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CMC001311 <br />Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, Judgment and Decree <br />Case Nos. 92CW233 and 92CW336 - Page 37 <br />consultant engineers have determined that the following types of activities historically used water • <br />at the Climax Mine: <br />4.1.1 Overview of Climax Mine Operations. Historically, mining operations <br />occurred in the various levels of the underground mine workings at the Climax Mine. More <br />recently, mining operations have occurred in the Climax Mine Open Pit. Mined ore is <br />transported via ore cars, lifts or haul trucks to the Climax Mill for milling. The mill is located <br />near Fremont Pass at the upper end of Tenmile Creek. See, Exhibit 1. The milling process <br />involves repeated crushing of ore to the consistency of fine sand, mixing the crushed ore with <br />chemical reagents, and introducing the mixture to large flotation cells. Molybdenum is separated <br />from waste by skimming off the lighter molybdenum from the surface of the floatation cells. <br />Meanwhile, the waste - referred to as "tailings" - is transported via slurry pipelines to tailing <br />impoundments generally located downslope on Tenmile Creek. <br />4.1.2 Use of Water for the Milliniz Process. In the milling process, water is used <br />and consumed in the floatation cells. In addition, water is used and consumed when drying the <br />molybdenum product with steam coils prior to packaging. Water is also used and consumed in <br />"scrubbers" that remove dust particles from the air through evaporative cooling. <br />4.1.3 Use of Water in Tailing Slurry. Water is used to transport tailing slurry to <br />the Robinson, Tenmile, and Mayflower tailing impoundments. Tailing slung is delivered to the <br />tailing impoundments through large spigots that disperse the tailing in a uniform manner. The <br />heaviest and largest rock particles in the tailing slurry settle out of the slurry near the dam crest of <br />the tailing impoundments as the slurry flows across the beach that is formed by long-term tailing <br />dispersion. Incrementally smaller particles are progressively deposited as the flow moves down <br />56642.WPD:5