the permitting process was the preparation of a detailed Mining Plan and Reclamation Plan for the property, to be submitted to the DNR and the County for final operating permits. During the initial investigation by DBA staff on the property, a number of archeological sites were identified. These consisted of what are termed Talus Pits, round excavations with a depth from 4 feet to 16 feet, within the talus slopes beneath bare basaltic outcrops (see figure below). The actual age and use of these features are not known. But they appear to be man-made, periglacial features associated with nearby native fishery sites. The client has committed to protecting these sites with a non-conditional 75-foot setback around each of the sites. Protection of one pit low on the talus slope has resulted in removal of a significant volume of high quality rock from mining.
The site is also located near the Yakima River, a protected habitat for threatened and endangered fish species. This has resulted in a Mining Plan that calls for no runoff from the site into a nearby abandoned irrigation ditch that drains directly into the Yakima River. A stormwater system has been designed that will hold all runoff in infiltration ponds within the project boundaries.
The site is also located in a sensitive visual corridor along Interstate Highway 82. This created the need for attention to visual aesthetics during mining and reclamation. No dust emissions will be allowed during processing or hauling on the site, thus the Mine Plan calls for the use of water in crushing/screening, and on haul roads. In addition, the reclamation plan was designed to reclaim each mining phase as it is completed, with a ridge of in-place rock left as a visual barrier to traffic on the nearby highway. This ridge protects the site visually and also protects the archeological resources on the site.
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Confidential Quarry Evaluation, Willamette Valley, Oregon
The owner of this basalt quarry retained a local attorney to seek compensation from the operator that had leased his quarry operations. His contention was that the operator had removed more rock than allowed through his existing Mining and Reclamation Plan filed with DOGAMI. The reclamation bond only allowed for a certain amount of reclamation, and he believed his tenant had exceeded those costs. In addition, after excavating the main quarry well below groundwater level and allowing it to flood, the operator opened a non-permitted quarry about ¼ mile from the permitted quarry and had been removing rock without an in-place Mining Plan, Reclamation Plan, and reclamation bond with DOGAMI or the local county. David Brown & Associates, Inc. was retained in 1999 to investigate the assertions made by the quarry owner, and prepare for testimony in open court as expert witnesses. The property was evaluated in a number of individual tasks.
q The site was evaluated from a geologic and mining engineering standpoint for proper and accepted mining methods and for mine safety relative to MSHA and CFR standards and regulations.
q The volume of rock removed during the period of the lease was determined by flying the site for present topographic configuration, and then obtaining historic aerial photos from just before the lease began to obtain pre-lease topography. The two topographies were then compared using in-house computer modeling programs with the resulting volume difference being the volume mined.
q The site was mapped geologically to obtain information on where basalt bedrock lay, the volume remaining on the site, and where overburden and waste rock had been stored during mining activities. Each mine site was mapped and sampled for quality in order to determine market price of the rock removed, and the value of the rock remaining that may need to be used in mine reclamation.
q A detailed Reclamation Plan was designed and then priced in order to determine if the operator had exceeded the bond placed on the site.
The evaluation of the site indicated that the reclamation bond had been exceeded. The main quarry was found to have been excavated well below groundwater level, which was in violation of DOGAMI regulations. In addition, the main quarry was left in an unsafe condition with highwalls in excess of 100 feet and mine boundaries pushed back to property boundaries, and beyond (see top figure). The second quarry was found to violate highwall height regulations, wetland infringement, stormwater runoff violations, and in-place rock left in the highwalls with significant toppling risks (see bottom above).
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Ballast Quarries
DBA personnel were retained in 1996 to permit the establishment of two rock quarries to provide high quality material in the form of road ballast for local railroads. The properties are located within the Columbia River Basin. Issues involved in the permitting, operation plan and reclamation plan included visual impact from a nearby, and impact on, a local wetlands. A rail loop was also designed to move empty rail cars into the mine, and full cars out onto the local railroad mainline. The mine is now operating using state-of-the-art conveyors and computerized crushing and sorting equipment.
Issues at the second site, an abandoned pre-existing ballast quarry, included visual impacts to a nearby major highway, impact on an adjacent wildlife refuge, and post-mining reclamation topography that would blend with the native cliffs.
