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TECHNICAL REVISION #015 - ROBINSON LAKE SEDIMENT REMOVAL Climax Molybdenum Company Climax Mine -Permit # M-77-493 16 May 2008 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Climax Mine (Climax) is a molybdenum mining and milling operation wholly owned and operated by the Climax Molybdenum Company (CMC). Climax is located in the historic Consolidated Tenmile Mining District within a private land block of approximately 14,000 acres straddling the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass. The land ownership lies within Lake, Summit, Eagle, and Park Counties. Climax, one of the world's largest primary producers of molybdenum, was generally in continual operation from about 1917 until the mid-1980s. Climax operated briefly in 1995. Climax remains a viable operation with ongoing and documented closure/reclamation and composting operations, dust control, water treatment and compliance management, and general property management activities. It is estimated that remaining economic ore reserves at Climax total approximately 182.1 million tons. Engineering design, as part of the Climax 2010 Project, is currently in the final planning stages and initial snow removal and drainage activities have commenced. Climax intends to resume operations in late 2009 or early 2010. 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), 1997 (AM-003), 2001 (AM- 004), and 2006 (AM-005). In addition, 13 Technical Revisions (TR) to the Permit have been approved by the Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety (DRMS) -formerly the Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) and I TR has recently been submitted and is under review by DRMS. The history of Climax is well documented. Briefly, molybdenite was discovered on Bartlett Mountain in 1916. With the start of World War I, 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. At Climax, production was curtailed causing widespread and large-scale layoffs and facility shutdowns. Climax ceased production and reduced its workforce by more than 3,000 people during the early to mid-1980s. By early 1987, the mine was producing at a low rate exclusively from the higher grade portions of the underground facility. Production operations were curtailed later in 1987. At that time, Climax was placed in a ready state, care and maintenance condition as a swing producer capable of production from the open pit as the market dictated. Since that time, Climax has operated as market dictates. Other than a brief period of limited production in early 1995 in response to a short-lived market upswing, recent activities at Climax have involved upgrading and maintenance of the water management and treatment system, and extensive closure and reclamation of facilities no longer foreseen as required for future operations. Recently, onsite activities have increased as Climax prepares for the Climax 2010 Restart Project. 2.0 TECHNICAL REVISION -Robinson Lake Sediments Removal A component of the Climax 2010 Restart Project involves sediment removal from Robinson Lake. Robinson Lake is located on the Climax Mine property in the East Fork Eagle River drainage. The reservoir was constructed in 1936 as process water storage for mining operations. At that time, influent water quality was