United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-B-96-009
December 1996
Publications on Mining
Waste Management in
Indian Country
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
I
IN INDIAN COUNTRY
This document includes descriptions of U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publications designed to assist tribal leaders, environ-
mental personnel, and the general public with mining and mineral pro-
cessing issues. It includes publications relating to mining waste
management and engineering practices. These publications discuss environ-
mental impacts from non-coal mining operations, mining source reduction and
recycling opportunities, and innovative techniques for waste management.
They also address mineral processing of specific ores, such as lead-zinc, gold,
iron, and copper, and focus specifically on EPA's mining research and activi-
ties.
These documents are available on EPAs Internet homepage (http://
www.epa.gov). They can also be ordered through the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS).
for
Non-Coal Mining
Operations. EPJ4530-R-95-043.
Order nymber, PBS6-109 103
(NTIS).
Assists in preparing environmen-
tal impact statements for non-coal
mining operations. Describes the
general types of environmental
impacts likely to occur from hard
rock (non-coal) mining. Provides
valuable information at an intro-
ductory, nontechnical level on
these types of operations.
Inno¥ati¥e of
Environmental
at Mine Sites, April
390
(NTIS).
Describes source reduction and
recycling practices and innovative
techniques for waste management
currently used in mining. Discusses
process controls that help produce
purer and new saleable products
while reducing hazardous con-
stituents in the waste stream.
Examines recycling opportunities
unique to mining, such as slag
reprocessing, tailings reprocessing,
pipe recycling and reuse, and mine
tire recycling. Lists technical con-
tacts familiar with each technology
described.
in
Priorities List; NPL
Summary Reports (Complete
Set), Jyne 1991.
065.
159
Provides a five volume set cover-
ing 48 sites. Includes a series on
mining sites on the National
Priorities List (NPL). Contains
reports prepared to support EPAs
mining program activities.
Summarizes environmental dam-
ages and associated mining waste
management practices at sites on,
or proposed for, NPL as of the
February 11, 1991 Federal Register
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(FR) notice (56 FR 5598). Based
on information obtained from EPA
files and reports. An individual
report was prepared for each site,
following various formats. Maps
and charts are included.
to on
from
Processing: Summary
July
492
Summarizes findings pertaining
to special wastes from mineral
processing. Includes sources and
volumes of materials generated
per year, and presents disposal
and utilization practices; the
potential danger to health and
environment; documented and
proved cases of danger to health
and environment; alternatives to
current disposal methods and
costs of alternatives; impacts of
alternatives on use of phosphate
rock, uranium ore, and other nat-
ural resources; and current and
potential uses of waste materials.
Report to
from Extraction
of Ores,
Overburden from Uranium
Mining, Oil Shale,
85-033. Order
162 631
Addresses wastes from the extrac-
tion and beneficiation of metallic
ores (with special emphasis on cop-
per, gold, iron, lead, silver, and
zinc); uranium overburden; and the
nonmetals, asbestos and phosphate
rock. Provides a comprehensive
assessment of possible adverse
effects on human health and the
environment resulting from the dis-
posal of solid wastes from the
extraction and benefication of ores
and minerals. Covers mine waste,
mill tailings, and waste from heap
and dump leaching operations.
Summarizes EPAs findings on oil
shales in Appendix A of this report.
II:
Recommendations for a
Regulatory Program for
D of the
Conservation
Recowery Act, 1991.
418
Represents EPAs staff position
on an effective federal program to
regulate wastes and other materi-
als uniquely associated with non-
coal mining. Describes the
pre-rulemaking process, and pro-
vides background and overview of
mining waste program. Discusses
scope of program and regulatory
approach.
Technical Document: Acid
Prediction,
036.
829
Examines acid generation pre-
diction methods as they apply to
non-coal mining sites. Reviews
acid forming processes at mine
sites. Summarizes current meth-
ods used to predict acid forma-
tion, including sampling, testing,
and modeling. Presents case his-
tories from active mining sites
and sites on the Superfund
National Priorities List (NPL).
Technical Report: Design
Ewaluation of Tailings Dams,
03B.
