Lake County officials have feared a catastrophic blowout of a blocked mine-drainage tunnel for years, but they declared a state of emergency only amid this winter's heavy snows and a recent revelation that federal officials share their concerns.
Metals-contaminated water already is seeping out of fissures and reaching the Arkansas River, officials say, and the risk is growing of a life-threatening flood and environmental disaster if the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel bursts.
"What were trying to avoid here is a catastrophe," county director of emergency management Jeff Foley said Thursday during an emergency conference call with state and federal officials. "That's why we're acting now instead of acting when there is a blowout."
(Are we really naive enough to believe, that over the next few centuries, the Arkansas River isn't destined to be contaminated by this mine?)
The concern is a 1.5 billion-gallon pool of acidic mine runoff, laced with toxic levels of cadmium and zinc, that is dammed behind cave-ins deep underground in the World War II-era drainage tunnel.
Water beneath the mining district has risen to 188 feet above the tunnel's water-treatment plant and is beginning to spill out in new springs, according to a memorandum by Jord Gertson of SourceWater Consulting.
In addition to reaching the Arkansas River — the site of a massive Superfund cleanup effort over the past 25 years — the untreated water threatens to contaminate Leadville's water wells, said County Commissioner Ken Olsen.
And with snowpack already at 160 percent of its average depth, the threat is probably only going to get worse during the spring runoff.
River was contaminated for miles
Ron Cattany, director of reclamation, mining and safety for the state Department of Natural Resources, noted that the river was contaminated for miles downstream after the last mine-drainage blowout in 1983, which prompted the Superfund designation.
Although county officials have raised red flags about the blockages since they were discovered in 2001, they didn't learn until last week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shares their fears.
"We are concerned that an uncontrolled, potentially catastrophic release of water to the Arkansas River from the (tunnel) is likely at some point," EPA regional administrator Robert Roberts wrote in a November letter to regional director Michael Ryan.
EPA letter "heightened awareness"
The letter "validates" the county's chronic concerns over human safety and protection of the river, and it contributed to the declaration of an emergency, Olsen said.
"That has certainly brought to our attention a heightened awareness," he said. "The situation is no different today than it was yesterday, except the fact is, what we're trying to do here in Lake County is to address the prevention of some subsequent catastrophe."
Officials with the federal Bureau of Reclamation — which operates the tunnel — as well as the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers vowed Thursday to work with state and local entities to resolve the problem, beginning with a conference call today to review data, determine the actual threat and develop possible solutions.
Here is the full article.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Catastrophic Acid Mine Drainage Blow-out Threatens Leadville Colorado and Arkansas River System with 1.5 Billion Gallons of Toxic Water
After years of “environmentally friendly” mining South Africa pays the price for mining industry platitudes – permanently contaminated waters
One legacy of South Africa's extensive mineral deposits is the infrastructure and wealth of the country. But another more troubling legacy is emerging as an increasingly urgent problem: environmental contamination from over 100 years of mining that could severely pollute the country's water, affecting the food chain and citizens' health.
The magnitude of the potential problem has government agencies scrambling to coordinate a response to a relatively new issue for the regulatory bodies. "The truth of the matter is that as a nation we don't know how to deal with this problem because it has never happened to us before," said Dr Anthony Turton, a leading water researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
"This was always suppressed before because people didn't matter in the pre-1994 South Africa. All we've done so far is see the tip of the iceberg. We certainly don't have any coherent government strategies yet."
But the urgency is real. As more mines close and more tests reveal hazardous contamination levels in sediment and local food samples, there is growing concern about acidic waters emanating from disused mines.
The epicentre of the problem lies southwest of Johannesburg in a valley ringed by mines - both active and closed - where a small river called the Wonderfonteinspruit runs southwest from the mining town of Randfontein to Carletonville and Khutsong, and into the Mooi River, which provides water for Potchefstroom, a large university town.
Over 10 years of scientific studies have established that the sediment in the Wonderfonteinspruit is contaminated with radioactive uranium and high levels of other heavy metals in wastewater discharged from local mines.
By law, wastewater from mines is supposed to be treated to a standard established by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) before being discharged into waterways, but the evidence of contamination in the sediment means there has not been compliance. The mining companies were not closely regulated during the apartheid years, but environmental activists charge that while laws are now in place, enforcement is not.
Further complicating the enforcement issue is that several different mining companies - DRD, Gold Fields, Harmony - operate in the area and discharge water into the same canals and pipelines, so identifying a specific source of contamination can prove difficult.
A second source of pollution is runoff and wind-eroded particles from slime dams - soil residue from within the mines that often contains radioactive elements and heavy metals. On a recent site visit south of Carletonville, residue from eroding slime dams was observed washing down dirt roads towards drainage canals that empty into the Wonderfonteinspruit.
A 2007 report by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) stated: "These slime dams and rock dumps are potentially significant contributors to diffuse contamination."
Wind-blown radioactive dust particles from the slime dams could also pose "significant radiation exposure" through inhalation or by contaminating agricultural crops, while cattle posed a serious problem because they churned up sediment loaded with radioactive elements and heavy metals in the waterways when they went into them.
After the NNR's report was released, the largest mining company operating in the area, Harmony, issued a directive to land and water users in the area, saying that cattle should no longer be watered in the river.
Thus far, the more proactive steps are coming from the local community. The Merafong Council, which includes the town of Carletonville and surrounding district, has put up signs warning people to not use the water and has provided drinking water to informal settlements on the river's banks.
"Although Water Affairs in their latest reports indicate that the water itself is safe, it is a known fact that there are sediments that are contaminated with radiological elements," said Albie Nieuwoudt, Strategic Executive for Economic Development, Planning, and Environmental Management at Merafong.
"That's why we put up the signs. We've just created our own Environmental Management section to look at issues arising from dust and slime dam residue; we've got a duty to protect our citizens."
Frustrations with government
Rene Potgieter, a former peat farmer who now works on the Wonderfonteinspruit contamination issue, said, "We have a group here organised through DWAF where water quality is monitored. I sit on the committee, and on a regular basis we look at what the discharge water qualities are. You just see noncompliance, noncompliance, noncompliance. But all DWAF does is monitor - they don't do anything with those results."
Nieuwoudt said he had heard of NNR reports about vegetable samples but had not seen them yet. "Apparently they found some pollution in some crops. "There are small community farming projects using that water source from boreholes, so we need to be informed."
The NNR has made statements that contradict its own reports, several of which classify food samples as above the accepted limit. On 7 February 2008 it issued a statement about the Wonderfonteinspruit that said, "No evidence has been found indicating unacceptable levels of radioactivity in vegetables, fish and meat samples." NNR's CEO, Maurice Magugumela, has also assured the public that food from the area was safe to eat.
Yet an NNR status report in October 2007 said: "The NNR collected samples of vegetables (onions, asparagus and oats) and fish in the area and sent these for analysis. The projected doses from the samples taken indicate that the total doses from some [of] the samples taken are above the dose constraints and dose limits ... and are of safety concern from a radiological point of view."
