EXXON COAL AND MINERALS COMPANY ZINC-COPPER MINE


                                         BIS SUMMARY


DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT

Exxon Coal and Minerals Company has proposed to construct and operate a zinc
and copper mine/mill
near Crandon, Wisconsin. The orebody proposed for development has recoverable
ore reserves
estimated at 67.4 million tons. The mine/mill would employ approximately
620 persons during
operation. The timetable for the proposed project calls for a construction
period of 3 years,
operations for 29 years, and 4 years for closure and final site reclamation.
Actual construction and
operation of the proposed project would depend on market factors, permit
issuance, conditions of the
permits, and Exxon Coal and Minerals Company objectives.        t

The underground mine would be a highly mechanized operation which would first
remove the
zinc-rich massive ore over a 16 year period. If copper prices warrant, the
copper-rich stringer ore
would be mined over a 13 year period following massive ore removal. The metals
in each ore would be
concentrated on the surface in the mill and shipped by rail out of Wisconsin
for smelting and
refining. Approximately 7.2 million tons of metal concentrates would be produced
during massive ore
processing compared to 2.1 million tons during stringer ore processing.

The major surface facilities include mine support and mill facilities, the
mine waste disposal facility
(MWDF), reclaim ponds, mine refuse disposal facility (MRDF), and service
corridors. The service
corridors would include an access road from State Highway 55, a railroad
spur from the Soo Line, and
electric and natural gas utilities. The mill facilities include ore storage
and processing buildings,
offices, warehouses, shops, fuel and explosives storage, and wastewater and
sewage treatment
systems.

Intercepted groundwater and contaminated mine water pumped from the mine
would be treated in
separate systems and discharged to Swamp Creek, used as augmentation water
for mitigating surface
water impacts, or used as mill process water. Process water would be recycled
within the mine
operation. The two reclaim ponds, an integral part of the water treatment
process, would receive
water from the MWDF, MRDF, the mill, and other minor sources. There would
be two synthetic
geomembrane liners beneath the reclaim ponds. Wastewater from the treatment
plant would be
discharged via a buried pipeline to Swamp Creek downstream from the Mole
Lake Indian Reservation.

Mining and ore processing would generate significant quantities of waste
materials. The MWDF (four
sequentially constructed, lined, earthen tailings ponds) and MRDF (three
lined cells), located about
one mile southeast of the mine/mill, would provide aboveground disposal of
tailings/water treatment
sludges and refuse, respectively. About 28.3 million tons of fine tailings
would be disposed in the
tailings pond while 30.3 million tons of coarse tailings would be used underground
as mine backfill.
About 102,000 cubic yards (51,000 tons) of general refuse would be disposed
in the on-site landfill
over the life of he mine. Each tailings pond and landfill cell would have
a low permeability,
bentonite-ame  ed soil liner and leachate collection systems on the bottom
and sides. After filling,
each tailings pc id and landfill cell would be capped with a bentonite-amended
soil liner, a very low
permeability synthetic membrane, glacial till, and then revegetated. Only
one tailings pond and one
landfill cell would be filled at a time.

Total project costs, in 1985 dollars, are estimated at $540 million. Construction
costs for the
mine/mill are anticipated to be nearly $340 million. Construction of the
tailings ponds and water
treatment facilities would cost an additional $50 million. Operation costs
of project facilities over
the 29 year life of the project would be about $109 million. Reclamation
of the mine/mill facilities
would cost about $35 million. The estimated total cost to the utilities (Wisconsin
Public Service
Corporation and ANR Pipeline Co.) for the construction of the natural gas
pipeline and electric



transmission line ranges between $5-6 million.



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