Anaconda and Clark Fork River Basin clean up

摘要

In its clean up of the old Anaconda copper smelter, the US EPA's main contaminant of concern is arsenic. The EPA has cleanup projects in residential yards, along railroads, in commercial/industrial areas, upland hills and open rangeland. It is consolidating waste into several enormous waste management areas. The old Anaconda processing and smelting works in Montana is a US Superfund site and is an example of the many 'legacy' clean ups that will be required across the mining world. Mining in the Clark Fork River Basin of Montana began in 1858 when James and Granville Stuart discovered gold in the Deer Lodge Valley. In 1864 there was a placer gold strike in Silver Bow Creek, Butte and in 1866 the first smelter and stamp mill were built for Butte copper ore. Almost 20 years later, in 1885, Anaconda Copper Mining Co finished construction of a large smelting and processing area in Anaconda to handle most of the Butte production. The 'Works' at Anaconda operated until 1980. By 1900, Butte alone was producing approximately, 1,100 t/d of tailings and was the world's largest copper producer (accounting for some 10 percent of world supply).