When questioned about these discrepancies, Magugumela stated that it was a complex issue and different international measurements were used to determine dosage and when intervention was appropriate.
Acid Mine Drainage
After 100 years of mining in South Africa, the subterranean infrastructure is vast and many neighbouring mines are interconnected for safety reasons. To mine for gold, mining companies must displace the groundwater for the duration of the mining operation by pumping it out. This slurry carries an assortment of naturally present heavy metals to the surface on the slime dams and discharges water.
When a mining company ceases operation, water begins to re-enter the area and reacts with exposed pyrite, a mineral formation, which creates sulphate. Sulphate reacts with water to become sulphuric acid, which then dissolves the heavy metals into the mix as the water rises and eventually "daylights" onto the surface. At this point, the water is considered to be acid mine drainage (AMD) or "mine water decant".
"You get this flow of water that comes up through the springs and it is very low Ph - very acidic - and it is a whole cocktail of heavy metals and potentially radioactive metals," said the CSIR's Turton.
In the Wonderfonteinspruit area the aquifers are in dolomite, a spongy layer of rock through which water moves quickly. The speed of the water is increased by the mining shafts. In August 2002, acid mine water began to appear in the West Rand Mining Basin just above Krugersdorp Game Reserve.
Harmony Gold rapidly built containment dams and channelled the water into Robinson Lake for treatment, but a percentage of the water is unusable even after treatment and is released into the Tweelopie Spruit, a small river in the area.
A 2006 Water Resources Commission report described Robinson Lake as having an exceptionally high uranium concentration after the influx of AMD water. "This extreme concentration is believed to be the result of remobilisation of uranium from a contaminated sediment by acidic water."
A separate paper about the 2002 decant, written in 2007 by CSIR scientists and Water Geoscience Consulting, stated: "The ramifications of mine water decant for the subregion are enormous. The greatest focus in this regard is undoubtedly the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site ... Of no lesser concern, however, are the downstream landowners and agricultural activities that are largely or wholly dependant on groundwater for potable and business use."
According to Turton, "This is the source of major concern in the short term, but there are other future worries as mines close down and decant starts to move across to the East Rand."
He fears that the country's energy crisis will exacerbate the problem by forcing smaller mines that cannot absorb the financial losses caused by power outages to close. "If they close prematurely, this process will simply be accelerated like a domino effect and hit us before we have the necessary science in place to inform the policy-making process," he said.
But DWAF Minister Lindiwe Hendricks has stated that wastewater from mining operations is not a threat to the country's water supply. When the 2002 decant began, DWAF instructed the responsible mines to contain and treat the water. Hendricks said DWAF's plan to deal with future AMD issues was to build a long-term treatment plant. The Western Basin Environmental Company has been established to treat AMD water.
A Farmer's Tale
Douw Coetzee's farm is located on the Wonderfonteinspruit stream, and his dam is a radioactive hot spot with high levels of radioactive sediment and other heavy metals like cadmium. The dam tested higher for radioactivity than the site above his property where mining waste enters the water via a pipe. Coetzee said he had submitted fish and cow samples from his farm months ago but had yet to hear any results.
Regulators from Harmony mines, as directed by the NNR, ordered Douw and his brother Sas to stop using the water for irrigation purposes because it exposed the sediment, so the Coetzees watched their fields wither and lost their primary income from maize.
Then they were told to keep their cattle away from the water because cattle disturb the sediment when they go into the water to drink, allowing the mine waste to move along in the water's flow. He cannot sell the cattle, which are multiplying rapidly, or the farm, for fear of contamination. "It's not morally right," he said.
He and his brother are not only worried about financial ruin but also their health. "I've lived here all my life; I played in this mud when I was a child. The cadmium level in our dam is 16,000 times higher than the allowed maximum. We're caught up now in nothing but meetings and maintaining what's left of the farm," said Coetzee.
"Basically we're just keeping the cattle alive and having to borrow money from the bank. This was supposed to be my legacy to my children, but everything has been stopped. This is horrible."
He said there were approximately 50 subsistence farmers upstream who did not know about the issues until he and his brother met with them. Whether or not those farmers were still irrigating with river water was unclear. The farmers' union spokesman was unavailable for comment.
What's next
The NNR has established a Regulatory Steering Committee, involving all the relevant local and national government agencies, to be advised by a team of scientific experts yet to be named.
The CSIR's Turton noted that even though many people were frustrated with the current number of reports, the reports thus far have been inadequate in scope and funding.
He said two studies were needed to clearly define the issues in the area and allow government agencies to act: one is a "fate and pathway" report that will definitively determine whether the heavy metals and/or radioactive pollution are entering the food chain and, if so, what steps are necessary to break the chain of pollution; the second is an epidemiological study of people exposed to mine waste.
The reports could potentially create a rough blueprint of the mining pollution issues and appropriate actions that other areas of the country will face. "This is a national strategic issue," said Turton. "We know the next decant will be in the East Rand in the next 10 years, when they stop mining. It is the only way we will get a handle on human health issues arising from chronic exposure."
The Coetzee brothers plan to take meat samples from their cattle to a laboratory in Europe and also have themselves tested while there. Douw pointed to a collection of disused buildings on the property and said the farm used to employ 19 families.
"We tried to hold onto them as long as possible but eventually they didn't get anything from us because we didn't have any money," he said. "It's complete ruins now. These used to be nice houses."
Here is the full article.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Massive Sulfide Layer reported in Kinross Gold Corporation / Geocom Resources Inc. Espolon Mine claim in the Futaleufu Valley - AMD hazzard imminent
In April 2007 Kinross Gold Corporation and Geocom Resources Inc. reported initial assays for their Espolon Gold Mining Claim in the Futaleufu River Valley watershed. The results were as follows:
"The Espolon Claim Block comprises 13 claims totaling 3,800 hectares (9,390 acres or about 14 square miles). The claims cover a gold-silver-copper mineralized zone that has now been traced over a strike length in excess of 3 kilometers (2 miles). The mineralized zone is 10 to 30 meters thick (32 to 96 feet). The zone consists of a gently dipping altered sequence of volcanic tuffs, limestones, and argillites. These rocks have been thermally metamorphosed and moderately to completely silicified. Within the mineralized zone there is a massive sulfide layer that varies in thickness up to 3 meters (about 10 feet) consisting of pyrrhotite-pyrite with varying amounts of chalcopyrite. " Reference: Yahoo Finance, Espolon Assays...
The Geocom Resources geologists reported a "MASSIVE" SULFIDE LAYER within the mineralized zone. These layers, even when small in size, are associated with Acid Rock and Acid Mine Drainage (ARD/AMD), the industry's terms for the production of sulfuric acid run-off. Pyrrhotite-pyrite (FeSx, iron sulfide) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2, Copper Iron Sulfide) , which were specifically mentioned, are both associated with Acid Rock Drainage (AMD). For pyrrhotite-pyrite see: Petrology and Minerology in ARD Prediction . For chalcopyrite see: What is Sulfide Mining
Sierra Club: Sulfide Mines with Acid-Producing Tailings (Waste Rock Piles)
"Another threat to the environment is the mining and processing of copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, rhodium, silver and gold found in low concentrations in rock with sulfides that turn to sulfuric acid (battery acid) when exposed to air and water — as they are when they are mined. The result is mountains of waste rock (99+% of mined rock would be waste) that are expected to leak acid for unknown decades. The acid kills aquatic life that feed fish and amphibians, leaving the rivers and downstream lakes barren and unsafe. Water draining from the waste rock also (with or without acid) will leach toxic metals such as cobalt into the waters.
