1995-08-11_REVISION - M1977493 (10)

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2.2 FACILITY DESCRIPTION The Climax Mine is an open pit and former underground mining operation which extracts molybdenite ore from the base of Bartlett Mountain and produces concentrates at the adjacent mill site. The final product is molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) concentrate which is transported out of the state for final processing. The Climax Mine and Mill and ancillary facilities are located near the summit of Fremont Pass (elevation 11,318' msl) where Colorado State Highway 91 crosses the Continental Divide. The mine is located 18 miles south of Frisco, Colorado, and 13 miles north of Leadville, Colorado. The site is located on both sides of the Continental Divide and encompasses portions of three major drainages: Ten Mile Creek (the most affected), Arkansas River, and East Fork of the Eagle River. All acreages affected by mine and mill operations lie completely within an approximate 14,000-acre land block owned by the Cyprus Climax Metals Company as shown in Figure 1. Climax Mine reached a production high of approximately 50,000 tons of ore per day in the 1970's; however, world markets for molybdenum radically declined in the mid-1980's and Climax curtailed production substantially until 1995. Recent increased demands for molybdenum have resulted in Climax resuming operations to a projected level of approximately 10 million pounds of MoS2 per year(15,000 tpd ore). 2.3 SPILL HISTORY The Climax Mine site facilities and water/tailing systems, as currently designed, minimize the potential for spills to have a detrimental effect on waters of the State of Colorado. In most cases, materials onsite at Climax Mine are contained by primary containment structures like tanks or drums, which are, in turn, contained by secondary structures like berms, floor drains and sumps, or a combination of the above. Tertiary containment for most locations consists of the Climax Mine tailing ponds. Preceding the effective renewal dates of NPDES Permit Number CO-0000248 there have been two spill incidents reported to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in the last three years. The first incident involved a spill of about 900 gallons of oxide tailing slurry which reported to the lower north interceptor canal and ultimately reached the Eagle River on July 4, 1994. To reduce the potential for a recurrence of similar spills a switch was installed to induce system shutdown when a feed tank high level is indicated. The second incident occurred on November 30, 1994, and involved domestic water overflowing a flume used to convey water to the Storke Pump Station. Daily visual inspections of the flume were initiated and the flume has been included as a snow removal maintenance project for spring runoff. It is important to note that no reportable quantities of any constituents of concern were measured in either of these two spill incidents. 3