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Buckskin Joe Mine Site

 
Site Contact:
Todd DeGarmo
OSC

(degarmo.todd@epa.gov)

Site Location:
Alma, CO 80420
 response.epa.gov/Buckskin-Joe

Status Update
06/05/24 - EPA anticipates mobilizing to the site the week of July 8th based on snow levels and Buckskin Creek’s water flow. Residents may start seeing heavy equipment on the week of July 8th. This year’s work will be focused on erosion controls and removing waste rock and mine tailings from the creek and surrounding areas. This work will reduce the overall metals entering the creek and flowing downhill to the town of Alma. In 2023, EPA capped the ponds (areas 6 and 7) on forest service land with USFS oversight.

8/8/24 - The 2024 removal work for the Buckskin Joe mine site has begun. Due to the site’s high elevation, snow, and remote access, each year we are typically only able to conduct field work activities during the summer months. This year’s work is focused on erosion controls and removing waste rock and mine tailings from areas 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10. The work will help reduce the overall metals entering the creek and flowing downhill to the Town of Alma. Removal in areas 5, 8, 9, and 10 have all been completed with grading and seeding in these areas ongoing.

Waste rock and mine tailings have been removed from areas 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10 and moved to area 2 to be stockpiled. These areas have been restored as much as practicle to there original state. The access roads have been blocked with large rocks and the paths have been covered with trees and brush. The access road to area 9 and 10 has been removed and now matches the normal slope of the moutain.

During removal work of the tailings in area 4, a Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) marker was discovered near the creek. DRMS was contacted and informed the EPA that the tailings in this area were part of an older collapse adit. Out of caution, removal of the tailings was halted to prevent any unplanned release of any potential mining influenced water that could have been built up since the collapse. With a small amount of seepage coming from the site, and to be overly cautious, the proposed scope of work was slightly changed for area 4. DRMS was consulted and agreed.

Instead of fully removing the tailings from this site, we reduced the slope of the waste rock pile and capped the waste rock in place with a clay cap that will prevent rain and snow melt from running through the waste rock pile. Capping and armoring the waste rock pile will help avoid bringing in heavy equipment overtop the adit and the need for digging into it, which could have led to a mine water release.

Area 2: Change of scope. During the Alma Town Hall meeting last year the EPA was asked if there was a way to avoid building a large repository in Area 2. At the time of the question there wasn’t a viable alternative. Over the winter, we reached out to Minewater LLC to see if they could take the waste rock and tailings from Area 2 and re-purpose the waste. They said they had the capability to do that but they would have to get new permits from DRMS. The EPA didn’t know if this would be approved by DRMS before completion of the removal action. After a lot of coordination and work between Minewater LLC, DRMS and EPA, Minewater LLC received the permit on 6 Aug 2024 to receive waste rock and tailings. Area 2 will now have all the waste rock and tailings removed from site and sent to London Mine run by Minewater LLC for re-processing instead of building a repository.

Background

The Buckskin Joe mine site is located approximately 1.8 miles west of the town of Alma, in Park County, Colorado, off of County Road 8. Precious metal mining was initiated at the Buckskin Joe mine site in 1859 and continued until approximately 1957 with various ownership and areas of mining focus. Currently, two mine adits are observed at the site (upper and lower), as well as a large mine dump. The lower adit is observed to be partially blocked by collapse material while also releasing mine influenced water (MIW). This adit is located adjacent to Buckskin gulch, and up-gradient of the potable water intake for the town of Alma, Colorado. Little is known about the partially blocked adit, while the potential exists for an uncontrolled mine pool release from the adit. To investigate the lower Buckskin Joe adit, coring activities designed to determine MIW loading behind the adit collapse will be conducted starting on August 12, 2020.