After the mines play out, the perpetual costs of treating polluted drainage and tending toxic wastes could fall on taxpayers because sulfide mines are "reactive" or acid producing for thousands of years." Reference: Sierra Club
For more information regarding Sulfide Mining see:
What is Sulfide Mining
Acid Mines are Never Safe
The Controversy Behind Sulfide Mining
What is Acid Rock Drainage (ARD)
Read more articles about the Kinross Gold / Geocom Resources Espolon Project here: Espolon Gold Mine
What is Sulfide Mining and Acid Mine Drainage?
In April of 2007 Kinross Gold Corporation and Geocom Resources Inc. reported finding a "MASSIVE SULFIDE LAYER" in the Espolon Gold Mine claim in the Futaleufu River Valley. Here are the implications:
“Sulfide mining, like that of the Yellow Dog mining project, may create potentially irreversable environmental damage to the region and lasting health ailments to area residents,” said U.S. Congressman Stupak.
Read more articles about the Kinross Gold / Geocom Resources Espolon Project here: Espolon Gold Mine
Acid Mine Drainage - Environment Impacts - How will Kinross Gold / Geocom Resources Sulfide Mining effect the Futaleufu River Valley?
In April of 2007 Kinross Gold Corporation and Geocom Resources Inc published an assay of their Espolon Gold Mine claim in the Futaleufu River Valley. What they found was a "massive" sulfide layer within the ore bearing strike. (more about it here) Here are the implications:
Acid Mine Drainage
A high school freshman sits in a grass meadow where two mountain ridges slope down and join. As the young observer gazes across the landscape, he sees a scar on the neighboring ridge. At first it looks like a rockslide or scree slope, but on closer examination he sees a hole in the mountainside. It is an abandoned mine with a waste rock pile at its entrance. An orange-red liquid slowly trickles down from the mine into the forest until it reaches the headwaters of a crystal clear mountain creek teeming with small fish and insects. The volume of clear, cold water flowing overwhelms the orange-red liquid and it disappears.
Returning 8 years later as a college graduate, the observer encounters a much different scene. The meadow is now a wasteland without vegetation, and the once healthy creek is flowing red in the headwaters. The observer follows the creek downstream to see it change from red to white to turquoiseblue; no fish or insects appear for several kilometers downstream. What has happened? The answer is acid mine drainage.
Specifically, in the first visit, the high school student saw acid mine drainage from an old mine that had been worked with crude equipment, likely producing no more than a couple tons of ore a day. Acid mine drainage from this old mine was not significant enough to negatively affect the creek.
The following year, however, the mine had been reopened. The newly opened mine operated with high efficiency using modern equipment and produced from 350 to 450 tons of ore per day. Owing to the larger disturbance and production methods, the acid mine drainage from the modern mine had a significant impact on an entire watershed.
This scene actually played out in the Siskyou Mountains of southwest Oregon. The Formosa Mine initially operated between 1927 and 1933. The mine re-opened in 1990 and produced from 350 to 400 tons of copper and zinc ore per day. The ore was crushed into powder and processed using ponds to separate the metals.
Upon closure in 1994, the mining company placed the leftover crushed high-grade ore back into the mine workings and filled the former flotation ponds with the gangue or low-grade ore. The following winter, the mine workings and former ponds filled up with water from rainfall and began producing acid mine drainage (AMD) as the ore reacted with the water.
AMD from the mine flowed into the headwaters of two nearby creeks, which were habitat for threatened salmon and steelhead. Studies performed before 1990 documented an abundance of aquatic insects and fish in both creeks. After the mine closed, the creeks flowed red, white, turquoise-blue, and blue-green as the metals in the AMD precipitated out into the streambed. A total of 29 kilometers (18 miles) of stream were contaminated with metals from the AMD. Eighteen kilometers (11 miles) were found to be mostly void of aquatic insects, and fish populations were reduced by over 90 percent.
Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) and Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)
Acid rock drainage (ARD) is a natural process in which sulfuric acid is produced when sulfides in rocks—for example, pyrite (FeS2)—are exposed to air and water. This occurs along outcrops or scree slopes where sulfide-bearing rock is naturally weathered.
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is essentially the same process as ARD only greatly magnified. In general, rocks that contain valuable metals usually contain sulfides (metals combined with sulfur). The reason for this marriage (metal deposits with sulfide or sulfur) is that thermal waters are typically responsible for depositing many types of metallic ore. These thermal waters travel along fractures or small channels in the host rock. As a result, the thermal waters also change the mineralogy of the host rock along these fractures, creating bodies of rock referred to as hydrothermal alteration zones, which may be many times larger than the economically-defined ore zones or veins that fill the fracture.
Mineral Deposits
Gangue minerals are the nonvaluable minerals closely associated with the valuable ore deposits. They generally include minerals like quartz or calcite. During mining activities, the gangue material is commonly discarded as waste rock or low-grade ore in an effort to extract more valuable ore minerals found in the veins. AMD is typically associated with these types of hard rock mines across the world. Another major form of AMD is associated with coal mines in the eastern United States (and elsewhere around the world) where acid is formed by the oxidation of sulfur occurring in the coal and the rock or clay found above and below the coal seams.
When the minerals in the rock were deposited millions of years ago, they were formed at high temperatures and pressures. This makes these mineral deposits (including the gangue material) unstable surface conditions when exposed to oxygen and water. Most sulfide minerals react with oxygen (oxidation) and water (hydration). Some sulfides, especially those containing iron and copper, generate sulfuric acid in the process. Pyrite (commonly called "fool's gold"), the most common sulfide mineral, reacts with oxygen and water to form ferrous iron and sulfuric acid in solution.
Laboratory studies have shown that exposing sulfide minerals to oxygen and water produces sulfuric acid, but scientists found that the rate of generation is so slow that it would take decades to oxidize a significant proportion of sulfide. Observations of AMD and other natural systems clearly demonstrate that acid production occurs in a short time period, from months to years. This is because some common strains of bacteria present in almost all environments increase the reaction rate by orders of magnitude.
Once the acid is formed it leaches other metals, such as copper, zinc, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, lead, and mercury, from the mineralized vein. High concentrations of these metals are dissolved by the acid and carried away in solution. As the acid solution flows away from the mine, the pH changes and affects the chemistry of the solution such that different metals begin to precipitate out of solution.
Color changes typical of creeks affected by AMD start as orange, red, or yellow-brown as the ferrous iron solution is diluted. The pH rises as the AMD mixes with the receiving stream, causing the ferrous iron to precipitate out as ferric iron. Farther downstream, the stream is white as aluminum oxide deposits along rocks and the streambed. The iron and aluminum deposits tend to form a sludge-like material, which inhibits algae, insect, and fish growth, and damages their habitat. Benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms are particularly sensitive to this type of pollution. Following the orange iron and white aluminum deposits, the streams can then take on turquoise-blue or green colors as copper and other metals begin to precipitate from solution.
