vti - formosa mine, oregon

wonder if VTI management knows about it, guess the directors may be too busy counting their incentive shares

http://www.oregonnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040607/NEWS/106070041&rs=2

Report evaluates Formosa Mine cleanup options


Toxic ores: DEQ, BLM prefer $14 million plan to deposit loose mine material at off-site landfill


DIANE HUBER, [email protected]
June 7, 2004

RIDDLE -- The abandoned Formosa Mine may be cleaned up by digging out loose material from within the mine and disposing of it at an off-site landfill.

That's the $14 million cleanup option preferred by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Bureau of Land Management, the two agencies working on a solution to mitigate a toxic mess that has polluted 18 miles of Middle and South Fork Middle creeks.

Formosa Explorations Inc., a now-defunct Canadian mining company, excavated up to 400 tons of copper and zinc ore a day between 1990 and 1993, backfilling the mine workings with excavated material as they mined. They did $1 million in reclamation work before abandoning the mine, located 7 miles south of Riddle on Silver Butte.

But that didn't solve the problems to come. Water traveling through the mine comes in contact with the metals, creating sulfuric acid, which lowers the water's pH and dissolves the metals. That allows them to flow out with the groundwater and contaminate the creeks, both tributaries of Cow Creek, which provides Riddle's drinking water. According to DEQ, no contamination of Cow Creek has been observed, but fish and wildlife have abandoned much of Middle and South Fork Middle creeks.

Mine cleanup
What: Feasibility study that evaluate alternative cleanup remedies for the Formosa Mine near Riddle.
Preferred Alternative: Would partially excavate loose mine tailings from the mine workings.
Public Meeting: 7 p.m. June 15, Riddle Community Center
Copies of Report: www.deq.state.or.us/wr/LocalProjects/FormosaMine/Formosa.htm
bInformation: Greg Aitken, project manager at DEQ, 800-844-8467 ext. 252

The BLM and DEQ have spent the past several years and about $1.4 million from the state's Orphan Account -- reserved for high priority environmental sites -- studying the source of the problem and evaluating possible remedies.

The feasibility study, prepared by a contractor hired by the DEQ, Hart Crowser, looks at variations of three basic methods of cleanup:

n Removing partially or fully the excavated material to dispose of it in an off-site landfill. This is currently the agencies' top choice.

n Injecting an alkaline solution within the mine workings to increase the pH and prevent metal from dissolving.

n Intercepting, collecting and treating the groundwater to raise its pH before it reaches the headwaters of the two creeks by building wells and groundwater extraction pumps. Because water leaks through fractures in the rocks and dirt, this would be the least feasible option.

Eric Heenan, abandoned mine coordinator for the Roseburg BLM, said partially extracting material is the most feasible, permanent solution.

"You could go in there, excavate the material and take care of the problem," he said. "If we collected groundwater and treated it, we're essentially not really solving the problem. We would need to do that for an indefinite amount of time."

The 11 remedies evaluated would cost between $9 and $23 million. According to the report, comparative mine cleanups in other states have cost anywhere from $10 million to upwards of $100 million.

Excavating material is not a common method, primarily because it is unusual for mining companies to put tailings back inside the mine, Heenan said. Most cleanups have involved removing piles of material on the surface of the mine.

Assuming the best-case scenario, staff could wrap up a design plan by winter and begin implementing cleanup work next summer.

But that's dependent on whether the agencies can secure funding, possibly from a congressional allocation.

"We don't know for sure where the money is coming from at this point," Heenan said.

* You can reach reporter Diane Huber at 957-4218 or by e-mail at [email protected].



VTI technology is mentioned in Appendix G, but is not even considered as an option
and I bet most probably VTI don't even know about it

that could be another question for Annual Meeting (westmoon pls note and ask, if you would be so kind)


http://www.deq.state.or.us/wr/LocalProjects/FormosaMine/DraftFeasibilityStudyReport.htm