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Evaluations, Volume Estimates, and Quality Testing of Various Aggregate and Industrial Mineral Sites Throughout The Pacific Northwest
DBA personnel have been retained to evaluate a number of aggregate sites at various times. These included:
q sand and gravel sites on the Clackamas, Tualatin and Willamette Rivers;
q hard rock quarries in the State of Washington and throughout Oregon, including the Coast and in the Cascades Mountains;
q diatomaceous earth deposits in the Klamath Falls area;
q bentonite deposits in Central and Eastern Oregon; and
q a pumice deposit in Newberry Crater of Central Oregon.
Several quarries were surveyed and volume estimates made. Several project included the measurement of fracture spacings in quarry faces in order to predict break-out size and determine the size of blasting program and spacing of blast holes. DBA personnel also evaluated the Rivergate Rock Quarry near the St. Johns Bridge in Portland for sale to the City of Portland. Evaluations included:
q test drilling via hollow-stem auger borings, cable-tool drilling, and air-track drilling; and
q sampling for quality testing via the LA Rattler Test, Sodium Sulfate Soundness testing, ethylene-glycol soundness testing, density testing, compressive strength testing, gradation testing, and other durability testing.
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Monson Gravel Prospect, Selah, Washington
One of the largest concrete aggregate producers in the Central Washington needed additional resource due to the closure of three of their sand and gravel mine locations. They bought an option on the Monson property, which is located adjacent to the Yakima River, behind a set of levees, near the town of Selah. The property contains approximately 40 feet of high quality round rock resource over about 200 acres. The client submitted application to the Yakima Planning Department for a Comprehensive Plan Amendment with SEPA documentation. Yakima County responded with a Finding of Significant Impact and directed the client to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, as provided for in the SEPA enabling statutes.
The aggregate producer then retained David Brown & Associates, Inc. in 1999 to prepare the EIS and to prepare the Mining Plan and Reclamation Plan for submittal to the DNR. The initial task was to negotiate a scope of work for the EIS with Yakima County and other interested agencies, including the DNR, DOE, NMFS, Yakama Indian Nation, and other interested regulators.
The initial task on the site was to drill fifteen monitoring wells distributed throughout the property. The use of the wells was several-fold. Initially, the wells will provide the information necessary to confirm the presence of an economical resource. Secondly, the wells will provide base-line hydrogeologic and hydrogeochemical data for the site, which has been used as a cattle feed lot for several decades. Thirdly, the wells will provide information on the relationship between the local groundwater, the adjacent Yakima River, and the hyporheic zone (the zone that connects the two). Evaluation of the presence and quality of the hyporheic zone includes logging and detailed analysis of water table and river level fluctuations over a long period of time, dye testing in some of the wells, dye testing in the river, a pump test of one of the wells with observation in an adjacent well, and excavation of a number of test pits with an assay of encountered benthic invertebrates.
Other tasks include preparation of; a detailed archeological investigation of the site, a noise engineering and impact analysis of the site.
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Yellow Butte Silica Mine
DBA was retained by a Pacific Northwest industrial mineral company to evaluate the potential for a smelter-grade silica mine, located at the foot of Mt. Shasta in Siskiyou County, California. In the Summer of 2000, DBA personnel performed the Initial Independent Evaluation of the property. The inspection included:
q a reconnaissance-level geologic mapping of the entire butte, including the subject mining claims;
q surface and subsurface inspection of the claims to be mined to evaluate and estimate the volume and quality of ore present;
q inspection and evaluation of a number of potential railhead shipping points;
q initial investigation of the permitting feasibility of the mine site;
q preparation of a petrographic and geochemical study of the silica ore;
q preparation of a document summarizing findings and recommending the butte for development ; and
q preparation of an economic study to determine the viability of the project.
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Family Estate Rock Quarry Evaluation and Development
DBA was retained by the trustee of a family estate that had an old land holding in the Biggs Junction area of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. The property had historically been used as dry-land wheat and cattle ranch since before the turn of the 20th century. The family trust now wanted to increase the income from the site by the potential development of a rock quarry. DBA was tasked with determining the developability of the site, and then potentially managing the operations for the trust.
In order to accomplish this task DBA initially reviewed the permitting requirements for the site, and determined that the Conditional Use Permit process or the Goal 5 process were applicable to the site. The next step in the process are to determine the economic viability of the site including the volume and quality of the rock, haul route determination, barging cost determination to the Portland market, and mine plan and reclamation permitting through DOGAMI. This will also include negotiations with the local agricultural co-op that owns and maintains the local barge loading facilities on the nearby Columbia River. The operation and reclamation of the mine must be protective of the local section of the Oregon Trail, which runs through the eastern portion of the 600-acre mine site.
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