Depressed food supplies, gill clogging, and smothering by iron or aluminum precipitates, along with direct toxicity from ingested metals, contribute to the significant decline of fish, insect, and benthic communities in streams polluted by metal oxides. With their food supply diminished, fish populations can be limited even when degradation is not severe enough to cause direct poisoning of individual fish.
The Problem and the Cleanup
Acid mine drainage is a global problem. In the eastern United States alone, AMD from coal mines has adversely impacted fisheries associated with over 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles) of streams in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland. The problem in the western United States is less studied, yet it has become apparent that once-pristine watersheds are suffering from the effects of AMD. Cleanup of abandoned mine sites is difficult because of their remote locations and because these problems will go on for hundreds of years until the mineralized rock is leached free of sulfides and metals.
Here is the full article.
Read more articles about the Kinross Gold / Geocom Resources Espolon Project here: Espolon Gold Mine
Cyanide Heap Leaching and Acid Mine Runoff - A Futaleufu River Valley preview?
This is the story of the struggle to save the famed Blackfoot River (memorialized in A River Runs Through It) from a proposed leach mine. It documents the enduring but sad legacy of mining throughout the state of Montana--cyanide-laced groundwater, acid mine drainage, and the failures of a boom and bust economy. It speaks from the hearts and minds of men and women who are fighting to save their vanishing heritage. Private property and the right to make a short term profit face off against the rights of future generations to experience the spirit, physical beauty, and health of the wilderness.
Examples of Acid Mine Drainage - Will Kinross Gold Corporation & Geocom Resources Inc. do this to the Futaleufu River Valley?
Abandoned Mine - Kentucky
News segment on WYMT TV about Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in Letcher County,KY and the work of OSM/VISTA Evan Smith (Head of Three Rivers Project) and Kentucky Watershed Watch to bring attention to this problem and seek remediation. Produced by Amy Walker.
Little Dry Fork Mine - Kentucky
On or around March 7, 2007, an abandoned mine had a blow out and now acid mine drainage is gushing into Little Dry Fork, just west of Whitesburg, KY. The orange water, increased water flow, and the changed chemical makeup of the water has decimated aquatic life in the creek. The acid mine drainage flows into Dry Fork and then into the North Fork of the Kentucky River. The plume of cloudy orange runoff extends at least one mile downstream from the mouth of Dry Fork.
Appalshop created this piece as a collaboration with WMMT's Community Correspondents Corps (CCC) and Appalshop Films.
The Almeda Mine - Oregon
The Almeda Mine is located in Southern Oregon on the Wild & Scenic Rogue River. Despite decades of acid mine drainage discharging into the river, the BLM and DEQ have continued to drag their feet when it comes to a comprehensive cleanup of the site. The Center for Environmental Equity, a Portland-based nonprofit is leading the charge to have the mine listed as a Federal Superfund site. For more information go to nevermined.org.
Read more articles about the Kinross Gold / Geocom Resources Espolon Project here: Espolon Gold Mine
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Radioactive Water, the Price of Gold in South Africa - no natural water in the whole area that was safe for use by humans, animals or plants.
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 3 (IPS) - Large gold-mining companies operating to the west of South Africa's commercial centre, Johannesburg, stand accused of contaminating a number of water sources with radioactive pollutants.
One case involves the Wonderfontein Spruit ("water course", in Afrikaans): a stream that runs 90 kilometres from the outskirts of Johannesburg to the south-west past the towns of Krugersdorp, Bekkersdal, Carletonville and Khutsong, before flowing into the Mooi River near Potchefstroom.
Mariette Liefferink, an environmental activist, blames the mines for the high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, copper cobalt and zinc in the waters of the spruit. She is particularly troubled by the levels of uranium, which gives off radioactive by-products such as polonium and lead.
"The Wonderfontein Spruit is of major concern to us because every year the gold mines discharge 50 tonnes of uranium into the receiving water course. The Water Research Commission (a parastatal research body) has found that there are approximately 1,100 milligrammes per kilogramme of uranium in the upper Wonderfontein Spruit, and 900 milligrammes per kilogramme in the lower Wonderfontein Spruit area."
Heavy metal concentrations are higher in the upper reaches of the river because a large percentage of the pollutants sink into the sediments as water flows downstream. This means that under normal circumstances water tests in lower areas do not cause great concern, and users may feel that they are not under threat from heavy metal contaminants.
If, however, the sediments are in any way disturbed -- by cattle, or children playing in the river, for example -- the uranium can easily be dislodged from the sediments and reabsorbed into the water.
Mixed messages
Government bodies have commissioned several studies to ascertain the gravity of the water pollution in the Wonderfontein Spruit. The most recent study, known as the Brenk report, was commissioned by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) -- a governmental body set up to monitor and regulate the production and use of nuclear materials -- and compiled under the direction of German physicist Rainer Barthel.
Initially government was so embarrassed by the Brenk report that the NNR refused to release it to the public, and as Barthel was due to present his findings to the Environmin 2007 conference on Jul. 24-25, organisers of this event were told to withdraw his invitation.
When the Brenk Report was eventually made public in August, it resulted in a number of contradictory messages.
Harmony Gold -- the world’s fifth largest gold producer, and one of the mines responsible for the uranium discharge -- relayed to farmers on its lands a directive from the NNR saying that livestock may not consume water from the Wonderfontein Spruit.
The report said that water in the river had absorbed polonium and lead. Barthel also noted in the study that there was no natural water in the whole area that was safe for use by humans, animals or plants.
However, Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks said in a written response to a question posed in parliament that none of the 47 samples from the Wonderfontein Spruit exceeded the NNR regulatory limit for public exposure. "The use of this water is therefore safe for drinking purposes, but it should be borne in mind that the water is raw or untreated river water that has not been treated to potable drinking water standards."
This assurance came despite her acknowledgement, in the same response, that "Elevated levels of radioactive contamination have been detected in the sediments of dams and weirs along the river. This may pose potential problems should it be ingested by live-stock churning up the sediments."
The chief executive of the NNR, Maurice Magugumela, has made an effort to quell public fears over this situation, saying that the poisoned water and sediments posed "no cause for concern."
In addition, the city council of Potchefstroom has gone to great lengths to assure its residents that the city’s drinking water is safe. Potchefstroom sources much of its water from the Boskop dam which is partly fed by the Wonderfontein Spruit.
"Treated water from the Boskop and Potchefstroom dams are of high quality especially regarding its heavy metal and uranium content," said mayoral spokesman Kaizer Mohau, in a statement.
There is no reason to doubt Mohau’s statement, which must certainly comfort city residents who drink tap water.
But it will do little for the estimated 150,000 people living in impoverished settlements along the Wonderfontein Spruit’s banks. They may have no choice but to drink untreated water from the river.
