BelmontMineIrrigatio nTreatedMineWater

Revegation in the Belmont Mine Area by Irrigation with Treated Mine Water for: 

Revegation in the Belmont Mine Area by Irrigation with Treated Mine Water for Project Staff Suzzann Nordwick – MSE Ken Manchester – MSE Gary Jones – MERDI Norma Lewis – EPA ODR NRMRL

Looking at Resource Recovery from Flooded Underground Minesin Butte, Montana: 

Looking at Resource Recovery from Flooded Underground Mines in Butte, Montana Over 15,000 miles of underground mine workings Project purpose is to explore feasibility of recovering additional resources for beneficial use from underground mine workings, including: Irrigation water source Geothermal heat source

Project Background: 

Project Background This project will take place at the Belmont Mine in the Butte Mine Flooding Operable Unit, 1 of 7 operable parts of the Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area National Priorities List (NPL) site Waters are within the underground mine workings

Resource Recovery – Heat: 

The underground mines in Butte were historically “hot” Working temperatures in the Belmont were documented to have reached about 140 F In January 2006, ambient water temperatures in the 600-foot deep irrigation well were measured at just above 60 F The Belmont shaft extends below the 3,500-foot level and has the potential for much warmer waters Heat recovered from the water can be used to reduce the energy consumption of nearby facilities such as the Butte Silver-Bow County-owned Belmont Senior Center and the Butte Central School Foundation-owned Maroon Athletic Center; the cost savings for heating these facilities could be significant Cost savings from heat recovery could fund operational costs of an irrigation water generation system Resource Recovery – Heat

Resource Recovery – Water: 

Resource Recovery – Water The underground mines in Butte are flooded with water. The area above is mostly void of significant vegetation. Sod has been installed in large areas near the Belmont mine. It is becoming impractical to use municipal water for the sod – due to cost and drought stressing the municipal supply. Water recovered from the mines can replace municipal water consumption for vegetated areas such as the Butte Silver-Bow Belmont Senior Center, Maroon Athletic Center, and the Berkeley Pit Interpretative Center. If feasible, using treated water for irrigation could benefit economic development in Butte’s Brownfield areas Could decrease demand on municipal water supply pumped 20 miles from the Big Hole River.

Slide8: 

. Margret Ann West Camp Mines pH neutral, strongly reduced, metal-poor III I III II Berkeley Pit Area Strongly acidic, moderately oxidized, metal-rich Transitional Zone Weakly acidic, moderately reduced, intermediate metals content Butte Mine Flooding Map

Butte, Montana : 

Butte, Montana

Belmont Mine Site / East Butte : 

Belmont Mine Site / East Butte

Belmont Water Quality Data: 

Belmont Water Quality Data

Belmont Water Quality Data: 

Belmont Water Quality Data

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water: 

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water The Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) for Berkeley Pit water is lime treatment. Lime, either CaO or Ca(OH2), addition Dissolved metal species precipitation Water separation, and Sludge disposal. Due to the variety of species, particularly Al and Mn, a two-stage lime treatment process is used. the first stage is used to precipitate Al at ~pH 6.5, the second stage to precipitate Mn at ~pH 10

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water: 

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water: 

Treatment of Berkeley Pit Water Pit Water Treatment

Belmont Mine Water: 

Belmont Mine Water

Belmont Mine Water: 

Belmont Mine Water

Belmont Mine Water: 

Belmont Mine Water Technical difficulties: Treatment issues: large batch flows, limited space, changing chemistry?, etc. Arsenic (As), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) concentrations may exceed the guidelines for water reuse Arsenic may be mostly present as arsenate – more difficult Oxidation followed by solid/liquid separation appears most promising

Belmont Mine Water: 

Progress Thus Far: Project specific work plan drafted QA test plan has been approved by EPA for hydro-geological characterization and water quality and water temperature characterization Access agreement signed with owner – MERDI; this included approval to drill into shaft cap in order to monitor water temperatures and determine feasibility of heat recovery (MERDI has secured access agreements with Montana Resources and BP/ARCO) Geo-Prob used to drill through Belmont shaft cap Belmont Mine Water

Belmont Cap: 

Belmont Cap

Belmont Gallows Frame (Up): 

Belmont Gallows Frame (Up)

Belmont Gallows Frame (South): 

Belmont Gallows Frame (South)

Geo-Probe Drill: 

Geo-Probe Drill

Geo-Probe Drill: 

Geo-Probe Drill

Pumping Tests: 

Pumping Tests To fully evaluate water treatment options and associated costs, the quality of the water being produced from the Belmont irrigation well is the single most important factor Characterization work performed to date has shown that the irrigation water quality changes over time during pumping A long duration pumping test is necessary to collect a sufficient number of temporal water samples to determine water quality as a function of the volume produced

Pumping Tests: 

Pumping Tests Step-Drawdown Test Long-Term Pumping Test Recovery Test Test Data Analysis

Pumping Tests: 

Pumping Tests

Pumping Tests: 

Pumping Tests Water sampling schedule for primary samples: Before the step-drawdown pumping test is started 2 hours after the step-drawdown test is commenced At the end of the step-drawdown pumping test (8 hours) 12 hours after the long-duration pumping test is started Weekly (up to 6 weeks) At the end of the pumping test, immediately before the pump is shut off

Pumping Tests: 

Pumping Tests Primary Objectives:  Determine the quality of water as a function of volume produced for a discharge rate that does not lower the dynamic water level in the pumping well below that of the adjacent Berkeley Pit; Collect sufficient quantities of representative water for treatability testing; and Develop an understanding of the hydrogeologic system supplying water to the well Secondary Objectives: Evaluate hydraulic parameters of the hydraulic system that supplies water to the pumping well; Determine optimum pumping rates for the well; and Determine if there are correlations between water quality changes and changes in hydraulic behavior

Resource Recovery at the Flooded Belmont Mine: 

Future Plans Conduct pumping tests Distribute “draft” QA test plan covering water treatment testing Monitor water quality during pumping tests Collect water for testing Resource Recovery at the Flooded Belmont Mine

Acknowledgements: 

Acknowledgements Montana Economic Redevelopment Development Institute (MERDI) Butte Silver Bow Planning Department Montana Resources BP-ARCO Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology EPA (Local and Regional) Dr. Chris Gammons Mine Waste Technology Program (MWTP) Diana Bless – EPA ORD NRMRL Helen Joyce – MSE Technology Applications Project was conducted under Interagency Agreement DW89-93989701-0 between the U.S. EPA and the U.S. DOE. Work was conducted through the DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory at the Western Environmental Technology Office