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,z-~-o~ Mined Land Reclamation Award Nomination, Year 2003 Awards Mine Name: Climax Mine Operator: Climax Molybdenum Company Permit No.: M-1977-493 / Nominator: Allen Sorenson, Division of Minerals and Geology Summary of Nomination: The Climax Mine is a molybdenum mining and milling operation located 13 miles north of Leadville, Colorado at the summit of Fremont Pass (11,318 ftJ. The Climax Molybdenum Company was formed in 1916 and production of molybdenum concentrates initiated at Climax in 1918. By 1980, the Climax Mine and Mill were processing from 45,000 to 50,000 tons of ore per day with a total tonnage production over the mine's history to that date of approximately 360 million tons. Beginning in 1982, the world molybdenum market went into a rapid decline. Production a[ Climax was curtailed during [he early to mid-1980s and since that time Climax has operated only sporadically. The Climax Mine is located within a 14,000 acre block of private land that encompasses the headwaters of Tenmile Creek in Summit County, the Eagle River in Eagle County, and the Arkansas River in Lake County. Mill tailing from the molybdenite milling circuit aze impounded behind four dams in three tailing ponds. The Mayflower Tailing Pond is impounded by No. 5 Dam, the Ten Mile tailing Pond by No. 3 Dam, and the Robinson Tailing Pond straddles the divide between Summit and Eagle Counties and is impounded by Nos. 1 and 2 Dams. Reclamation of the tailing ponds and dams at Climax has been and will continue to be one of the most substantial and costly elements of overall site reclamation. The high elevation, steep slopes, and harsh climate at Climax have resulted in shallow and poorly developed topsoil with low levels of organic material over much of the property. The long history of mining on the Climax property prior to reclamation laws requiring the salvage of usable topsoil has further reduced the amount of topsoil available for use in reclamation. Historic impacts on the property date back to the 1860s when the upper Ten Mile Creek watershed was the site of extensive placer and lode mining, milling, and smelting operations. At one time, the Ten Mile Valley within the present Climax property boundaries supported four incorporated towns: Cazbonateville, Robinson, Kokomo, and Recen. At the peak of historic mining development in the 1880s, more than 10,000 people resided in the valley during the snowfree period. In the Climax Mine reclamation plan and permit it has been recognized from the outset that large areas of disturbance would have to be revegetated without the benefit of topsoil. The original reclamation permit application envisioned capping of tailings using open pit waste rock, application of fertilizer and mulch, and seeding. The original application also contemplated the use of biosolids, then called sewage sludge, to build soil for revegetation, stating "If proper sewage sludge sources are indeed developed, and deemed feasible, then Climax will use the material where suitable in its reclamation program." A biosolids land application program for Mayflower Tailing Pond was approved in July 1990 as technical revision TR- 002 to the permit. Since that time, there have been annual applications of sludge from the Snake River Water Treatment Plant in Summit County. In July of 1994 Summit County producers of biosolids renewed efforts to expand the biosolids land application program at Climax. As a result, Climax, the Breckenridge Sanitation District, Copper Mountain Water and Sanitation District, Frisco Sanitation District, Silverthome/Dillon Joint Authority, and the Snake River Wastewater Treatment Plant developed an agreement for a lazge scale biosolids reclamation project. This project would result in the land application of Grade B biosolids on 320 acres of the Robinson Tailing Impoundment that was capped with waste rock during a massive reclamation project completed by Climax during the summer of 1994. The project agreement was driven by the mutual benefits that would accrue: Reduce biosolids disposal costs for the wastewater treatment authorities in Summit County. Divert a recyclable product, from the waste stream being landfilled, to a beneficial use. Provide a much needed soil building amendment to assist reclamation efforts at the Climax Mine. In October of 1995, Climax submitted technical revision TR-009 to the mined land reclamation permit. This technical revision would allow for the initial application of 30 dry tons per acre of biosolids to the rock capped areas of the Robinson Tailing Pond with subsequent maintenance application rates to be determined based on soils testing such that the maintenance applications would not 75 pounds per acre of plant available nitrogen. On November 15, 1995, the Division of Minerals and Geology approved TR-009 with the stipulation that the nature and concentrations of copper in the biosolids be investigated to determine if it would inhibit vegetation growth or survival. On October 4, 1997, Climax