845
Presents an introduction to the
subject of tailings dams and
impoundments, particularly with
regard to their engineering fea-
tures and their ability to mitigate
or minimize adverse effects to the
environment. Provides an
overview of the various methods
used to dispose of mine tailings
and the types of impoundments
used. Describes the basic concepts
used in the design of impound-
ments, including a number of site-
specific variables of concern.
Discusses tailings embankment
and stability and addresses water
management in tailings impound-
ments. Offers a case study on a
lined tailings impoundment.
Includes an appendix with com-
ments received on the draft docu-
ment with EPA responses.
Technical Report: Treatment of
Cyanide
Tailings, 1994.
831
Provides information on
cyanide treatment methods for
heap leaches and tailings activi-
ties associated with cyanidation
operations. Discusses cyanide
detoxification of treatment in
terms of chemistry, duration,
removal efficiencies, and advan-
tages and limitations. Describes
treatment techniques and. typical
closure and reclamation activities
for heaps and tailings impound-
ments. Includes federal and state
requirements that apply to
cyanide operations and selected
case studies. Presents treatment
-------
options without evaluating their
efficiency.
Technical Docyment:
Extraction Beneficiation
of Ores and Minerals; Volyme
1: Lead- Zinc, Jyne 1994.
248
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic lead-
zinc mining industry. Briefly
characterizes the geology of lead-
zinc ores and the economics of
the industry. Reviews lead-zinc
extraction and beneficiation meth-
ods and discusses potential
environmental effects of lead-zinc
mining. Describes current regula-
tory programs implemented by
EPA, federal land management
agencies, and selected states.
Appendices include specific flota-
tion activities employed for
poiymetailic ores and associated
process flow sheets, National
Priority List (NPL) site summaries
related to lead and zinc extraction
and beneficiation, and a summary
of comments on the report with
EPA responses.
Technical Docyment:
of Ores Volume
2: Jyly
94-013. Order Number:
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic gold
mining industry. Briefly charac-
terizes the geology of gold ores
and the economics of the indus-
try. Reviews gold extraction and
beneficiation methods and
discusses the potential environ-
mental effects of gold mining.
Describes current regulatory pro-
grams implemented by EPA, fed-
eral land management agencies,
and selected states. Appendices
include flow sheets of specific
mine operations, National Priority
List (NPL) site summaries related
to gold extraction and beneficia-
tion, and
comments on site visits with EPA
responses.
Technical Docyment:
of Ores Volume
3: Iron,
R-S4-030. Order Number:
203
Profiles the domestic iron min-
ing industry. Characterizes the
geology of iron ores and the eco-
nomics of the industry. Reviews
iron extraction and beneficiation
methods. Discusses potential
environmental effects of iron min-
ing. Describes current regulatory
programs that apply to the iron
mining industry as implemented
by EPA, federal land management
agencies, and selected states.
Appendix includes comments on
the report with EPA responses.
Technical Document:
Extraction
of
4: Copper, August 1994.
Number: 919 (NTIS).
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic copper
mining industry. Briefly charac-
terizes the geology of copper ores
and the economics of the indus-
try. Reviews copper extraction
and beneficiation methods and
discusses potential environmental
effects of copper mining.
Describes current regulatory pro-
grams implemented by EPA, fed-
eral land management agencies,
and selected states. Appendices
include a summary of comments
and EPA responses, case studies
of published information on cop-
per mine waste management prac-
tices, National Priority List (NPL)
site summaries related to copper
mining, and an acronym list.
Technical Document:
Extraction
of
5: Uranium, 1994.
981
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic urani-
um mining industry. Briefly char-
acterizes the geology of uranium
ores and the economics of the
industry. Reviews uranium extrac-
tion and beneficiation methods
and discusses potential environ-
mental effects of uranium mining.
Describes current regulatory pro-
grams implemented by EPA, fed-
eral land management agencies,
and selected states. Appendices
include National Priority List
(NPL) site summaries related to
the extraction and beneficiation of
uranium, an acronym list, and the
ground-water standards for reme-
dial actions at inactive uranium
processing sites.
Technical Resource Docyment:
Extraction Beneficiation
of Minerals; Volyme
6: Gold Placers, October 1994.
