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Colorado Division roj of Reclamation,
<br /> Mining & Safety
<br /> London Butte Mine Reclamation Project
<br /> 2014, Park County, Colorado
<br /> Background
<br /> The London Butte mine is approximately four miles west of
<br /> the Town of Alma in Park County. It is the southernmost of a
<br /> series of mines along the prominent London Fault. Mining
<br /> and milling operations have been intermittently active at
<br /> these mines since 1875. The London Butte site contains two ,
<br /> mill tailings piles, historic as well as more modern mining 14' :ff. '..,_
<br /> buildings and debris, and extensive waste rock piles that are :: -• ' : ,iit r -
<br /> immediately adjacent to South Mosquito Creek. A large •• , " .
<br /> percentage of the waste rock in the stockpiles is dolomitic. 2: ti „�'
<br /> The tailings continually leach acidic, metal-laden water into 't` - . F^:
<br /> the perennial stream. Duringhigh flow, the creek ''�' �
<br /> significantly erodes the tailings piles and contributes metal-
<br /> laden sediment to the creek. In 2011, a massive landslide
<br /> covered nearly one-half of the Butte tailings material,
<br /> increasing the rate of tailings erosion and further degrading
<br /> South Mosquito Creek. - ` ..,,;:.;. •44,;.-.* ,.' .t.
<br /> In the early 1980s, Mined Land Reclamation Permit M- P..., ' ”,
<br /> 1980-250 was issued for modern mining and milling 4 " `` "°
<br /> operations at the London Mines. In 1997, the Colorado 5,.-
<br /> Mined Land Reclamation Board revoked the permit and ',
<br /> forfeited the $12,000 reclamation bond. The bond funds - ` ' '.:7•'; ''''''"r" ; 4
<br /> were used to partially stabilize the Butte tailings, but were A 'm ' ' ,
<br /> grossly insufficient to complete reclamation of the overall t., - T
<br /> site to applicable reclamation standards. " ��
<br /> In 2013, the Phase I London Tailings Reclamation Project • """ ..
<br /> involved reclaiming three tailings piles associated with the -^-7,,,,,C'41 ' ._ ,., • "
<br /> London Mine. Phase II of the project focused on the London
<br /> Butte, and included consolidation of tailings, placement of a "' '" "406 N
<br /> dolomite cover, capping with clean fill, and revegetation, as Top:London Butte Mine before and after reclamation.
<br /> Bottom:Trestle at London Butte Mine left for historical significance.
<br /> well as building demolition and trash removal.
<br /> Land Owner
<br /> Site Characteristics Estate of Benjamin Wright,Jr.
<br /> In 2011 and 2012, the Division of Reclamation Mining and General Contractor i Iift iF.
<br /> Safet measuresurace waer ows ancoeceRMC consultants,Inc. � —
<br /> y (DRMS) d ftfldlltd 12295 West 48 Avenue
<br /> water and tailings samples from the London-Butte Mine site. Wheat Ridge,CO 80033 }l f
<br /> A portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) device was used to Total Project Cost:$446,949.00 + -
<br /> measure total metal concentrations in the historic tailings at DRMS Project Managers �
<br /> the London Mine and Butte Mine areas. Results of the water Allen Sorenson 303-866-3567 ext.8143, p, — , '
<br /> sample analyses showed elevated levels of zinc and lead. Erica Crosby ext.8115 �,
<br /> XRF analysis of the tailings confirmed the presence of heavy ,^ 0 MR COLORADO
<br /> Division of Reclamation, ,
<br /> metals. CO Mining and Safety
<br /> Department of Natural Resources .._
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