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L. ~ ~o, TECHNICAL REVISION #013 - ROBINSON TAILING IDIPOUNDA~IENT WATER POOL ~ Climax Molybdenum Company Climax Mine -Permit # M-77-493 rt~rre ~, 2oos 1.0 INTRODUCTION ~ ~ JUN 0 0 2005 The Climax Mine (Climax) is a molybdenum mining and milling operation wholly owned and operated by the Climax Molybdenum Company (CMC), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Mining Company. The operation is located in the historic Consolidated Tenmile Mining District completely within a private land block of approximately 14.000 acres straddling the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass. The miue, one of the world's largest primary producers of molybdenum, was generalh~ in constant operation from about 1917 until the mid-1980s. Climax also operated briefly in 1995. Climax remains an active operation with ongoing and documented closure/reclamation and composting operations, dust control, water treatment and compliance management, and general property management activities. There is also a large molybdenum reserve exceeding 600 million pounds. Planning For future mining and concomitant specific reclamation planting are in progress at Climax. The Mining and Reclamation Permit (Permit) required under the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act of 1976 (Act) was approved by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (MLRB) in late 1977 (Permit M-77-493). The Permit was formally amended in 1980 (AM-001), 1989 (AM-002), and 1997 (AM-003). In addition, ll Technical Revisions (TR) to the Permit have been approved by the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG). The history of Climax is well documented. Briefly, molybdenite was discovered on [3artlett Mountain in 1916. With the start of World l~rar L the ore body was developed by underground techniques and production initiated. The mine closed briefly following the war, but opened again in the early 1920s. Both production and the facilities grew for approximately 60 years, reaching a production peak in the late 1970s of approximately 50,000 tons per day of ore from both underground and open pit operations. At the peak. Climax employed more than 3,200 people. Beginning in 1982, the world molybdenum market went into a rapid decline. Production was curtailed causing widespread and large-scale -ayoffs and facility shutdowns. Climax ceased production and reduced its workforce by more than 3,000 during the early to ntid- 1980s. By early 1987, the mine was producing at a lows rate exclusively from the higher grade portions of the underground facility. Production operations were curtailed later in ~ Phelps Dodge Corporation Annual Report and Securities Exchange Commission Fonn l OK for fiscal year ended December 31, 2003.