Mine Reclamation Improves Water Quality

Mine Reclamation Improves Water Quality. . , Panel 1 , This region was founded by gold and silver miners in the 1870s. This 17-square mile area has produced 4 million ounces of gold, 21 million ounces of silver, and 12 million tons of lead, zinc and copper. The natural resources from areas like this fueled the industrial revolution and supplied the raw materials to support America's involvement in two world wars., The Idarado Mining Company, a subsidiary of Newmont Gold Company, began remediation work here in the mid 1980s to improve water quality and aquatic habitat in the region. The project is pioneering source control remediation while preserving the area's historic character., Panel 2 , The Red Mountain area is home to more than 100 historic mines these mines generated the waste rock and tailing that you see in the region which is a potential source of contamination to surface water in the valley below. Many of these mines are being remediated by the Idarado Mining Company even though Idarado was not involved with most of these historic sites., The innovative source-control remediation program developed by Idarado and Newmont, includes a variety of techniques to prevent water from contacting these mineralized areas the techniques include precise recontouring of the tailing surfaces and revegetation by amending the tailing surface with limestone and organic nutrients, and seeding with specially selected grasses and forbs. The construction of concrete-lined diversion channels isolates the waste rock and tailing from surface water. The channels also prevent surface water from flowing into old mine workings. This effort prevents acid-rock drainage at its source., Panel 3 , A Major Mining Environmental Restoration Project is Ahead , As you travel along the next two miles of the San Miguel Valley, you can see the Idarado Mine Remediation Project pioneering new revegetation techniques and setting a national precedent for environmental remediation. The process includes precise recontouring of the tailing surface, amendment of the tailing surface with limestone and organic nutrients, and seeding with specially selected grasses and forbs το create an engineered vegetative cover., This project, funded entirely by the Idarado Mining Company, a subsidiary of Newmont Gold Company, represents a cooperative effort among Idarado, Newmont, the State of Colorado, and the citizens of San Miguel County, Ouray County, the town of Ouray and the town of Telluride.