Visions and goals

April 5, 2004 - Visions and Goals

THE ARAPAHO PROJECT - VISION AND GOALS

What is the Arapaho Project?

The Arapaho Project (AP) is a private non profit corporation organized by local Clear Creek County residents to encourage science and education opportunities in Clear Creek County and Colorado. The AP is named for the Arapaho National Forest in Clear Creek County which surrounds the Henderson mine.

Purpose:

The Arapaho Project was formed to develop science and educational facilities in our county and other areas in Colorado. The AP promotes research in physics, geology, microbiology, engineering and the earth sciences in direct cooperation with four research universities; the Colorado School of Mines; University of Colorado, Boulder; Colorado State University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The AP is also involved in similar efforts at the high school level.

The AP accomplishes these efforts through outreach, financial assistance, facilitation, and actively developing community and state support for educational facilities.

How did Arapaho come to be?

In 2002 and 2003 the Planning Commission in Clear Creek County was involved in a county wide Master Planning effort. In late 2002 the Henderson mine management asked for assistance in amending their reclamation permit with the Colorado MLRB. After studying the infrastructure at the Henderson mine the Planning Commission forwarded a resolution to the BOCC endorsing such an amendment. That amendment was approved in early 2003 by the Colorado MLRB enhancing redevelopment potential.
As a result of the analysis of the Henderson facilities, especially the two independent 115kv transmission lines, two 30 megawatt substations, fibre optic communications, air and water facilities some Planning Commission members theorized utilizing the mine for high-energy particle research. (HEP)

In late 2002, with permission from the Henderson management we began researching existing and future opportunities in the field of high-energy physics. During our research Steve Schultz and Jack Stauffer identified several proposals including the UNO project for detecting neutrinos. We began contacting the spokesman for these projects, which led to several scientists visiting the Henderson mine in March and August of 2003. They quickly realized the Henderson mine offered a ideal site.

Due to the magnitude of these projects it quickly became obvious that state and federal assistance would be critical to success so early in 2003 Mr. Schultz contacted the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Colorado Secretary of Technology, the Colorado Office of Innovation and Technology and the Colorado Institute of Technology and Senator Wayne Allard’s office. All offices expressed interest and offered advice, which led to the creation of the Arapaho Project Task Force.

To further develop local support in June and July of 2003 Mr. Schultz made presentations with members of Senator Allard’s staff and representatives of the Governors office to the County Commissioners of Grand and Clear Creek Counties, the Mayors of Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Empire, Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, and Kremmling. The aforementioned Mayors and Commissioners all signed letters to Senator Allard and Governor Owens supporting the Arapaho Project.

In October of 2003 the Arapaho Project fostered the formation of the Colorado Alliance for Underground Science and Engineering (CAUSE) with the goal of further evaluating the Henderson’s potential for high-energy physics. Currently the members of CAUSE are: The Arapaho Project, Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado State University, and the Henderson mine. CAUSE and the Arapaho Project are currently identifying stakeholders and decision makers in the physics community to increase awareness of the Henderson and its potential for economical, high-energy physics research.

We have identified three distinct groups of stakeholders:

Government: U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, State of Colorado, Clear
Creek County, Grand County, and municipalities
Academic: Colorado University, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines,
New York State University at Stony Brook
Private industry: Henderson Mine, Colorado Mining Association

Possible sites in the United States for a National Underground Laboratory:

Nationally, several potential sites are being considered for a National Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (NUSEL). Each of these locations has a variety of specific attributes that make them possible choices for consideration, including the Homestake mine near Lead, South Dakota and the Soudan mine northwest of Duluth, Minnesota.
However, the Henderson mine, although a recently discovered site, may prove to have the greatest potential of all the proposed locations. The Henderson mine is located on a 30,000-acre private inholding in the Arapaho National Forest that spans the Continental Divide 40 miles west of Denver. Interstate 70 and US Highway 40 provide excellent all weather access from the mine to Denver, and Denver International Airport is slightly over one hour from the Henderson site. The mine itself consists of over 150 miles of roughly 15-foot diameter drifts with many other larger chambers. The main shaft is 28-foot in diameter with a vertical elevator capable of carrying up to 50-ton loads.
Crushed rock and ore are removed from the mining area by a horizontal conveyor, through a 10-mile straight tunnel under the continental divide to the surface in Grand County for milling and disposal. Two 30 megawatt substations are fed from two independent 115kv transmission lines providing 100% redundant electrical power to the complex. The entire facility, above and below ground, is connected with fiber-optic communications and has dedicated water and wastewater treatment systems sized for 2000 workers.

Some differences between the Henderson vs. Homestake and Soudan sites:

Cost; all rock removed from Soudan must hoisted vertically at a cost of @ $40.00 per ton, and, permits for disposal do not exist at this time. Rock removed from the Homestake must be hoisted via one shaft vertically, transported horizontally, then hoisted vertically again via a second shaft for a total of over $40.00 per ton. The Henderson has the equipment, conveying, mill permits, etc., and can move and process the 2.5 million tons for @ $6.00 per ton via their horizontal conveyor system.
Access: major airline access to Soudan or Homestake is nonexistent. The Henderson is a little over one hour from Denver International Airport which boasts the longest runway in the U.S., (16,000 feet) and hosts international flights to the Far East and Europe.
Academic proximity: there is only one major university near Soudan, or Homestake, in contrast to the Henderson’s proximity to three prestigious Universities; CU, CSU, and CSM.
Infrastructure: the infrastructure at Soudan and Homestake is antiquated and will require expensive rehabilitation whereas the Henderson was developed and built in the late 1970's and was extensively upgraded in 2000 during the Henderson 2000 project.
Physical access; the shafts and hoists at Soudan and Homestake are extremely limited, both in physical size and weight capacities.(less than 7 tons) The Henderson shaft is 28' in diameter and can take a full size sea container down the main shaft. Standard weight limitation on the main elevator at the Henderson is 25 tons. The cage can be removed and 50 tons can be lowered down the shaft with counter weights.
The proximity of the Henderson mine to the Denver metropolitan area is perhaps as great an asset as the physical properties of the mine itself. The Colorado School of Mines, 30 miles east of the Henderson in Golden is an international leader in state-of-the-art mining techniques and underground engineering and works with the Henderson on a regular basis.
Lifestyle: Would you rather live and work in northern Minnesota, South Dakota, or beautiful Colorado, “ski country USA”?

The future of HEP, UNO, the Henderson, and the Arapaho Project

Our goal is designating the Henderson mine facility as the proposed National Underground Engineering and Science Laboratory.(NUSEL) The UNO project is the largest proposed experiment and UNO and NUSEL are inherently compatible. As a fully operational, permitted mining facility the Henderson can not only co-exist with proposed HEP projects, it offers economies of scale for excavation and other shared costs unavailable at any other site.

NUSEL or DUSEL projects will also require infrastructure on the surface for international and domestic HEP research. Located near the Henderson on Interstate 70 in Clear Creek County this complex would house visitor centers, office space and seminar facilities similar to those at Fermilab in Illinois.

Currently the Task Force is identifying decision makers for these projects. For obvious reasons competition to host the projects will be intense and other states will be very proactive on their own behalf. The Arapaho Project is actively sponsoring Colorado as the preferred site.

We believe that the scientific community, and particularly the particle and high energy physics group’s participants, would benefit immensely from a close and unbiased evaluation of the Henderson mine site and its potential for a national underground laboratory and the advancement of human understanding of our universe.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen C. Schultz, Executive Director, The Arapaho Project

O. Box 585, Golden, CO 80402

Ph. 303-567-4370 - 303-277-3028 or fax 303-567-4370
scsfallriver@earthlink.net / steve.schultz@coors.com

Please visit our website at: www.thearapahoproject.net