Area 6 upper pond prior to removal action. Bottom of pond contains mine tailings with heavy metals. Looking East. Upper pond (Area 6) prior to removal. Looking South. Lower pond (Area 7) prior to removal. Beginning to build cap on lower pond. Lower cap started on lower pond. Looking North. Lower pond cap starting to be constructed. Truck delivering cover material. Cap material is being spread over tailings in lower pond. Delivery of cap material to lower pond. Skid streer moving cap material over tailings on lower pond. Skid Steer moving cap material over tailings in lower pond. Upper pond looking North. Lower pond filled with cap material. Looking North. Upper pond looking North. Starting to work on upper pond. Filling in lower pond and starting to fill upper pond. Looking north. Moving cap soil to upper pond. Looking West. Picture of upper pond looking down to lower pond. Looking South. Filling upper pond using ERRS truck. Looking north Upper pond looking west. Upper pond looking south. Upper pond looking north. Old shed is on the right. Upper pond work. Preparing upper pond for final cap material. Final touches of cap being completed. Cap almost complete. Doing some final touch ups. Smoothing out final cap. Last load of cap material being delivered. Adding rocks to match surrounding area. Finished cap. Placing rocks on cap to match surrounding landscape. Finished cap of lower and upper pond. Looking North from lower pond to upper pond. Finished cap of upper pond looking North. Finished cap of upper pond. Finished cap looking South from upper pond to lower pond. Final cap for Areas 6 and 7. Trout Unlimited will add vegatation to cap in a few weeks. Finished cap with entrance blocked. ERRS crew remove contaminated top soil from Site 8. Post removal of contaminated soil in drainage at Site 8. ERRS crew utilizing hand tools and buckets to remove contaminated soil from drainage at Site 8. Tailings pile 10 located in front of chopped down trees. Temporary contaminated soil storage area. Post removal from the NW corner of Area 9 Post removal from the NW corner of Area 9. Historic structure in Area 9 before removal. ERRS contractors installing silt fence in Site 5. ERRS contractors fortify the creek bank in Area 10 with clean rocks after removing contaminated soil. Area 9 during removal pictured from upper access road. ERRS contractors grading a hill in Area 9 after contaminated soil removal. Hill in Area 10 after removal and grading. Hill in Area 10 after removal and grading, looking West from Buckskin Creek. Excavator clearing a path to Area 5. Looking West from County RD 8. Excavator removing contaminated soil in Area 5. Looking West towards Area 4. Area 5 during removal and grading. Looking South along Buckskin Creek. Area 5 post removal and grading. Looking N from Buckskin Creek. Area 5 post removal and grading. Looking W towards Buckskin Creek. Completed channel to divert water from mine adit in Area 4. Excavator remediation of area 5, taken from area 4 Blockage installed at access to Area 5 post removal. Transferring water drainage to man-made diversion in Area 4. Orange marks out of collapsed adit to avoid in area 4. Area 9/10 collecting rocks and soil to create a natural cap. Tree placement for erosion control before cap is placed in area 4. Looking from area 5 to area 4. Changed the slope of tailings to allow slope to hold cap material. Area 3 pre-fill/natural capping. Plan to make alternate flow path for water from adit 3. Area 9 loading haul truck with native clean dirt for natural caping of area 3. Area 3. Post natural capping and add in of trench/bypass Erosion control at the bottom of area 4 complete. Lined with boulders where the bottom of area 4 meets the creek. Excavator placing large boulders on the creek side of area 4 to reduce erosion. Area 4. Rock retaining wall built along Buckskin Joe creek to help reduce erosion. Top view of area 4 armored to stabilize creekside for erosion control. Area 4 waste rock prior to clay capping Area 4 mid-day clay capping in progress. Area 7. Final picture of remediation with re-vegetation. Area 6. Final remediation of area 6. Plant life growing back after re-vegetation. Competed tailings removal in Area 10. Adjacent to Buckskin creek. Area 3 prior to clay cap View of Area 4. Clay being distributed on hillside as capping. Area 9. Placing native brush on hillside for erosion control. Area 10. Final covering of access road with brush. Area 3 pre coverage. Area 4. Distributing natural cover on the hillside. Area 3 post covering
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