2012-02-28_REVISION - M1980244 (104)

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will change the category of some of the affected acreage of the MLE approval. For example, certain ancillary disturbance areas will now become mining areas or certain OSAs will now become VLF areas. MLE2 extends mining activities as part of the Cresson Project for an additional approximate nine years, through about 2025, with the final reclamation of the mine and overburden areas completed by about 2032. The two VLFs and accompanying ADR processing facilities will be decommissioned and reclaimed by approximately 2041. Under MLE2, an additional 220 MT of ore and 310 MT of overburden will be mined as part of the Cresson Project. The East Cresson Mine area, referred to as WHEX, will be extended to the east. The currently approved Schist Island and Globe Hill portion of the North Cresson Mine area will be extended. The Main Cresson Mine area and South Cresson portion of the Main Cresson Mine area will be extended as part of MLE2. Overburden resulting from mining in these extended mining areas will be placed into portions of the existing Main Cresson Mine, East Cresson Mine, and North Cresson Mine as mine backfill or placed in the ECOSA. The ECOSA will be extended to provide an additional 54 MT of storage for a total storage capacity of approximately 120 MT. Processing of the gold ore will continue to occur through placement of additional ore on the AGVLF to the approved capacity of approximately 410 MT; no additional tonnage is planned for placement under MLE2 within the AGVLF. An additional VLF and ADR will be constructed in Squaw Gulch to provide for additional processing capacity. A High Grade Mill will be constructed on a platform located within the SGOSA. The configuration of the SGOSA will be changed from the approved design to allow construction of the SGVLF and High Grade Mill facilities platform. High grade ore will be segregated during mining to feed the High Grade Mill facilities and then placed on the VLFs. Environmental protection measures are incorporated with the descriptions of each activity or component. Water management and sediment controls from storm water runoff are further addressed in Section 11.0. 5.3 Permit Area and Area of Disturbance The perimeter permit boundary for MLE2 is slightly modified, increasing by approximately 127 acres. There have been some property purchases by CC &V which have resulted in changes in the permit boundary associated with the additional disturbances of MLE2. Most of the additional disturbance for the proposed MLE2 activities are due to the addition of the SGVLF, the ECOSA extension, and the WHEX extension with minimal additional disturbance for other mine area extensions. MLE2 will change the disturbance categories of some of the affected Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company Cresson Project Mine Life Extension 2 5 -2