1987-03-03_REPORT - M1977493 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I Planning has been extensive for Henderson project has been a part of the development of the Henderson mine since discovery of the orebody. Environmentalists The Henderson mine has been under development and upper-level company personnel met about once a since 1967 and will go into production in mid-1976. In con- month, beginning in 1967, in what has been dubbed "An trast to the Climax mine,the Henderson mine is being de- Experiment in Ecology." Together, this group of people veloped in relatively undisturbed areas. The word made practical environmental-engineering decisions "areas" is plural because the mine and mill sites are on throughout the development of the mine.The basic objec- opposite sides of the Continental Divide. The Henderson tive was to explore the question of how to develop the orebody is more than 2,000 ft below the surface on the mine with a minimum of disturbance to the environment. eastern slope. At that point from the fringe of the ore- body, a 9.6-mile-long ore haulage tunnel extends through to the western slope of the Continental Divide. An addi- Tailings disposal area 14 miles from mine tional 4.8 miles on the surface brings the railroad to its terminus at the mill. Probably the most important decision made through Reclamation of the disturbances created by the Hen- the "experiment" was selecting the location of the tail- derson mine will be relatively easy in comparison to that ings disposal area and mill site. Naturally, the first site at the Climax mine. Extensive environmental planning considered was the closest site, i.e. the same valley as the mine site. This site was soon discarded because of in- sufficient room in the valley to accommodate the mine plant, crusher, mill,tailings area and the required support facilities. It was also within view of a major highway. The search for a site branched out from that point, eventually encompassing an area within a 25-mile radius of the mine. The first site considered was labeled "Site A." The com- mittee proceeded through the alphabet to "Site Z" and d _ Reclamation of disturbances created by the Henderson urine, under development sin(e 1967 and slatcd for production in rnid- 1976,will be relatively ease compared to that at Climax because errrironnrental plamring has been taking place since the orebody eras discoverer! Henderson mill under constriction. The mill reservoir is in the foreground and the tailing deposition site is in the meadow to the left and behind the mill started over with "Site AA." "Site JJ" was finally cho- sen. The site, although more than 14 miles from the mine, has many advantages. It is in a fairly remote ranching area off the mainstream of public visibility. It is located in a small watershed with low stream flow. The size of the watershed permitted an economical design for flood con- trol and a closed-loop industrial mill-water circuit. It also allowed the design of what may be called a"fail-safe" in- '" dustrial system. That is, a system where all facilities are located in one drainage terminated by a tailings deposi- tion area. The system provides protection against pos- sible spills due to malfunctions in either the mill or the Railroad fill in the process of being covered with topsoil for tailing delivery line. revegetation. The fill is constructed of tunnel development rock Openness between miner and environmentalist in 1967 and is part of 4.8 miles of surface trackage between the ore was at first a tenuous situation. A feeling of trust quickly hardage tunnel and the Henderson mill (Continued on page 49)