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U.S. EPA/U.S. DOE MINE WASTE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Citation:
BLESS, D. R. AND D. W. GROSSE. U.S. EPA/U.S. DOE MINE WASTE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM. Presented at Hard Rock Mining 2006 Conference - Sustainabile Modern Mining Applications, Tucson, AZ, November 14 - 16, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Mining is essential to maintain our way of life. However, based upon industry’s reporting in the most recent Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), the primary sources of heavy metal releases to the environment are mining and mining-related activities. The hard rock mining industry released 3.5 billion pounds of toxic pollution in 1998, almost half of all toxic pollution released that year in the United States. Since many of the ore mines involve sulfide minerals, the production of acid mine drainage (AMD) is a common problem from active and abandoned mine sites. Mining waste generated by active and inactive mining production facilities present serious potential risks to human health and the environment. Significant knowledge and resources are necessary to mitigate the effects that mining has on the environment and ensure sustainable development (efficient extraction and maximum utilization of resources, including all by-products) of the mineral resources of the United States. This congressionally mandated Mine Waste Technology Program oversees the research, development and deployment of innovative technologies to effectively deal with hard rock mining wastes associated with active and abandoned mines. The Mine Waste Technology Program is an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy and has partnerships with Universities, government, industry, and states. Projects are focused on source control, sustainability, acid drainage/water treatment, trace metal removal, cyanide destruction, modeling and pit lakes. The program is based out of Butte, Montana where MSE-Technology Applications performs the technology demonstrations and Montana Tech of the University of Montana performs basic research.