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CM0001456 <br />Climax Mine - Robinson Lake Pump Station Replacement <br />• Eagle County 1041 Application Submittal <br />The Climax Mine, located on the continental divide 13 miles northeast of Leadville Colorado, is a <br />molybdenum mine owned and operated by the Climax Molybdenum Company (Climax). Climax is a <br />wholly-owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (Freeport-McMoRan), a leading <br />international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, the world's largest publicly traded <br />copper company, and one of the principal North American-based mining companies, with long-lived, <br />geographically diverse assets and significant reserves of copper, gold, and molybdenum. <br />The Climax Mine, one of the world's largest primary producers of molybdenum, began operations in 1917 <br />and has operated nearly continuously since, with some periods of curtailment of production, including <br />most recently in 1995. Climax is implementing a project to upgrade existing water management, mining, <br />and mineral processing systems, including the construction of a new state-of-the-industry molybdenum <br />processing facility in anticipation of re-starting active mining and milling operations in 2010. Climax also <br />operates the Henderson Mine near Empire, Colorado and has demonstrated the technical capabilities <br />necessary to develop and operate all aspects of the Climax Mine. <br />Pursuant to Section 6.03.06(1)(d) of the Eagle County LUR, the financial capability of Freeport-McMoRan <br />to complete the Robinson Lake Pump Station Replacement Project is a matter of public record and is <br />available for review in public filings located at www.fcx.com. <br />2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION <br />As part of the facility upgrades, Climax is planning to replace the existing Robinson Lake Pump Station <br />and pipeline, which were installed in 1936. The replacement of these components is necessary to <br />improve the overall efficiency and operability of the system with upgraded technology. The "Project" for <br />which 1041 approval is sought is the proposed pump station and pipeline within Eagle County. The pump <br />station and pipeline will be located in the southeast quarter of Section 33 and the southwest quarter of <br />Section 34, Township 7, Range 79 West of the 6t' Principle Meridian, Eagle County. The location of the <br />Robinson Lake Pump Station in relation to the entire Climax site is presented on Figure 1, which also <br />highlights the portion of the site within Eagle County. Figure 2 is a more detailed site map of the <br />Robinson Lake area and the proposed pipeline alignment. Figure 3 presents aerial photographic imagery <br />of the Project area. <br />The Robinson Lake Pump Station is part of the process water reclaim system which allows for the <br />recycling and re-use of water from the tailing impoundments. Water will be pumped to the mill for use as <br />process water in the milling circuit and the pump station serves a secondary role to provide flexibility in <br />water routing within the Climax water treatment system. Process water recharge into Robinson Lake is <br />accomplished by transferring water from the Tenmile and Mayflower tailing ponds via the Tenmile Tunnel. <br />• 2