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FAQs

Will there be any perpetuity issues on site with treatment of water?

Sandfire has designed Black Butte Copper for quick reclamation at the end of mine life with no need to treat water in perpetuity on site. We have chosen a dry cemented tailings facility (CTF) because it offers the highest environmental protection and quickest reclamation of any tailings facility designs we studied. Because the CTF will have no pond of standing water during operations, once the mine closes Sandfire will cover the facility with a 100 mil HDPE liner, weld it to the lower double liner, and cover the liner with 4 or more feet of fill, top soil, and grass. A sump will remain in the CTF to allow recovery of the small amount of water that may seep until the facility for monitoring, testing and treatment until the Montana DEQ determines that the system has stabilized and no further monitoring is needed.