The U.S. Forest Service is plugging holes and burying waste at a Patagonia-area mine after orange sludge appeared downstream last year.
A September 2014 storm released iron and heavy metals from the abandoned Lead Queen mine site into the Harshaw Creek watershed, about six miles south of Patagonia, the Forest Service said in a news release.
The purpose of the cleanup is to ensure waste rock with high concentrations of heavy metals and acid mine drainage do not move downstream. The cleanup is expected to be complete by February.
The Forest Service is putting waste rock into an underground contained area, covering it with soil and erecting barriers to keep sediment in place.
Polyurethane foam is being used to seal horizontal entrances to the mine. The foam will be covered with rock and soil to prevent sunlight from degrading it.
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Bats use two other openings to the mine, and the Forest Service closed those openings with gates that bar humans while still allowing bats to enter.
“We are glad the cleanup is taking place and we hope there is more care taken in the future,†Patagonia Town Manager David Teel said in an email.
“Fortunately, there does not appear to have been any impact on the town except for scaring our citizens,†Teel said.
The Patagonia area is home to at least 130 abandoned mines, said Carolyn Shafer, board member of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance.
“We’re always happy to see any cleanup happen at these old mining sites,†Shafer said.
The alliance wants the abandoned mines to be cleaned up before any new mines start operating, she said.
“Strict requirements for future cleanup†should be applied to new mines.
“Modern mines make a lot of promises,†Shafer said. “Then they go bankrupt and leave taxpayers with an environmental mess that is costly to clean up.â€
Contact Curt Prendergast at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com. On Twitter @CurtTucsonStar.
Curt Prendergast
Editor
