For iron mountain, there is no single remedial solution that would clean up 90% of the problem on a permanent and maintenancefree basis with the exception of completely mining the mountain. The mine discharged six tons of toxic sludge daily before an epa cleanup. Though mining operations were discontinued in 1963, underground mine workings, waste rock dumps, piles of mine tailings, and an open mine pit still remain at the site. Environmental effects of mining iron mountain usgs. Whether one floor, one building or multiple locations, well help you navigate a variety of real estate changes, including office closures, occupancy in a new space or reconfiguration of your existing space. The epa took action to reduce or eliminate acid mine drainage discharges from the site, and incurred costs in doing so response costs.
View all hotels near iron mountain iron mine on tripadvisor. Mining waste treatment technology selectioncase studyiron. History of iron mountain usgs california water science center. Epa asks public to comment on iron mountain mine cleanup. Iron mountain mine, california, superfund site center. Iron mountain has been a superfund site since 1983, and is home of the worlds most acidic water negative 3. Prior to the cleanup, the heavily worked mines on iron mountain discharged, on average, 650 pounds of copper, 1,800 pounds of zinc, and 10,000 pounds of iron per day.
This locality is often erroneously cited as being in jackson. Oxiderich scale in a pipeline carrying acid mine drainage at iron mountain mine, california, u. Iron mountain mine, california, superfund site center for water. Copious quantities of soluble metal sulfate salts such as melanterite, chalcanthite, coquimbite, rhomboclase, voltaite, copiapite. Proposing the flat creek iron mountain mine site for superfund cleanup topics. The bottom of the openpit mine has filled with water but its dimensions are readily visible. Mine your data to uncover new revenue stream opportunities and cost savings by combining. Deal is reached to clean up polluted mine in california. Learn about the soil and groundwater cleanup at the pacific coast pipeline superfund site near fillmore, ca, located at the southern end of ventura county. Historic settlement reached on iron mountain mine on october 19, 2000, the united states and the state of california announced a settlement with aventis crop sciences usa, inc. Us mines unleash millions of gallons of polluted water each. Sep 07, 2016 a colorado mine that spewed 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into rivers in three western states was designated a superfund site wednesday, clearing the way for a multimilliondollar. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes and singlewalled carbon nanotubes.
Iron mountain provides solutions for records management, data backup and recovery, document management, secure shredding, and data centers. Since the epa undertook cleanup of iron mountain mines, inc. Iron mountain iron mine vulcan 2020 all you need to know. Inside a toxic hellhole, iron mountain mine sfgate. Iron mountain mine near redding in northern california was really a group of at least ten mines. Prior to cleanup operations by the environmental protection agency, acid mine drainage from iron mountain was among the most acidic and metalladen. Iron mountain mine jobs and cleanup from recovery act funds u. Iron mountain mine case study success through planning, partnerships, and perseverance prior to epas cleanup of the site, most of the acidic effluent from iron mountain flowed or seeped out of the mines into adjacent streams and eventually into keswick reservoir, a runofriver reservoir on the sacramento river. History of iron mountain usgs california water science.
Opened in 1892, it was the first mine on the mesabi range, which has proved to be the largest iron ore deposit ever discovered. Iron mountain mine was mining factory forgold, copper and zinc. In a word, remediating the extensive mines in a mountain of rock with almost no acid neutralization capacity is daunting. The cleanup at the mine is expected to continue for decades. Geologically classified as a massive sulfide ore deposit, the site was mined for iron, silver, gold, copper, zinc and pyrite intermittently from the 1860s until 1963. Proposing the flat creekiron mountain mine site for. National cost of leakingmine cleanup could surpass. Its records management, information destruction, and data backup and recovery services are supplied to more than 220,000 customers throughout north america, europe, latin america, africa, and asia. At northern californias iron mountain mine, cleanup teams battle to contain highly acidic water that percolates through a former copper and zinc mine and drains into a sacramento river.
