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A ERC <br /> 1.0 MINING METHOD <br /> Throughout all phases of the operation,mining will involve extracting soil from the Milton reservoir basin, <br /> primarily targeting sand.The excavated materials will either be sold for construction use or stockpiled on- <br /> site. The mining plan involves removing sediments that have built up in the reservoir due to inflows, as <br /> well as the native materials beneath these sediments.The goal is to excavate the reservoir to a level that <br /> allows for gravity drainage through the existing low-level outlet, avoiding the creation of a dead pool. <br /> While the mining operation may be paused for economic reasons, it will be conducted in a way that <br /> ensures materials are extracted to maintain positive drainage toward the outlet conduits. The operation <br /> aims to restore and increase the water storage capacity in Milton while selling the mined materials for <br /> construction or hydraulic fracking sand. Currently, the demand for these materials looks promising, but <br /> future conditions remain uncertain. <br /> The removal method primarily employs a floating dredge operation.This dredge is equipped with a cutter <br /> head and suction system that extracts solids from the basin and transports them to the surface as a slurry. <br /> An on-board pump moves the slurry to the shore, where it is currently directed either into temporary <br /> holding bays for dewatering or to a cyclone system for solids-water separation. The dredged materials <br /> have a solids content of approximately 15%to 20%and require dewatering before being transported and <br /> placed into a stockpile. Dewatering is achieved using temporary holding/dewatering basins (settling <br /> basins)and/or a cyclone operation that utilizes vortex separation to remove soil particles from the water. <br /> The cyclone's underflow (solids) is either directly discharged into a stockpile or transported to a <br /> designated stockpile area for potential sale as construction material or for long-term storage. The water <br /> is then returned to the reservoir. <br /> The plan moving forward is to construct a sand plant that,once operational,will receive dredged materials <br /> directly. The plant will separate the sand particles to produce a sellable product suitable for hydraulic <br /> fracturing. By-products will include oversized materials, undersized materials, and water. The oversized <br /> materials will be stockpiled for potential use as construction material,while the undersized particles and <br /> water will be pumped as a slurry to a settling pond.The resulting solids could be utilized as a construction <br /> resource or stored in a permanent stockpile. Water will be returned to the reservoir by gravity through <br /> low-level drainage pipes or decanted over spillways. <br /> FRICO started removing materials from the basin via dredging in November 2021 and plans to continue <br /> the removal process for several more years (+10 years). The first year of mining operations will continue <br /> to follow the existing operations in that materials will be dredged and run through the cyclone to separate <br /> water and solids. The solids will be stockpiled and water will be directed back to the reservoir either via <br /> a settling pond or direct routing. The process flow diagram associated with the current and Year 1 <br /> operation is shown on Figure 1.1. The future process flow diagram with the sand plan operational is <br /> shown on Figure 1.2. <br /> 3 <br />