Acid mine drainage
Gold mines are also finding themselves in the dock over acid mine drainage, another means by which heavy metals are being released into the environment.
Mining operations expose heavy metals and sulphur compounds that have been locked away in the ground. Rising ground water then leaches these compounds out of the exposed earth, resulting in acid mine drainage that can continue to pollute the environment decades after mines have been closed down.
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Water coming out of the disused mine in Randfontein could not simply be channelled into the nearest river because it was far too acidic and could have had serious consequences for the environment.
As an emergency measure, Harmony fed the water into Robinson Lake, at that time a popular recreational area where fishing was a favourite pastime. Today the lake has very high levels of uranium and a pH level of 2.2, which makes it as acidic as lemon juice and completely incapable of sustaining any life forms.
The NNR measured in the water a uranium concentration of 16 milligrammes per litre, obliging it to declare Robinson Lake a radiation area.
Here is the full article.
Monday, November 26, 2007
UK mining companies complicit in abuse of poor - Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Vedanta Resources accused.
[Tuesday 20 November 2007] British mining corporations supported by the UK government, such as Vedanta Resources, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, are complicit in human rights abuse while making huge profits in developing countries.
This charge is made today by the anti-poverty charity War on Want in a report which attacks these and other UK companies for fuelling conflict and violence against vulnerable people. War on Want launched the report, Fanning the Flames, as the Mines and Money World Congress for the booming industry opens in London today.
Ruth Tanner, senior campaigns officer at War on Want, said: "The British government has championed the cause of UK mining firms across the world. Yet the industry is complicit in a range of human rights abuses and is profiting at the expense of the poor. It is time for the British government to take action to stop these abuses."
The report is launched in the wake of the Norwegian government's decision to drop Vedanta from its global pension fund due to "systematic" environmental and human rights failures. Vedanta's bid for mining rights in the Indian state of Orissa faces mounting opposition from thousands of Dongaria Kandha tribal people who fear the company's plans will damage the fragile ecosystem of the Niyamgiri mountain forest, on which they depend for their livelihoods. According to the report, the Indian Supreme Court heard evidence that people forced to leave their villages to make way for the refinery were beaten.
Dandu Sikaka, a Dongaria tribal woman, said: "How will we survive without Niyamgiri, the mountain? Our streams will dry up. If they mine, it will become a disaster. We will all die if you dig out our forest."
The report pinpoints other Vedanta involvement in abuse in India. At Mettur in Tamil Nadu, the company is accused of seizing land, with discharge from its aluminium plant poisoning farm soil, contaminating water and killing animals, and emissions from the plant and coal-fired power station causing severe health problems for local people. One non-governmental investigation found that male bauxite workers at Mainpat in Chhattisgarh state earned just over 60 rupees, about 80p, for delivering one tonne of ore, with women paid even less. The workers live in small thatched hovels perched over the quarry, denied electricity and adequate water.
Last year Rio Tinto earned $122 million from its stake in the Grasberg gold and copper mine in West Papua, Indonesia, where local people have suffered years of serious human rights and environmental abuse.
BHP Billiton is pressing for new mining opportunities in the Philippines, despite a wave of murders and other human rights violations linked to the extractive industry.
In addition the report cites abuse surrounding operations by UK mining companies Anglo American, Oxus Gold, Global Coal Management, Monterrico Metals and Xstrata in countries such as South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, Peru, Zambia and Colombia.
Here is the full article.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Town Hopes to Recover From Chile Quake
QUILLAGUA, Chile (AP) — Residents of this tiny desert town expressed hope Friday that their first visit ever by a Chilean president will spur recovery after a huge earthquake damaged dozens of homes.
Touring the region the day before, President Michelle Bachelet promised that within 15 days the most urgent housing problems would be solved in Quillagua, where about half of the hamlet's 60 homes were damaged.
"We had strong earthquakes here before," said resident Erwin Delgado. "Let's hope this time we will really be helped after her visit."
But others worried that the damage could be tough to overcome in rapidly shrinking Quillagua, where decades of nearby copper mining have reduced river levels and contaminated what little water still flows, making small farming difficult. Today it is home to just 100 mostly elderly residents, down from several hundred a decade ago.
Here is the full article.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Modern Mining Myths
Modern Mining Myths
Modern metal mining is producing a legacy of dead rivers, ruined landscapes, and groundwater dangerously polluted by heavy metals and chemicals. Ecological damage of this magnitude isn't just happening in countries with lax environmental regulations. It's also happening in the United States, despite environmental laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act.
Part of the problem is that modern mining with its open pits, massive waste rock dumps and toxic processing chemicals has outstripped environmental and mining regulations. They simply weren't written to deal with massive open pits over a mile wide, mountains of waste rock and water pollution that can last 1000 years. And where regulations prohibited some actions, such as dumping tailings in stream drainages, industry has successfully gained exemptions to the law.
Another part of the problem is perception. Greenwashing by the mining industry portrays mines as strictly regulated facilities that temporarily use the land with minimal lasting effects. Public relations campaigns by industry trade groups, such as the Gold Institute, imply that with modern technology, mining nowadays poses little risk to the environment or public health. This article looks at two major mining components - cyanide leaching and "zero discharge" tailings impoundments - in an effort to explode these myths.
Cyanide - Mining's Poison Pill
Used to process both base and precious metals, cyanide is the reagent of choice at modern mines. 85% of the world's gold is produced through the cyanide leach process. Although acknowledging cyanide's acute toxicity (1 teaspoon of 2% cyanide solution will kill an adult) the mining industry maintains that accidental releases of cyanide are rare, but that when they do occur, impacts "are transient and the recovery of the environment occurs in a short period."
However, that claim is not born out on the ground; lots of mines leak lots of cyanide into ground and surface waters. In Idaho, the Grouse Creek mine had numerous violations discharging cyanide at levels two to five times higher than allowed. Even after mining ceased in 1997, cyanide continued to leak into nearby Jordan Creek at levels harmful to aquatic life. At the Beal Mountain, Kendall, Golden Sunlight and Zortman-Landusky mines - all in Montana - numerous cyanide spills and leaks contaminated drinking water aquifers and killed streams. These weren't transient effects. Because of persistent cyanide contamination, Pegasus Gold had to provide an alternative drinking water source to the town of Zortman, and Placer Dome bought out landowners downstream of the Golden Sunlight mine . In fact, Montana has so many streams and aquifers contaminated with cyanide from mining operations that, in 1999, a citizen's initiative to ban new cyanide leach operations passed by a healthy margin. Clearly Montana taxpayers, after watching their streams die and faced with a clean-up bill of close to $60 million, didn't buy industry's argument that cyanide doesn't cause long-term problems.
"Zero Discharge" - Fact or Fiction?
Most mines process millions of tons of ore a year. The consistency of wet cement, tailings are what's left over after the ore has been processed. Current practice for permanent tailings storage is to construct a dam across the mouth of stream, divert the stream, and dump the tailings in the drainage. At Ft. Knox, outside of Fairbanks, for example, over 1,000 acres of the upper Fish Creek drainage will be consumed by tailings.
