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<br />L<B>and</B> <B>rnine</B>
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<br />engineers had anticipated,
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<br />Workers pumped out the leaching area, then began repairs, As they did so,
<br />ore was being scooped from the face of South Mountain,
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<br />Shortly after midnight on June 4, 1986, leaching began, even though parts
<br />of the plastic were still not finished,
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<br />One week later, monitors detected small amounts of cyanide solution under
<br />the plastic liner. Workers pumped the contaminated water back into the
<br />system and continued to spray cyanide on ore,
<br />
<br />Leonard reported the leak to state officials, who noted the problem but took
<br />no action,
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<br />Meanwhile, plans went forward for a grand opening on July 11, 1986,
<br />Friedland arranged for his parents to go to Summitville for the event, which
<br />local officials also attended,
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<br />'We were very proud of it," Friedland said in a recent interview, "I .told my
<br />mother, 'Look, the company that's building this mine has George Shultz as
<br />its president, formerly the secretary of state, and Cap Weinberger, the
<br />former secretary of defense, is general legal counsel for Bechtel. Bechtel's
<br />stamp was on all the engineering, and Bechtel's senior representatives were
<br />there," .
<br />
<br />But the glee of the opening was short-lived, The dignitaries had barely left
<br />before another cyanide leak was discovered, This time, the poison was in
<br />the groundwater, meaning liquid was getting through the layer of clay, as
<br />well as the plastic,
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<br />"This was something major," mine manager Leonard recalled, "This was a
<br />true leak."
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<br />Opinions vary on whether the leaks were caused by the avalanche or by the
<br />faulty construction during the winter,
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<br />Finding out for sure would have meant removing more than 100,000 tons of
<br />ore - along with clay and mud - already heaped on top of the plastic,
<br />Leonard said, The heavy-digging equipment would have gouged even more
<br />holes in the liner,
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<br />Besides, Galactic was in no position to do anything that didn't bring
<br />immediate production of gold.
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<br />"We had spent most of the money (borrowed from Bank of America),"
<br />Leonard said, "There were problems with creditors, That was a bad point in
<br />the year,"
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<br />Instead of fixing the problem, the company decided to pump the polluted
<br />groundwater back into the pool of cyanide solution behind the dike,
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<br />Thomas Krasovec, an engineer with the Canadian consulting firm that
<br />designed the leaching facility, recalls advising Friedland to remove the ore
<br />and fix the liner before piling on more ore, Krasovec, who was educated at
<br />the Colorado School of Mines, said he warned Friedland that unless the
<br />damage was repaired, water would continue to seep under the plastic
<br />sheeting and further erode the clay,
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<br />"Mr. Friedland stated that continued gold production was necessary to the
<br />financial survival of the project," Krasovec said in a sworn statement.
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<br />http://www.denver-rmn.comlnewsl0507smmtl.shtrnl
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<br />5/7/00
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