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Blackbird mine

Coordinates : 45°7′2″N 114°20′33″W / 45.11722°N 114.34250°W / 45.11722; -114.34250 Blackbird mine was a large cobalt mine in Lemhi County , Idaho , United States. Mining for gol...

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Coordinates: 45°7′2″N114°20′33″W / 45.11722°N 114.34250°W / 45.11722; -114.34250

Blackbird mine was a large cobalt mine in Lemhi County, Idaho, United States.

Mining for gold started in 1893, and the mine produced copper and cobalt between 1902 and 1968.[1] The deposit still holds considerable amounts of copper and cobalt.[2][3]

Water contamination at the mine resulted it its listing as a superfund site in 1983, and lawsuits ensued between the state of Idaho and the mining companies to clean it up. After over a decade in the courts, some cleanup began in 1997, which is indefinitely ongoing.[4][1][5][6]

Mine life

Intermittent mining began with gold discovered in the late 1800s. Cobalt was discovered in 1901, and full scale cobalt mining began in 1949. The mine was closed in the late 1980s leaving contaminated water and a superfund site.[4][7][8]

Blackbird mine operated steadily from 1949 to 1959, supported by the federal government's demand for cobalt during the Cold War. The mine closed when federal demand ended; a few companies tried to open it again, but demand for cobalt was low and they were not successful. The mine was completely shut down by 1982.[4]

Damages

By the early 1960s, contaminated water had resulted in the Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon being eliminated from Panther Creek.[9]

Cleanup

The state of Idaho sued some of the mining companies in 1983 for costs of cleaning up the mine. Lawsuits dragged until 1995, when some cleanup began.[4]

Water treatment methods

A water treatment plant collects contaminated water from the mine and uses a mechanical rake to dredge a sludge of coagulated heavy metals. The sludge is hauled in water tankers to be dried in open air basins elsewhere on the site. The sludge contains copper and cobalt, but it is uneconomical to salvage these minerals. Water treatment is ongoing, and reclamation managers did not foresee its end, stating "It’s really a very long way off,"[4]

Jervois mine

In October 2022, Jervois mining company began production in the Idaho cobalt belt at a site adjacent to Blackbird mine.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mina Blackbird" . Agencia para Sustancias Tóxicas y Registro de Enfermedades. Archivado del original el 4 de marzo de 2016.
  2. ↑ "DEPÓSITOS DE CO-CU BLACKBIRD (MODELO 24d; Earhart, 1986)" (PDF) . USGS.
  3. ↑
    • Estados Unidos, Oficina de Evaluación Tecnológica. Materiales estratégicos  : Tecnologías para reducir la vulnerabilidad de las importaciones estadounidenses . ISBN 9781428923515.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Holtz, Michael (24 de enero de 2022). "Idaho se asienta sobre uno de los elementos más importantes de la Tierra" . The Atlantic . Recuperado el 24 de octubre de 2022 .
  5. ↑ Mina "Blackbird" . Agencia de Protección Ambiental. Archivado del original el 18 de noviembre de 2004.
  6. ↑ "EVALUACIÓN DE SALUD PÚBLICA, MINA BLACKBIRD, COBALT, CONDADO DE LEMHI, IDAHO" . EPA.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: servicio de archivado obsoleto ( enlace )
  7. ↑ Mohr, Kylie (21 de octubre de 2022). "La mina de cobalto de Idaho es un presagio de lo que está por venir" . www.hcn.org . Consultado el 24 de octubre de 2022 .
  8. ↑ El agujero más rico de la montaña . Popular Mechanics. Mayo de 1952.
  9. ↑
    • Mina "Blackbird" . NOAA. Archivado del original el 15 de septiembre de 2012. Consultado el 17 de abril de 2012 .
  • Steele, Russell (2009). Cobalto: El legado de la mina Blackbird . ISBN 978-0-9729108-0-4.
  • Investigación de remediación del sitio de la mina Blackbird, condado de Lemhi, Idaho . 2001.
  • Boletín - Oficina de Minas y Geología de Idaho . 1983.
  • Ream, Lanny R. (1993). Minerales de Idaho . ISBN 9780928693027.
  • Mok, WM; Wai, CM (1989). "Distribución y movilización de especies de arsénico en los arroyos alrededor del distrito minero de Blackbird, Idaho". Water Research . 23 : 7–13 . doi : 10.1016/0043-1354(89)90054-7 .
  • Nold, JL (1990). "El cinturón de cobalto de Idaho, noroeste de Estados Unidos  : un distrito de mena exhalativa proterozoica metamorfizada". Mineralium Deposita . 25 (3): 163. Bibcode : 1990MinDe..25..163N . doi : 10.1007/BF00190377 . S2CID 129640922 . 
  • Sorensen, Darwin L.; Kneib, Walter A.; Porcella, Donald B.; Richardson, Bland Z. (1980). "Determinación del requerimiento de cal para los desechos de la mina Blackbird1". Journal of Environmental Quality . 9 : 162–166 . doi : 10.2134/jeq1980.00472425000900010034x .
  • Nash, JT; Connor, JJ (1993). "Hierro y cloro como guías para depósitos estratiformes de Cu-Co-Au, Cinturón de Cobalto de Idaho, EE. UU." Mineralium Deposita . 28 (2): 99. Bibcode : 1993MinDe..28...99N . doi : 10.1007/BF00196334 . S2CID 129451149 . 
  • Anderson, AL (1947). "Mineralización de cobalto en el distrito de Blackbird, condado de Lemhi, Idaho" . Geología económica . 42 : 22–46 . doi : 10.2113/gsecongeo.42.1.22 .
  • Bending, J. Scott; Scales, WG (2001). "Nueva producción en el cinturón de cobalto de Idaho: una provincia metalogénica única". Applied Earth Science . 110 (2): 81– 87. doi : 10.1179/aes.2001.110.2.81 . S2CID 140634485 . 
  • Roberts, WA (1953). "Diferenciaciones metamórficas en el distrito minero de Blackbird, condado de Lemhi, Idaho" . Geología económica . 48 (6): 447– 456. doi : 10.2113/gsecongeo.48.6.447 .