The U.S. federal government is calling for a re-evaluation of water quality standards at the Cresson gold mine in east-central Colorado. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told Colorado state officials to toughen regulations against Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining.
The company is a joint venture between Pikes Peak Mining (a subsidiary of Independence Mining) and Golden Cycle Gold (PSE). Pikes Peak, as operator, controls 67% of the joint venture.
The action was prompted by a local environmental group which sought to prevent a crisis, like the one that occurred at the Summitville gold mine. The EPA was forced to step in and clean up the mine after its operator, Galactic Resources, filed for bankruptcy and abandoned the site in 1992. To date, the agency has spent more than US$120 million on the clean-up.
“We were in the permitting process during the time of the disaster at Summitville,” says James Komadina, executive vice-president of Pikes Peak. “Everyone said we were crazy to want to build a mine.”
Cresson is the only open-pit, heap-leach operation in the state, and its construction was completed under tight scrutiny in light of the problems associated with Summitville.
“We are under an extreme microscope, so we have to do things better than everyone else.” says Komadina.
The EPA action targets the water discharge permit for runoff from beneath the leach pad. The state of Colorado has notified the EPA that it will investigate the matter.
The company says the water in question is natural spring water, which flows through old mine tailings and is kept separate from the leach pad (a zero-discharge facility). The company discharges the water into the stream under a temporary modification permit, and the water then drains into the much larger Cripple Creek, below the town.
The mine’s US$20-million bond is only retrievable after all mining has ceased and the site is approved by the state.
Gold mineralization at Cresson exists in diatreme breccias associated with Oligocene mafic and felsic volcanic rocks. Since its discovery in 1990, the mine has steadily increased its reserves. At the end of 1994, the figure stood at 77 million tons grading 0.029 oz. gold per ton.
On a daily basis, about 65,000 tons are mined. In 1995, production exceeded 76,589 oz. gold and 26,429 oz. silver; the mine failed to reach its projected level of 100,000 oz., owing to construction and permitting delays. Everything is now on track, and 1996 production is projected to exceed 160,000 oz.
The mine is expected to produce for eight years, and potential exists for finding additional deposits on the 4,800-claim property. Targets on the eastern side of the property will likely receive priority.
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