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(e) The investigation which followed the incident involved jetting and cleaning the interior of <br />the drop tower with water to expose any flaws in the interior wall. Personnel conducting <br />the investigation discovered a penetration in the TDL piping outside the exterior wall of <br />the drop tower, which allowed slurry to flow through the bottom of the TDL pipe exiting <br />the drop tower. The flow exiting the pipe created a small void beneath the pipe in the <br />surrounding soils. The slurry then preferentially flowed to the surface. <br />Tailing engineering developed a plan to utilize cement to patch the hole inside of the <br />TDL. Additional cement was also placed outside and below the piping to help fill the void <br />created by the slurry. The cement will be left to cure for five days before slurry will be <br />routed through the TDL again. At this point, operators will ensure that the patch installed <br />is resilient to flow and that there are no further issues. <br />Periodic inspections have historically been conducted on the drop tower floors. <br />Henderson staff is currently evaluating more frequent and/or thorough inspections on <br />these structures. <br />If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 303-569-3221, ext. <br />2284. <br />Sincerely, <br />Tim aynes <br />Sr. Environmental Engineer <br />Climax Molybdenum Company <br />Henderson Operations <br />CC (via email only): <br />B. Romig, Climax <br />T. Haynes, Climax <br />S. Deely, Freeport-McMoRan <br />J. Roose, Freeport-McMoRan <br />N. Hall, Freeport-McMoRan <br />Page 2