See the full article at: Northern Alaska Environmental Center.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Making Gold Miners Pay
"Thanks, mountain!" says the grizzled old prospector played by Walter Huston, in the 1948 movie The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, after he and his young partners erase evidence of their digging before heading back to civilization, burros laden with gold dust.
Huston's benevolent gesture was a sentiment decades ahead of its time. Today, gold and other precious-metal mining companies are extracting bounties of ore, leaving behind scarred mountainsides, toxic acid-rock runoffs and waste-rock dumps — and although much of the damage is on public land, the mining operations, most of which are multinationals, are not required to pay royalties on precious-metals production, and many escape liability for environmental restoration.
That tradition may be about to change. Last week, as the price of gold hit a 28-year high and platinum prices set records, a new bill was being debated by the House Natural Resources Committee, which could force the mines to pay up. For 135 years, the mines have taken wealth out of the public domain under the protection of the General Mining Law — a let-'er-rip relic of the wild frontier past that allows mines to stake claims on almost any federal land. Since the law's enactment in 1872, the U.S. government has given away more than $245 billion in mineral reserves through patenting or royalty-free mining, says Rep. Nick Rahall, the West Virginia Democrat who is behind the new bill. Compare that, he says, to the $35 billion the Treasury has reaped from coal, oil and gas produced on federal lands between 1994 and 2001 alone. "So with that scenario," says Rahall, "we are indeed Uncle Sucker."
Rahall's bill would require companies to make royalty payments on "net-smelter" profits from ore mined off federal claims. Two-thirds of those collections would go toward remediation of the $32 billion in environmental mining damage already incurred in the U.S., and one-third to help local communities adversely affected by mining operations. "We're trying to put some fair return to the American taxpayer for the use of their land," says Rahall, the new chairman of the House Interior Subcommittee. "Whether it's coal or gold mining, there are social and economic impacts that are just the same, which is why we ought to be treating all these extractive industries the same."
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Indeed, in Montana's Little Rockies, a gold mining operation that was abandoned in 1997 after 20 years of cyanide leaching — a method of dissolving gold from ore rocks — is still polluting the area and costing millions in public funds to monitor and treat groundwater. Pegasus Gold, the Canadian mine operator, which has since filed for bankruptcy, paid no royalties on the gold it extracted from the area, and now the Ft. Belknap Tribes of Montana, whose reservations adjoin the Little Rockies mining district, says its surface waters are showing unacceptable levels of iron, arsenic, zinc and nickel. "Our biggest fear is that the [U.S. Bureau of Land Management] and the state will not have to provide enough money to run ... water-treatment plants after August 2008," says Dean Stiffarm, environmental liaison for the tribes. "There will be only enough funding to run them six months a year."
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But there are some in the industry who think the royalty will actually be a boon for business. Gold mining's biggest market, the jewelry retailers, support Rahall's bill saying that environmental responsibility is what more and more of its customers are looking for: at least 80% of gold consumed goes to the superfluous bling of human adornment, and some of those customers are feeling ethical pangs.
Tiffany and Co. CEO Michael J. Kowalski early last year signed onto the "No Dirty Gold" campaign launched by the mining-reform advocate Earthworks and has drawn most of the large retailers into supporting Rahall's reform effort. The last thing image-conscious companies like Tiffany want is to be linked to controversies such as that over conflict diamonds, portrayed in the movie Blood Diamond, nor do they want to be seen as callous parties to mining disasters. "Our customers were anxious to be assured that the metals and gemstones used in Tiffany products were extracted and processed in socially and environmentally responsible ways," says Kowalski. "We come to this, not as conservationists or environmentalists, but simply as business people who really are responding to market forces. So this is not about opposing mining; this is about supporting responsible mining."
Here is the full article.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Chile's 21st Century Gold Rush
Environmentalists Upset With Increased Investment In Gold Mining
[Sept. 13, 2007] After spending much of the past year prospecting for gold in southern Chile, U.S.-based mineral exploration company Geocom Resources has now narrowed its search to three specific areas, all in Region X.
Geocom – which is working in collaboration with the Kinross Gold Corporation – announced the elevation of the Espolon, Cerro Mera and Cerro Vaca gold claims to “formal venture status.” Its partner in the joint venture, Canada’s Kinross, is the world’s eighth largest gold mining company. Kinross is also a major player in Chile, where it holds an estimated 18,500 tons in gold deposits.
In a telephone interview with the Patagonia Times, Geocom CEO John Hiner was careful to explain that the Region X projects are still very much at an exploration stage. Elevating the three claim blocks to formal venture status, he explained, “is basically saying these things may have some interest.”
“It’s all basically exploration,” he said. “We don’t know what’s there. We have to continue exploration, but by the agreement with Kinross, we have to do it as a formal joint venture.”
At this point, he added, it’s not even clear whether the claims – which together cover several thousand hectares of land – are rich enough in gold, copper and silver deposits to even warrant setting up mines.
“It’s at such an early stage, it’s going to be difficult to say with certainty that there’s mineralization of any economic interest there. That’s the reason for doing the work now. So I guess the next year or two will tell us whether or not there’s mineralization to justify continued work,” said Hiner.
Increased Investment In Gold Mining
While Tuesday’s announcement may never develop into a really important mining venture for Geocom, it is still a timely reminder of how foreign companies are increasingly investing in Chile’s gold mining potential.
By the end of next year, according to a recent study by the Chilean Copper Commission, gold mining companies will have invested some US$3 billion here since 2004. A good portion of that money comes from Barrick Gold, a Canadian company behind the controversial Pascua Lama project in Region III.
But with Kinross, Swiss mining company Xstrata and other corporations also banking on Chilean gold, investment in gold and silver mines could, by 2011, come close to matching that of copper, the daily El Mercurio (citing Mining Industry stats) reported this week.
The trend may be due partly to the fact that Chile’s copper industry is in many ways saturated – there isn’t a lot of room for growth. Another factor has to do with waning confidence in global stock markets, and in traditionally stable currencies like the U.S. dollar, explained economist Bernardo Reyes Ortíz.
“There’s a general concern that things aren’t going well…That leads many people to seek refuge in more solid currencies, not, in this case, the U.S. dollar. The most likely alternative is gold. That, then, is a driving force pushing up investment in gold mining,” said Ortíz, who works for the Santiago-based Ecological Policy Institute (EIP).
A third factor, at least in southern Chile, may have to do with planned infrastructure changes. In isolated Patagonia, plans by the Chilean government to extend the Carreterra Austral (Southern Highway) would no doubt make mines or any other industry planned for the area all the more cost effective.
So, too, would the so-called Aysén Project, a US$4 billion hydroelectric scheme planned for Region XI. If approved by the government, the Aysén Project – which plans to build five massive hydroelectric dams that would then be linked to Santiago via a 2,000-kilometer transmission line – could provide easily accessible electricity for a host of local mining ventures in the future.
“There’s a clear relationship,” said Víctor Formantel Gallardo of the environmental NGO Ecosistemas. “Once they’ve come here and built a 1,000-kilometer high tension line that stretches to Puerto Montt, and then reaches from there through the valleys and foothill areas for another 1,000 kilometers all the way to Santiago, at that point there really will be no reason for them not to come and extract the region’s very real mineral resources.
