Mine-Related Projects
Abandoned Mine Sites Reclamation, MDEQ/AMRB
Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. provided planning, design, and construction management services for the reclamation of the abandoned hardrock Brooklyn and Vosburg mine sites for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality/Abandoned Mine Reclamation Bureau (MDEQ/AMRB). Responsible for preparing planning documents, including the Reclamation Work Plan/Phase I Feasibility Study, Field Sampling Plan, Quality Assurance Project Plan, and Health and Safety Plan. The Work Plans include risk analyses, identify cleanup standards, screen reclamation alternatives, and present a schedule and costs.
After conducting a reclamation investigation in accordance with the approved plans, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. completed an engineering evaluation/cost analysis to determine the preferred reclamation alternative for each site. Construction drawings, specifications, and bid documents were prepared. Full-scale reclamation was completed in 1995 for each site. Upon completion, these sites were de- listed from the MDEQ/AMRB Abandoned and Inactive Mines Priority Sites List. In addition to MDEQ/AMRB, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. worked closely with the USDA/FS, then under a cooperative agreement with MDEQ/AMRB, to complete these projects.
Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. has completed planning, design and construction management services for the Londonderry Mine/Maxville Tailings site located near Philipsburg, Montana. This site includes a discharging adit that was considered during the risk assessment and engineering evaluation/cost analysis. During the engineering evaluation/cost analysis, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. conducted on-site pilot-scale testing of passive treatment technologies that may be applicable to remote abandoned mine sites. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. has completed construction bid documents (including drawings and specifications) and will provide construction management for this abandoned mine reclamation project in the fall of 1996.
Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. is currently providing reclamation planning and design services for the Comet Mine and Millsite near Basin, Montana. While conducting the initial site studies, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. identified conditions at the site that posed immediate threats to the environment. Therefore, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. designed and implemented interim measures to stabilize site conditions and remove the immediate threats. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. has prepared the planning documents (including the Work Plan/Phase I Feasibility Study, Field Sampling Plan, and Health and Safety Plan); conducted the reclamation investigation; and prepared the reclamation investigation report. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. will also prepare the engineering evaluation/cost analysis and the bid documents for the site.
Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. has also been tasked to complete a reclamation work plan, a reclamation investigation (RI), human health and ecologic risk assessments, a feasibility study (FS), and to prepare the reclamation design (RD) and bid documents at the following abandoned mine sites: Nellie Grant Mine/Tailings, near Clancy, Montana, RA/FS/RD only; Douglas Creek Tailings, near Philipsburg, Montana; Park Mine/Millsite, near Townsend, Montana; Peerless Group Mines, near Rimini, Montana; National/Sallie Bell Mines, near Rimini, Montana; Valley Forge/Susie Mines, near Rimini, Montana; and Upper Valley Forge Mine, near Rimini, Montana. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. is responsible for assessing risks and developing reclamation alternatives for waste rock, tailings, contaminated soils, groundwater, and adit discharges at these sites.
Top of page
Cinnabar Mine Site Preliminary Assessment, USDA/FS
Completed a Federal Facility-lead CERCLA preliminary assessment in Idaho for the USDA/FS, Region IV. Responsible for conducting file searches, site reconnaissance, and site evaluation and for preparing the narrative report, PAScore, and preliminary HRS PREscore.
Top of page
Abandoned Mines Environmental Services, MDEQ/AMRB
Recently completed a project involving the environmental and regulatory aspects of abandoned mine reclamation for MDEQ/AMRB. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. performed an inventory of over 350 abandoned mine sites throughout Montana. The inventory included preparing planning documents; conducting site reconnaissance; and sampling groundwater, surface water, and mine waste (slag, tailings, and waste rock), including screening with a field x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. Inventory information collected included mine/mill history, geographic and topographic information, photographic logs, evaluation of possible mine hazards, stream flow, XRF analyses of waste rock and tailings, and samples for laboratory analyses. Inventory information (lab, field, and XRF data) was provided to MDEQ/AMRB in database format. A 20-volume report and a 1-volume summary report were prepared for the inventory results. The sites were ranked according to the severity of hazards or environmental threats using the Abandoned and Inactive Mines Scoring System (AIMSS). The ranking was used to assist the MDEQ/AMRB in prioritizing reclamation efforts.
Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. also prepared a document listing soil and water cleanup standards and guidelines to assist the MDEQ/AMRB in determining site-specific soil cleanup levels. Bat-Sensitive Gate Closures, MDEQ/AMRB Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. designed and provided construction management for gate closures at two potentially hazardous mine openings in southwestern Montana for the MDEQ/AMRB. The mine openings are located at an abandoned gypsum mine and contain important bat habitat. Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. designed specialized gate closures to protect the public from unstable mine openings while preserving bat habitat.
Top of page
Mining Properties Evaluation-Montana, Confidential Client
Evaluated over 1 million acres of mineral property for potential hazardous wastes or existing environmental problems. To effectively evaluate such a large area, a preliminary screening involving extensive historical and current records research was performed. Site inspections were conducted at locations where potential problems were indicated, and sampling was performed at those sites where problems were discovered. EPA HRS scoring was performed at each potential site, and high scoring sites were recommended for release or remedial action. CERCLA/SARA, RCRA, NEPA, and state environmental regulations were primary considerations.
Top of page
Baseline Environmental Assessments for Hardrock Mine Sites
Performed soil surveys, hydrogeological, and surface water hydrology investigations for many regional mining companies to fulfill NEPA requirements. Specific projects in which the staff of Pioneer Technical Services, Inc. was involved include: the Spotted Horse Mine near Lewistown, Montana; the Mark V Bagdad Project west of Philipsburg, Montana; the Yellowband Project near Argenta, Montana; the Wood Gulch and Doby Projects for Homestake Mining Company in Nevada; the Atlantic and Pacific Claim west of Pony, Montana; a silica sand mine project in Michigan; and a permit amendment for the Johnny Gulch Talc Mine near Ennis, Montana. Work performed on these projects included evaluating the effects of mining, milling, and heap leach activities on groundwater and surface water quality and quantity and impact mitigation, including natural geochemical attenuation capacities of soils and leachate infiltration rates and quantities. Other tasks included conducting detailed soil surveys, modeling appropriate storm runoff and events, and modeling sedimentation generation rates--followed by design of associated control structures. Knowledge of RCRA, NEPA, and various state regulations were required.
Top of page
|
|
|
