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5.2.3 Explosives Storage Areas <br />• The ANFO silo is empty while the minesite is on stand-by status as oJMay 2004. <br />Chemicals: The primary chemical used as an explosive at Climax Mine which exhibits spill <br />potential is ANFO (acronym for Ammonium Nitrate + Fuel Oil). <br />Description: ANFO is a mixture of granulaz (grills) ammonium nitrate and liquid fuel oil. <br />Location: During mine operation, ANFO can be stored in a 20-ton silo located on the pit haul <br />road west of the open pit truck shop (commonly referred to as the IRECO Plant area. See Figure <br />1). <br />Spill Potential: Moderate when powder trucks aze loading. <br />Potential Volume Spilled: Usually less than 10 pounds, but if the silo ruptured (and if it was <br />completely full), as much as several thousand pounds could be spilled on the concrete pad <br />beneath the silo. <br />Prevention and Control: Operator caze in loading powder trucks and unloading transports is the <br />main control of ANFO spills. Making sure the powder truck is aligned directly beneath the silo <br />bin also will reduce the likelihood of spillage. If the entire volume of a full silo happened to be <br />• spilled on the concrete pad, calculations show that the pad is capable of holding neazly 5 times <br />the total capacity of the silo. Therefore, the likelihood of ANFO escaping the pad is nil. <br />Countermeasures: Since ANFO is a granular material, spills do not migrate from the point of <br />spillage. Therefore, small spills can be scooped up with a shovel and placed in a powder truck <br />for re-use. If spilled material becomes mobile (i.e., during a rainstorm), then diking with sorbent <br />booms or sand bags will prevent it from draining offsite and threatening waters of the State of <br />Colorado. It should be noted that ammonium nitrate is a common fertilizer, and as such, is not <br />considered a significant threat to the environment. <br />Nearest Clean-up Equipment: Spill kits aze located in the Moly Warehouse. <br />Visual Inspections and Integrity Testing: During open pit blasting operations, the ANFO silo <br />is checked daily. During mine shutdown the silo is emptied and therefore not checked on a <br />regulaz basis. <br />Reporting: Spills of over 100 pounds of ANFO should be documented on the "Spill Incident <br />Report" form immediately (Appendix 1), and given to the Environmental Department. <br />Conformance with Applicable Requirements: At the time of this writing (May 2004) the <br />explosive storage facilities are in conformance with applicable regulatory requirements. <br />r~ <br />L <br />44 <br />