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“The types of process that are used in gold mining have an even greater environmental impact than copper mining, because of the types of chemicals that are used, and the types of residues that are left behind,” said Ortíz.
Another vital issue has to do with water supplies. Gold mines require a tremendous amount of water. And in Chile’s dry northern regions – home, for example, to Barrick Gold’s Pascua Lama project, that can be particularly problematic.
“These projects are often being prepared in semi-arid or arid areas, where there’s already a major water supply problem. The mines tend to be set up near the headwaters of river basis, which can end up having multiple economic affects downriver;” said Ortíz.
In the much wetter southern Chile, where Geocom and Kinross are conducting their explorations, gold mining could precipitate another environmental problem – landslides, according to the EIP economist. Open-pit gold mining necessarily involves removing ground vegetation, and in rainy areas like Region X or XI, that could increase the likelihood of erosion and dangerous landslides.
“No company can guarantee that there won’t be accidents…Especially when it comes to large-scale operations. And we’re not talking about small gold mines here, we’re talking about large-scale operations, the majority of them open-pit. These aren’t underground mines,” said Ortíz.
Here is the full article.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Manufactured Landscapes - Nature Transformed by Industry, by Edward Burtynsky
Film Awards
Best Documentary – 2007 Genie Awards
Best Canadian Film – Toronto International Film Festival
Best Canadian Film & Best Documentary - Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
Nominated for Grand Jury Prize- Sundance Film Festival 2007
About the Artist
Edward Burtynsky is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. Manufactured Landscapes – a stunning documentary by award winning director Jennifer Baichwal – follows Burtynsky to China, as he captures the effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution. This remarkable film leads us to meditate on human endeavour and its impact on the planet.
Reviews
"The upright, two legged naked ape that appeared in Africa 150,000 years ago has become an immense force. Our species is now altering the physical, chemical and biological features of the planet on a geological scale. This film let's us look at the impressive, yet troubling scale of our impact. Everyone should see it!"
- DAVID SUZUKI
"A protracted exploration of the aesthetic, social and spiritual dimensions of industrialization and globalization... Raises some sigificant and sobering questions about the impact that we, as humans, make on our environment"
- NEW YORK TIMES
"Manufactured Landscapes tracks the beauty and the horror of industry's imprint on the earth"
- NOW MAGAZINE
Excerpts From the DVD:
More Information:
See the official trailer here: Manfactured Landscapes Trailer
Purchase the DVD video here: Manufactured Landscapes Video
Buy the book here: Manufactured Landscapes Video
The Gold Link – Moving Mountain Ranges for Jewelry
Eighty five percent of the world’s gold production goes to the fabrication of jewelry. This is a visual story of the water, landscape, and people at the source of a new Andean gold supply located on the border of Argentina and Chile.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Pascua Lama Gold Mine: A Contemporary Quest for El Dorado
Pascua Lama Gold Mine Background
Pascua Lama is a mining project consisting of the open-pit exploitation of a deposit of gold, silver and copper ore and its processing to produce doré (gold and silver) and copper concentrate.
The deposit is located high in the Andes on the Chilean-Argentinean border, about 150 kilometres to the south-east of the city of Vallenar in the Commune of Alto del Carmen, Province of Huasco, III Region of Chile.
The nearest communities are Chollay and Las Breas, located 35 and 55 km away, respectively.
The project is bi-national in that it will have workings and operations in both Chilean and Argentine territory. In Argentina, the project is located about 300 km to the north-east of the city of San Juan, in the Department of Iglesia, Province of San Juan.
The operational area is established according to Additional Protocols 20 and 23 of the 16th Economic Complementarity Agreement of negotiated between Chile and Argentina within the framework of the 1980 Treaty of Montevideo.
A large part of the open pit will be in Chilean territory, as well as a waste rock dump, the processing plant, primary crusher, mine equipment maintenance complex, and powder magazine for the storage of explosives.
These facilities will be located in the headwaters of the Estrecho River, tributary of the Chollay River, at 4,400 metres above sea level.
In Argentine territory a smaller portion of the open pit will be built, along with a waste rock dump, a processing plant, a tailings pond, the construction camp (for 4,000 people) and operation camp (for 1,000 people), in addition to a private aerodrome.
The ore will be extracted of the mine at the rate of 15 million tons per year and sent to a primary crusher in Chilean territory, to reduce its size. Then it will be transported by means of a conveyor belt to processing facilities located in Argentine territory, crossing the border through a 2.7 km long tunnel.
In the processing plant the ore will undergo secondary crushing, milling, and washing operations.
The so-called refractory ore will be processed by means of conventional flotation to obtain copper concentrates. The non-refractory ore, as well as wastes from the flotation circuit, will be processed by means of leaching with sodium cyanide, precipitation with zinc, and refinement to obtain “doré” metal.
The water requirement for the Pascua-Lama Project will be 370 l/s in total. This demand will be supplied from the Taguas River in Argentina.
Barrick is proposing to extract additional water in Chile for the operations of the mine and factories, with an estimated requirement of up to 42 l/s that will be taken from the Estrecho and Toro rivers. Barrick will have the corresponding utilisation rights under the legislation of each country.
There will be terrestrial access from both sides of the border. In Chile access will be from the city of Vallenar, via the road that connects Vallenar with the Alto del Carmen area, followed by a secondary road to be developed up the entire Carmen River valley.
The amount of the investment has been estimated to be 950 million dollars.
The Project has a productive life of 20 years according to the present reserve estimates, and it will produce 5,000 tons of copper in concentrates, 615,000 ounces of gold and 18.2 million ounces of silver annually.
The companies developing the project are: Company Minera Nevada S.A. in Chile, and Barrick Exploraciones Argentina S.A. and Exploraciones Mineras Argentinas S.A., in Argentina.
Glacier removal and handling
The information available in the EIA only establishes that this will have an approximate surface area of 10 hectares and that “the sectors of glacier that will have to be removed will be determined with the appropriate lead time in accord with the updated mining plan.” There are no estimates of thickness or the equivalent in water.
The lack of relevant technical expertise in removing glaciers implies an irreversible environmental impact. What is certain is that the three affected glaciers would suffer an environmental impact. Nevertheless, there is no certainty whatsoever of what the impact would be on glaciers or permafrost (frozen rock or soil) from the road network and the associated stabilization measures that generally involves the use of salts.
Here is the full article.
Friday, November 2, 2007
The Environmental Cost of Chile's Gold Mines
The spending power of people from emerging economies is driving the price of gold up to record highs. but at what cost? A controversial mine in northern Chile could threaten one of the most fertile valleys in the driest area of the country.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Chilean authorities outraged over new leak at Los Pelambres mine
Over 300,000 Liters Of Toxic Liquid Spilled In Latest Accident
(Nov. 1, 2007) Chilean authorities expressed outrage Wednesday when informed of a Friday-night toxic leak at a tailings dam in Region IV’s Los Pelambres Mine. That leak, which lasted five hours before mine officials notified authorities, was disclosed to the press Tuesday evening.
