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Engineering;he is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado. Danio has extensive <br /> experience in mine and mill design, structural engineering including soil and rock mechanics,and <br /> mechanical and metallurgical engineering. Among other experience, Danio has successfully <br /> obtained operational permits for numerous mines; served as an expert on a mining waste study <br /> committee at the Clear Creek County Commissioners' request;worked as a contractor on the Clear <br /> Creek Superfund project; worked as a drafter on several Environmental Assessments that federal <br /> agencies prepared;and assisted DRMS address mining waste pile remediation in Virginia Canyon, <br /> Colorado. <br /> 11. The hillsides west of Denver in the Blackhawk, Central City, Idaho Springs, and <br /> Boulder County area contain visible remnants of the historic mining that substantially built <br /> Colorado. From before statehood through the 1940s, rich veins of gold, silver, and lead deposits <br /> in extraordinary quantities were removed from these hillsides and taken to market through the <br /> underground mining tunnels that proliferate in these areas. <br /> 12. Early mining activity had both economic and environmental consequences for <br /> Colorado. After the most valuable mineral deposits were removed, sidewall material that was not <br /> as profitable was often cast on dumps just outside the mines. Because these"tailings"could not be <br /> cost-effectively shipped and processed using nineteenth and early-twentieth century technology, <br /> they were simply left in place. <br /> 13. The tailing piles left behind are not inert. The material in the piles breaks down and <br /> oxidizes which, among other impacts, can cause heavy metal leaching that threatens watersheds <br /> and municipal water supplies. Although small, naturally occurring amounts of these minerals can <br /> act as fertilizer and promote vegetative growth, excessive amounts can be toxic to flora and fauna. <br /> These non-natural piles also contribute to erosion, undermine surface stability on steep <br /> mountainsides, and make vegetative growth more difficult. <br /> 14. Modern technological advancements that allow for the almost total extraction of <br /> residue minerals and metals from tailing piles provide remedies for the environmental impacts <br /> attributable to abandoned tailings. The Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged that <br /> the best solution to address mining waste dumps is to remove all heavy metals from the tailings, <br /> leaving only inert sand and rock. This approach allows historic mining sites to be re-seeded and <br /> reclaimed and neutralizes threats to watersheds and ecological resources; all while concomitantly <br /> providing a source of economically valuable mineral material. <br /> 15. RFES has developed and utilizes advanced processes that separate nearly one <br /> hundred percent of all valuable mineral materials — including heavy metals — from tailings, <br /> frequently leaving behind base material that in and of itself has meaningful industrial value. One <br /> such process involves crushing rock to form an angular,jagged sand that bites into itself,resulting <br /> in a highly stable particle structure. This m-sand(manufactured sand)constitutes an exceptionally <br /> strong concrete and brick additive. <br /> 16. Other marketable end-products can be achieved depending upon the mineral <br /> content of the tailings. Iron pyrite for instance, is a combination of iron and sulfur with attached <br /> trace, base, and precious metals that can be leached off and captured. The leftover pyrites can be <br /> - 3 - <br /> 4884-8560-1078.2 <br />