PERMFILE52844

• Permit No: C1980005A
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/11/2001
• Section_Exhibit Name: TAB 06 GEOLOGY
• Media Type: D
• Archive: Yes

State Reg.
underburden sample was less than 5 tons calcium carbonate per
1,000 tons of material.
Significantly different pH and neutralization potentials exist
between the Wolf Creek and Wadge overburden areas. The pH is
6.5 in Wolf Creek overburden and 7.9 in the Wadge overburden
area. The mean acid-base potential is +1.3 in the Wolf Creek
and +6.2 in the Wadge areas.
Overburden mixing will effectively mitigate many of the extreme
(suspect) pH levels in individual cores. Reclamation success
will be determined by treating the Wolf Creek and Wadge
overburden areas independently. Since the greatest
availability for the most nutrients is at a slightly acidic pH
(6.5) and since trace metal availability increases
exponentially at pH levels less that 5.5, spoils showing very
strong acidity (pH < 5 and ABP < -5) will be limed or will
• receive a two to three foot suitable spoil topdressing.
Nickel. Values for nickel range from < 0.3 to 9.8 ppm and have
mean values of < 2.3 and < 2.5 ppm for overburden and
underburden materials. Nine samples, or 7.6 percent of the
total number of samples analyzed, were above 5.0 ppm suspect
level. Of these, eight occurred in the overburden and one in
the underburden. These strata occur in the overburden cores
and comprise 9.4 to 40.0 percent of the individual core volume
(Table 6-6). Weighted mean core concentrations are less than
3.3 ppm.
In most cases, high nickel concentration strata will blend with
other material of lower concentration during the course of
mining, and the effect will be to dilute the inimical zones.
Like most other trace elements, nickel is fairly insoluble over
a pH level of 6.0 (Donahue, et al., 1972 and Maclean, 1978).
. Wolf Creek overburden may represent a potential problem area.
Liming, where necessary, (mean pH < 5 and ABP <-5) and
6-30 Revised 10/1/86