Report of the iron mountain mine natural resource trustee council, u. Negative ph and extremely acidic mine waters from iron. Pacific coast pipeline superfund site cleanup youtube. Operating from approximately 18791962, iron mountain, in its heyday, was the tenth largest copper production site in the world. All aboard the underground mine train to tour the iron mountain iron mine. There are, however, several options most of which have been exercised that are low risk and low cost and should reduce the discharge of acid mine waters. The acid mine drainage from imm is among the most acid and metalladen water anywhere on earth. Jul 26, 2018 an uncontrolled release of iron mountain acid mine drainage could potentially threaten the quality of the drinkingwater supply. Oct 05, 2009 iron mountain mine jobs and cleanup from recovery act funds. At that time there were three hundred miners on the roll, under their charge.
Search for sites proposed to, currently on, and deleted from superfunds national priorities list npl as well as sites being addressed under the superfund alternative approach saa. An abandoned vertical iron mine that is now home to one of the largest hibernatingbreeding bat colonies up to 1 million bats in north america. Skilled guides take you 2,600 feet into the mine and give demonstrations and insight about the long ago mining era. Iron mountain s clean start program is designed to transform your workplace. Beginning in 1986, the environmental protection agency epa responded to the release of hazardous waste at what is now called the iron mountain mines superfund site the site. Well manage the cleanout process from start to finish and provide services to facilitate the donation. Remedial activity at iron mountain mine included collecting and treatingacid drainage from mine run off. Californias 150yearold iron mountain mine discharged six tons of toxic sludge a day before a cleanup by the epa, which declared it a superfund site in 1983, 20 years after it. Environmental protection agency opened the public comment period on the proposed cleanup plan for the spring creek arm of the keswick reservoir at the iron mountain mine superfund site, located approximately nine miles northwest of redding, calif. Old mine, iron mountain, iron mountain town, west shasta copper zinc mining district, klamath mountains, shasta co. The first newspaper published in iron mountain, was the iron range, a republican paper, edited by r. Iron mountain mine jobs and cleanup from recovery act funds. Iron mountain mine superfund site and the shasta mining district. Irm is an american enterprise information management services company founded in 1951 and headquartered in boston, massachusetts.
Prior to cleanup operations by the environmental protection agency, acid mine drainage from iron mountain was among the most acidic and metalladen anywhere on earth. Aug 29, 2010 inside a toxic hellhole, iron mountain mine. Iron mountain mine superfund site site history, cleanup, and current status october 2015 location site overview. Iron mountain mine the iron mountain mine is a iron and gold mine located in rio arriba county, new mexico at an elevation of 9,882 feet. At its peak production, iron mountain ranked as the tenth largest copper production site in the world, sixth in the u. Shasta county letter notifying compliance wclean up i abatement order no. Iron mountain iron mine history museum vulcan, michigan.
From the 1860s through 1963, the 4,400acre iron mountain mine imm site was mined for iron, silver, gold, copper, zinc, and pyrite. Spring creek, tributary to sacramento river near redding, shasta county. Looking at the bigger picture, the epa estimated that no more than 20% of the cleanup efforts needed could be completed by 2034 using the 2004 funding allocations as a baseline. Mountain iron mine is a former mine in mountain iron, minnesota, united states. Mine shaft entrance is covered with a special steel grate to prevent people from falling into the shaft. Two abandoned mines in the sheep creek area duration. Iron mountain iron mine vulcan 2020 all you need to. The abandoned mine lands team reference notebook illustrates the extent of abandoned mine lands contamination problems across the u.
Arman and iron mountain mines have already been held liable for the sites cleanup in a 2010 federal court decision ordering them to. While this document provides assistance to epa staff in better coordinating their aml functions, it is a technical resource, not epa guidance. Iron mountain mine the iron mountain mine is a copper mine located in shasta county, california at an elevation of 3,281 feet. Iron mountain mine superfund cleanup sacramento river. Environmental effects of mining iron mountain usgs california. Iron mountain mine case study university of arizona. Feb 21, 2019 at northern californias iron mountain mine, cleanup teams battle to contain highly acidic water that percolates through a former copper and zinc mine and drains into a sacramento river. Iron mountain also supplied silver, iron, gold, and zinc. The 4,400acre iron mountain mine site was periodically mined for iron, silver, gold, copper, zinc and pyrite. Final restoration plan for natural resource injuries from iron mountain mine.