Order
811
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic gold
placer mining industry. Briefly
characterizes the geology of gold
placer deposits and the econom-
ics of the industry. Reviews gold
placer extraction and beneficia-
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tion methods arid discusses
potential environmental effects of
gold placer mining. Describes cur-
rent regulatory programs imple-
mented by EPA, federal land
management agencies, and select-
ed states. Appendix includes
comments on the report with EPA
responses.
Technical Document:
of Ores
Volume 7: Phosphate and
Molybdenum, Movember
001
Presents the results of EPA's
research into the domestic phos-
phate and molybdenum mining
industry. Comprises two site visit
reports conducted by EPA to a
phosphate mine in Florida and a
molybdenum mine in Idaho dur-
ing 1991 and 1992. Both reports
include a general facility descrip-
tion, the environmental setting
(climate, surface water, geology,
hydrogeology, and wildlife), facil-
ity operations, waste and materi-
als management, regulatory
requirements and compliance,
and ground-water monitoring
data. Appendix includes com-
ments on the report and EPA
responses.
Long Term Dissolution
of
040-A. Order Number: PBS5-
2SO 295 (NTIS).
Describes the long term dissolu-
tion testing of mine waste and the
effects of particle size on the quality
of drainage from waste rock.
Characterizes the quality of drainage
from four waste rock and six tailing
samples physically, chemically, and
mineralogically. Conducted under
grant to EPA by the state of
Minnesota.
Quality in Pit
Precioys Mines. EPA530-
R-95-011.
191 243
Documents the current level of
understanding for issues concerning
open-pit metal-mine water quality,
and determines where additional
research is needed. Examines factors
that contribute to pit-water quality,
such as flow of ground water, water-
wallrock reactions, pH, trace ele-
ment concentrations (especially
arsenic), evapoconcentration, and
hydrothermal activity. Discusses
how pit lakes exist from the mining
of minerals such as phosphate, ura-
nium, coal, copper, silver, and gold.
Determines that the variability in the
contributions of the factors that
affect pit-water quality and the
unique geology in each mine make
prediction of pit-water quality
difficult. Conducted under grant to
EPA by University of Nevada, Reno.
to
at
Mining Operations. (Will be
in 1997.)
Includes information to assist
facilities with mineral extraction and
benefication operations in develop-
ing and implementing environmen-
tal auditing programs. Encourages
the use of audits throughout the
mining industry to improve environ-
mental management and assess risks
from current practices.
Technical Analysis
of
(Will be
in 1991.)
Discusses the concept that costs
associated with mine site remedia-
tion are highly variable because of
the site-specific nature of many
environmental problems. Analyzes
factors that can influence remedia-
tion costs: remediation goals, water
quality, site characteristics, liners,
site hydrology, water treatment, site
operations, regulatory considera-
tions, water quality monitoring, and
reclamation requirements. Develops
data on the costs of addressing typi-
cal environmental problems that
arise at modern mines.
of
Spent Solution. (Will
be in early 1991.)
Discusses the historic options for
the disposal of spent cyanide solu-
tions, such as direct discharge to
surface waters, evaporation, long-
term impoundment, and land appli-
cation disposal. The zero-discharge
requirements of the Effluent
Guidelines for the Ore Mining and
Dressing Point Source Categoiy have
eliminated direct discharge as a dis-
posal option. Analyzes the potential-
ly significant reductions in cost and
time required for land application
disposal and the controlled applica-
tion of wastewater to the land sur-
face. Considers how land
application disposal has the poten-
tial to impact the receiving environ-
ment through a variety of pathways.
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Subaqueous Disposal of Mine
Tailings. (Will be in
Evaluates the use of subaqueous
disposal of reactive tailings due to
the water's potential to reduce acid
generation. Describes two methods
of disposal: a floating pipeline that
discharges the tailings into a lake
some distance from the shore, and a
submerged pipeline that discharges
the tailings below the water surface.
The Operation of
at
(Will be in
Provides summary information
on the design and operation of waste
rock piles. Analyzes historic waste
rock disposal practices to provide
evidence of the types of potential
environmental impacts that may
result from improper design, con-
struction, or management of waste
rock piles.
of
at (Will be
in early 1997.)
