RCRA Issues in the Demolition of a Copper Mine & Smelter

•James Glasston, Environmental Coordinator•Juanita Hyde, HSEC and Risk Specialist

History• 1944 Magma Copper Company purchases San Manuel claims and begins

exploration.• 1948 Underground exploration and development of San Manuel orebody

begins.• 1985 Development begins of Open Pit and Heap Leach facility at San

Manuel.• 1987 In-situ leaching production starts. Development of Kalamazoo orebody

begins.• 1996 Merger forms BHP Copper.• 1999 Facility goes into Care and Maintenance• 2003 BHP announces closure. • 2006 Reclamation of Mine was completed.

Mine & Plant SiteCopper production operations included• An underground mine,• An Open Pit,• A Heap Leach facility,• In-situ leach mine in the Open Pit,• Solvent Extraction-Electrowinning (SW-EW) Plant and• Two limestone/quartz quarriesThe facilities at the plant site included• A 7 mile long rail line,• A smelter• Concentrator with associated thickeners,• Crushers• Maintenance FacilitiesThe Tailings Facilities included seven tailings dams covering 3,300 acres, a result of

over 50 years of mining.

San Manuel Mine Site

Tailings

Open Pit

Shafts

Heap

SXEW

Community Of Mammoth

Community Of San Manuel

Reclamation of Mine Site

San Manuel Plant Site

Mill

Smelter

TailingsMine

Rod Plant

Refinery

Plant Site During Demolition

Plant Site Reclamation

Schedule & Budget• Unknown Waste Types and

Volumes• Conflicting Schedule

Expectations• Unknown regulatory

requirements• Project Example – PCB Soils

Resourcing• Internal

– Example – HSEC Department prior to project start-up

• External– Example - Contracting Waste

Broker

Contractor Management• Contract Preparation• Competency• HSE Culture• Ownership• Example – RCRA Training

NOV

Stakeholder Interface• Corporate• Regulatory

– Example – Coordination meeting with agency on characterization of buildings as waste

• Contractors• Community

– Example – Stack Abatement and Demolition

– APP Public Hearing

Pre-Demolition HSE Surveys• Multi-disciplinary Team

approach• Initial Survey• Follow-up Survey• Sampling

Sampling• Access• QA / QC• Turnaround times

Material Characterization• Reclaimable• On-site disposal• Off-site disposal• Example – Flue Dust, Scrap

Steel, Explosives

Remediation• Man-power• Equipment• Containers• Profiling• Transportation• Disposal

• Example – Vanadium Pentoxide Catalyst

Regulated Waste Summary

41,073 tons1369Asbestos6,713 gallons2Asbestos Wastewater14,205,960 lbs = 521 tons329PCB Soil61,864 lbs = 31 tons119PCB Ballasts, Switches & Caps606,500 lbs = 303.3 tons31Transformers (PCB, non PCB)1,884,000 lbs = 942 tons53Vanadium Pentoxide4,452,000 lbs = 2226 tons125Refractory Brick1,470,000 lbs = 735 tons63RCRA Debris 85 drums2Cyanide Salts / Pipe 860 drums24Lab Pack Projects118, 750 gallons142Dielectric fluid (PCB, non PCB)52,700 lbs = 26.4 tons4Explosives18, 645 bulbs13Fluorescent Bulbs613, 281 lbs = 307 tons26Mixed BatteriesTotal Weight# LoadsWaste Name

Documentation• Photo• Written• Reporting

Reclamation Project Achievements• Working transparently with Regulatory Agencies throughout

Reclamation to obtain permitting• Tours• The transportation and disposal of approximately 20 million pounds

of regulated waste from the property with no associated incidents• Successful reclamation of flue dust / concentrate blend

– BHP HSEC Merit Award– Generated $545,193– Recycled 6,058 tons

• Project will be completed on-time and under budget• The Reclamation project preserved the property for future use.

Credits