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meters that their effect on global stability is minimal No significant <br />blasting was performed at the time of the event. <br />• The effects of water and hydrostatic presswes upon the landslide. This should include <br />precipitation data collected at the Trapper Mine between September 1, 2006 and October <br />8, 2006, and a determination as to whether precipitation contributed to, or otherwise had <br />an effect upon, the landslide. <br />INITIAL RESPONSE INOVEMBER 22. 2006): A 100-year storm event <br />on September 16th dropped 2.34 inches of precipitation in 24 hours, <br />coupled with another 1.48 inches of precipitation between September <br />16th and the day of the slide (October 8th) undoubtedly contributed to <br />the slide. We do not know at this point whether it will be possible to <br />determine to a reasonable degree of certainty the total irupact on <br />hydrostatic pressure the precipitation may have had on the landslide. <br />We will include our current impressions on this topic and on the <br />feasibility of reaching a defmitive conclusion regarding it in Phase II of <br />our report We will provide precipitation data to you by not later than <br />December 8, 2006. <br />ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Agapito Associates Inc. (AAI) has <br />offered the following impression of any contribution to the slide from <br />water and hydrostatic pressures. <br />The AAI trip report (sent to DRMS with December 7, 2006 <br />information) provides a summary of precipitation at the Craig airport <br />for the 5 years subsequent to the landslide. TMI has provided DRMS <br />with records for precipitation at the mine from September 1~` through <br />October 8'h which indicates 2.34 in. fell on September 16`" (100-yr <br />storm event) and another 1.48 in. fell in the subsequent 22 days prior <br />to the landslide. There is no doubt that recent rains had an impact on <br />the stability of the slope. First, saturated ground appears to have <br />lowered shear strength because of `effective stresses'. Effective stress <br />is the difference between the total stress and pore pressure which <br />results in reducing the confinement and thus reducing the shear <br />strength. Additionally, under sustained water pressure, the soft rocks <br />of this formation will lose strength over time under sustained loading. <br />This behavior is referred to as strength softening or strain softening. <br />The GPit landslide stability report (enclosed) uses the precipitation <br />data to make assumptions about the groundwater conditions that <br />likely existed at the time of the event. The manner in which pore <br />pressure was tucluded in the numerical analysis is described in this <br />report. The stability analysis assumed fully saturated rock mass to <br />within 10 ft of the ground surface for computing effective stresses of <br />the rock mass. The modeling results indicated that both strength <br />softening and high pore pressure conditions were necessary for global <br />slope instability. <br />2 <br />