Emphasizes that accurate knowl-
edge of the variables associated with
determining the water balance for a
mine is crucial in planning mining
operations, determining operational
practices, and designing hydrologic
control structures to prevent envi-
ronmental impacts. Discusses the
variables associated with developing
a mine's water balance as well as
procedures to evaluate the hydrolog-
ic budgets from both the natural and
process hydrologic systems.
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EPA Publications List
All of the following publications can be ordered through the National Technical Information Service (N'l'IS) for a fee.
An order form is included for your use, or call NTIS at 703 487-4650 or TDD 703 487-4639 (hearing impaired). Most
of these publications also are available on the Internet. To find those documents that are available, access the EPA
homepage (http://www.cpa.gov). After accessing the homepage, the available documents can be found in the OSW
section under the directory Other Wastes/Bevill Wastes/Mining Wastes.
n Background for NEPA Reviewers:
Non-coal Mining Operations.
EPA530-R-95-043. Order Number:
PB96-109 103 (NTIS).
D Innovative Methods of Managing
Environmental Releases at Mine
Sites, April 1994. EPA530-SW-91-
093N. Order Number: PB92-131
390 (NTIS).
D Mining Sites in the National
Priorities List; NPL Site Summary
Reports (Complete Set), June 1991.
EPA530 SW91 065. Order
Number: PB92-124 759 (NTIS).
D Report to Congress on Special
Wastes from Mineral Processing:
Summary and Findings. July 1990.
RPA530-SW-90-070B."
D Report to Congress: Wastes from
the Extraction and Bencficiation of
Metallic Ores, Phosphate Rock,
Asbestos, Overburden from
Uranium Mining, and Oil Shale,
December 1985. "RPA530-SW-85-
033. Order Number: PB88-162 631
(NTIS).
D St.rawman II: Recommendations for
a Regulatory Program for Mining
Wastes and Materials under
Subtitle D of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act,
May 1991. RPA530-SW-91-056.
Order Number: PB91-178 418
(NTIS).
D Technical Document: Acid Mine
Drainage Prediction, December
1994. EPA53Q-R-94-Q36. Order
Number: PB94-201 829 (NTIS).
D Technical Report: Design and
Evaluation of Tailings Darns.
August 1994. EPA530-R-94-038.
Order Number: PB94-201 845
(NTIS).
D Technical Report: Treatment of
Cyanide Heap Leaches and
Tailings, September 1994. EPA530-
R-94-037. Order Number: PB94-
201 837 (NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 1:
Lead Zinc, June 1994. EPA530 R
94-011. Order Number: PB94-170
248 (NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals: Volume 2:
Gold. July 1994. RPA530-R-94-013.
Order Number: PB94-170 305
(NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 3: Iron,
August 1994. EPA530-R-94-030.
Order Number: PB94-195 203
(NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 4:
Copper, August 1994. RPA530-R-
94-031. Order Number: PB94-200
979 (NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 5:
Uranium, December 1994. EPA530-
R-94-032. Order Number: PB94-
200 987 (NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 6: Gold
Placers, October 1994. EPA530-R-
94 035. Order Number: PB94 201
811 (NTIS).
D Technical Resource Document:
Extraction and Beneficiation of
Ores and Minerals; Volume 7:
Phosphate and Molybdenum,
November 1994. EPA530-R-94-034.
Order Number: PB94-201 001
(NTIS).
D Long Term Dissolution Testing of
Mine Waste. EPA530-R-95-040-A.
Order Number: PB95-260 295
(NTIS).
D Water Quality in Open Pit Precious
Metal Mines' RPA530-R-95-011.
Order Number: PB95-191 243
(NTIS).
The following documents will be
in early 1991.
D Guide to Designing Environmental
Audits at Mining Operations.
D Technical Analysis and Evaluation of
Mining Site Remediation Costs.
D Land Applications Disposal of Spent
Cyanide Solutions.
D Subaqueous Disposal of Mine
Tailings.
D The Design and Operation of Waste
Rock Piles at Non-Coal Mines.
D Determination of Water Balance at
Mine Sites.
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