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Third Party Oversight 1 Water, Waste & Land, Inc. San Luis Mine January 10, 1993 ' 1.0 INTRODUCTION ' 1.1 BACKGROUND This report documents the third-patty technical oversight at Battle Mountain Resources' Inc. (BMRI) San Luis Mine in Costilla County, Colorado. This work was conducted for the Colorado ' Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) and BMRI by Water, Waste & Land, Inc. (WWL) under the October 15, 1993 Agreement for Third-Party Oversight and Review. The work was conducted ' as directed by DMG to provide technical review of issues related to design and construction of the Phase II Raise I Expansion of the tailings disposal facility at the San Luis Mine. This expansion ' consisted of increasing the height of the tailings embankment by construction mf the Raise I Embankment to elevation 8605 feet, and increasing the lined impoundment area within the tailings facility to the ultimate tailings elevation. These two construction components are referred to as the Raise I Expansion in this report. During initial construction of the Raise I Expansion, issues were raised by the DMG concerning construction materials and techniques being utilized and how those materials and ' techniques would affect the completed tailings impoundment system. The third-party technical oversight was initiated to address these issues, and this report presents the results of this third- party work. 1.2 PROJECT HISTORY t A brief history of the San Luis Mine tailings disposal facility pertinent to the third-party review is outlined below. • November 1988 - BMRI submits a 112 Permit Application to the Mined Land Reclamation Board (MLRB, later changed to the DMG) for the San Luis Project. The Permit was revised in February 1989 and again in April 1989. ' • September 1989 -BMRI submits a 112 Permit Application Amendment to the MLRB for the tailings disposal facility. • March 1990 -MLRB approves the San Luis Project Permit Amendment for the tailings ' disposal facility. • July 1990 to July 1991 -Construction of the Phase I Embankment and tailings disposal facility. ' • July 12, 1993 -BMRI submits a letter of notification to the DMG concerning construction of Phase II expansion of the tailings facility. • July 22 -BMRI begins clearing and grubbing in preparation for the expansion of the ' liner system. • August 23 -DMG gives approval for construction of the first 10 feet of the Phase II Raise I Embankment. • September 9 -Construction of the first 10 feet of the Raise I Embankment is ' completed. • October 1 -The first DMG site inspection is conducted. • October 4 -BMRI resumes construction of the Raise I Embankment. 1