Los Pelambres is 60 percent owned by Chile’s powerful Luksic family and administered by Antofagasta Minerals, the mining arm of the family’s economic empire. (ST, Aug. 23) This is the second time since August that the plant has been responsible for a toxic spill.
“This most recent spill happened during a 40 minute time span at about 4 a.m. As soon as we received word of the accident, we immediately went out to the scene to investigate what happened. Still, we were not able to make it out to the mine until about 11 a.m,” Marcelo Gamboa, the head of Region IV’s Environmental Authority (COREMA), told the Santiago Times.
Radio Universidad de Chile reported that toxic residue flowed from the facility at a rate of 128 liters per second, resulting in a spill of more than 300,000 liters in the surrounding area. Officials believe that the waste traveled some two kilometers before entering the nearby Cuncumén River and its tributaries. A faulty pump, they say, was the source of the accident.
Radio Universidad de Chile also quoted Los Pelambres mine officials, who said the liquid contained 1,500 milligrams of sulfate and 0.2 milligrams of molybdenum per liter - quantities that are highly toxic for local flora and fauna.
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This latest spill follows allegations that the mine spewed toxic water into the Cuncumén River in early August. According to mine officials, one of Los Pelambre’s major valves ruptured on August 3, allowing some 5,000 cubic meters of water to leak from the plant to the area surrounding it.
While company officials claim that the leak was not toxic, CONAMA suspects otherwise. CONAMA officials detected abnormally high amount of pollutants, including sulfur, in the Cuncumén River shortly after the accident happened.
“There was a deliberate attempt on part of the mine’s employees to not inform local governing bodies. This meant that samples of the surrounding area were taken too late to have confirmed the spill,” local Dep. Renán Fuentealba (DC) told reporters at the time. He went on to state that the pollution could potentially affect the nearby Choapa Valley’s agricultural production and that dozens of dead fish had already turned up in the river.
Here is the full article.
Photo Credit: Edward Burtynsky, an artist who explores landscapes transformed by industry. Here is his webpage: Manfactured Landscapes.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Cleanup of the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex
Twilight of the Dam
LINCOLN - As the pool of water recedes behind the Mike Horse dam, so does the threat of another blowout.
At this time of year, the pool typically is at one of its lowest levels. And on a recent crisp fall day, amid howling winds and a hint of snow, a backhoe operator was carefully digging a V-shaped ditch 4 feet deep, just above the western boundary of the pool, which will completely drain it.
This is one of the first long-awaited steps toward restoring the headwaters of the famed Blackfoot River to its original state.
The work is oddly reminiscent of another man-made effort decades ago, when a crew carved a similar trench into the hillside to do what they're doing again today - rerouting Beartrap Creek around what most people call the Mike Horse dam.
Technically, the Mike Horse dam is an impoundment, not a bona fide dam constructed to hold back water. It originated in 1941, when ore was pulled from deep within the bowels of the nearby Mike Horse Mine. After the metal was extracted from the ore through a milling process, the wet tailings ran down a sluice next to Beartrap Creek, where they settled and excess water evaporated or seeped through the mound of tailings.
It's been decades since tailings were placed here, but the seeping is still taking place, sometimes at up to 500 gallons per minute. The giant slope that's the face of the impoundment is moist and spongy when trod upon; the metals that make their way through the ground with the water, now and in the past, have painted the soils bright orange, coal black and salty white.
At the base of the dam, where Mike Horse and Beartrap creeks meet, fluorescent green plants thrive in the metal-laden water.
"It only used to discharge during the springtime," notes Charlie McKenna, an engineer with the Helena National Forest. "But now, even when the water level is low behind the dam, water leaks through it.
"When the water level is high, it leaks like a sieve."
The Blowout
The impoundment and nearby mining sites are part of the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex, 16 miles east of Lincoln and about 50 miles northwest of Helena. The land on which the Mike Horse dam sits is part of the Helena National Forest's Lincoln Ranger District.
Various entities have worked claims in the complex, but Asarco was the primary operator and created the ditch that funneled Beartrap Creek around the impoundment, according to a history of the site by David Stiller, who wrote a book about the Mike Horse and its impact upon Montana's environment.
On a cool, wet June day 32 years ago, the upper ditch gave way after days of powerful rainstorms cut loose landslides. The creek water mixed with trees, rocks, rain and melting snow, with the debris blocking the only spillway.
Cresting the 50-foot-tall impoundment, the water took bite after bite through a 100-foot-wide section on the east side, eventually carving a deep "V" through the dam and sending 100,000 tons of tailings into the headwaters of the famed Blackfoot River, immortalized in Norman Maclean's novel "A River Runs Through It."
The blowout caused a toxic stew of heavy metals to rush downstream, killing thousands of fish and all other aquatic life for 10 miles of the Blackfoot River. It became the poster child for environmental groups calling for the cleanup of the Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex, as well as other abandoned properties throughout Montana.
The Anaconda Co., which leased the mine and mill operation from Asarco, repaired the impoundment by November 1975. The new structure was 50 feet high, 500 feet long and 25 feet wide at the top. Upgrades made in 1980 raised the impoundment by two feet.
By this time, Beartrap Creek was flowing directly into the pool behind the dam. It's still considered a "dead" stream below the dam, devoid of fish.
Concerns were raised about the old impoundment in 1964, 1972 and 1974, before the blowout and dam repair.
Questions began circulating a few years ago about the new structure's stability.
A 2005 study by the U.S. Forest Service, which owns the land on which the dam sits, called the structure "compromised," and noted it had several large voids in it. Last spring, water was seeping through the dam at around 400 to 500 gallons per minute.
Here is the full article.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
U.S. Gold Mining Company Geocom to Strip Mine Chilean Patagonia - Espolon and Futaleufu River Area
The international mining company Geocom Resources, along with Kinross Corp., both United States based companies are quietly buying up the mineral rights to the Valley in the heart of the Chilean Patagonia totaling over 91,000 hectares (353 square miles), with over 318 claims in the region X.
The international mining company Geocom Resources, along with Kinross Corp., both United States based companies are quietly buying up the mineral rights to the Valley in the heart of the Chilean Patagonia totaling over 91,000 hectares (353 square miles), with over 318 claims in the region X. We are closely watching these developments as mining operations have the potential for incredible environmental devastation, even under the closest regulation. We need your help to insure the environmental assault South America's Patagonia is brought to the full light of day. We even have a simple email in both Spanish and English prepared for you to help us let everyone know.
Geocom y Kinross Corp., started quietly investigating the mining possibilities in the valley just outside the town of Futaleufu in the Northern part of the Patagonia several years ago. The project was shelved for several years, and recently the company has again brought the the project to active status. They are also currently investigating other mining opportunities around the Patagonia including copper mines. Every indication is that this project will seriously go forward as the and other minerals are relatively accessible, but at the cost of the environment of the Futaleufu and river valleys.
Argentina has already rejected similar projects just across the boarder from Chile's southern region X, where the Futaleufu river flows across the boarder and the river enters the Futaleufu river just about 20 km from the proposed .