Iron mountain iron mine w4852 us highway 2, vulcan, michigan 49892 rated 4. Introduction listing process contamination investigations 2007 reassessment health risks opportunities to be involved submitting public comments project contacts introduction with support from the local community town of superior and mineral county and the state of montana, the u. Main mine area of iron mountain mine adits in the mine workings 9. Iron mountain mine is really a group of mines within iron mountain that include old mine, no. Extensive npl cleanup efforts at iron mountain mine final sitewide remedy requires holistic approach evaluating shasta mining district helps us understand our remedy at iron mountain mine more fully not just managing one mine. Quality acid minerock drainage iron mountain mine, california, superfund site. Water tainted by former mine sites news, sports, jobs. California iron mountain mine cad980498612 arman, ted w 2021996 rescission 7222010. The town of superior and a nearby mine would become a federal superfund environmental cleanup site under a proposal to be published thursday.
Adit rehab and amd collection then now now amd amd 10 then. The mine was designated a superfund site in 1983 and a water treatment. Iron mountain mine, also known as the richmond mine at iron mountain, is a mine near. Remediating some of the worlds most acidic waters at the. Iron mountain mine superfund site profile superfund site. The first substantial prospecting in the area was done by the milwaukee iron company in 1872 under the direction of dr. Iron mountain is located in shasta county, california, approximately 14 km northwest of the town of redding fig.
National priorities list and superfund alternative approach sites. The diversion of upper spring creek has greatly increased the ability of the epa and. Us clears way for cleanup of colorado mine after huge spill. Pdf an overview of environmental impacts and mine reclamation. Iron mountain, about 9 miles northwest of redding, was once a majestic peak topped with red iron rust that suggested to miners in the 1860s that a. Mining waste treatment technology selectioncase study. Well manage the cleanout process from start to finish and provide services to facilitate the. Characterization and remediation of iron iii oxiderich scale in a pipeline carrying acid mine drainage at iron mountain mine, california, u.
Us mines unleash millions of gallons of polluted water. Extremely acidic mine waters with ph values as low as. At northern californias iron mountain mine, cleanup teams battle to contain highly acidic water that percolates through a former copper and zinc mine and drains into a sacramento river tributary. The richmond mine of the iron mountain copper deposit contains some of the most acid mine waters ever reported. Iron mountain mine jobs and cleanup from recovery act.
During its operation, from 1879 1963, ten different mines throughout the sites 4,400 acres were the source of not just copper, but also silver, iron, gold, zinc and pyrite iron sulfide. Iron mountain mine superfund site and the shasta mining. Iron mountain mine, also known as the richmond mine at iron mountain, is a mine near redding in northern california, us. Town of superior proposed for superfund cleanup montana. See close up iron mining techniques and tools used in mining from 1870 to 1945. During the prospecting era, ore was hauled to menominee by wagonthen shipped by vessel. Recovery act arra funding has supported acceleration of the. Owner of iron mountain mine writes president obama. Significant new use rules iron mountain mines biology exempt, prior rights 721.
He discovered the east vulcan mine iron mountain iron mine that started producing in 1877. Iron mountain mine superfund site site history, cleanup, and current status october 2015. A century of active mining at iron mountain took an environmental toll. In 1882 the first hospital was built at the chapin mine. The iron mountain mine is one of about 1,200 sites in the federal superfund program, which aims to force businesses to pay to clean up pollution they created or. Iron mountains clean start program is designed to transform your workplace. Cleanup activities are continuing and additional studies are taking place. Cleanup of iron mountain mine, owned by the montana environmental custodial trust, will be coordinated with the flat creekimm epaled superfund cleanup. Negative ph, efflorescent mineralogy, and consequences for. Iron mountain mine montana environmental trust group. A group wanted to take sulphuric acid from iron mountain mine in shasta county.
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