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~,.rk,,r ~ ~.c7~ <br />RECEIVED <br />JUN 0 8 2005 <br />Division ~f Minerals and Geology <br />TECHNICAL REVISION #013 - ROBINSON TAILING IMPOUNDMENT <br />WATER POOL <br />Climax Molybdenum Company pECEivED_.~~____ <br />Climax Mine -Permit # M-77-493 <br />JUN 0 8 2005 <br />~„ne ~, zoos <br />SUMMIT COUNTY <br />CLERK AND RECORDER <br />1,0 INTRODUCTION <br />The Climax Mine (Climax) is a molybdemun mining and milling operatiat wholly owned <br />and operated by the Climax Molybdenum Company (CMC), which is a wholly owned <br />subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Mining Company. The operation is located in the historic <br />Consolidated Tenntile Mining Dish9ct completely within a private land block of <br />approximately ]4,000 acres straddling the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass. 'fhc <br />mine, one of the world's largest primary producers of molybdenum, was generally in <br />constant operation from about 1917 until the mid-1980s. Climax also operated briefly in <br />1995. Climax remains an active operation with ongoing and documented <br />closure/reclamation and composting operations, dust control, water treatment and <br />compliance management, and general property management activities. There is also a <br />large molybdenum reserve exceeding 600 million pounds.t Planning for future mining <br />and concomitant specific reclamation planning are in progress at Climax. <br />The Mining and Reclamation Permit (Permit) required under the Colorado Mined Land <br />Reclamation Act of 1976 (Act) was approved by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation <br />Board (MLRB) in late 1977 (Permit M-77-493). The Permit was formally amended in <br />1980 (AM-001). 1989 (AM-002), and 1997 (AM-003). ]n addition, 11 Technical <br />Revisions (TR) to the Permit have been approved by the Colorado Division of Minerals <br />and Geology (DMG). <br />The history of Climax is well documented. Briefly, molybdenite was discovered on <br />Bartlett Mountain in 1916. With the start of World War f, the ore body was developed by <br />underground techniques and production initiated. The mine closed briefly following the <br />war, but opened again in the early i920s. Both production and the facilities grew for <br />approximately 60 years, reaching a production peak in the late 1970s of approximately <br />50,000 tons per day of ore from both underground and open pit operations. At the peak, <br />Climax employed more than 3,200 people. <br />Beginning in 1982, the world molybdenum market went into a rapid decline. Production <br />was curtailed causing widespread and large-scale layoffs and facility shutdowns. Climax <br />ceased production and reduced its workforce by more than 3,000 during the early to ntid- <br />1980s. By early 1987, the mine was producing at a low rate exclusively from the higher <br />grade portions of the underground facility. Production operations were curtailed later iu <br />~ Phelps Dodge Corporation Annual Report and Securities Exchange Cohvnission Form IOK for fiscal year <br />ended December 3 i, 2003. <br />