Extractive industries, particularly hard-rock mining, impact water in two general ways, water quantity and quality.  The photo here is of the Lone Tree Mine pit lake that became very acidic within one year of forming.

 - Spring 2009, Travis Rummel, feltsoulmedia.com.  

Water Quantity

Much of the mineral ore in Nevada is below the water table.  In order to excavate the ore, either by an open pit or underground audit, water must be pumped from the ground surrounding the facility.  This process is called dewatering.  Dewatering creates what is called a "cone of depression" around the mine, where the water table has been lowered.  Some of the ore bodies are so deep that the lowered water table extends a considerable distance from the mine site, resulting in a "drawdown" of water in the entire region.  After mining is completed the open pit will fill with water, which will result in a long-term loss of water from the aquifer due to evaporation from the pit lake.

Water Quality

The enormous amount of exposed rock at a mine has the potential, depending upon the chemical makeup and nature of mineralization, to react with the air and water to generate what is called "acid mine drainage."  The process is akin to the rock “rusting” due to being exposed to air and water (when it is underground, this exposure is very limited).  The acidified water can then further corrode the rock to dissolve out various minerals to an extent that they become a toxic environmental hazard and unhealthy for wildlife and humans.  Even in a region as arid as the Great Basin, acid drainage occurs and can run off into surface water or more commonly, infiltrate into the groundwater, polluting the water table.

Pits lakes, as mentioned above, can also become toxic when the walls and bottom react with the air and inflowing groundwater.  Besides being a hazard unto themselves, toxic water from the pit lake can infiltrate back into the surrounding groundwater system and pollute it.

We track existing extractive industrial development within the Great Basin, draft technical reviews as needed, and take action when appropriate to prevent these projects from negatively impacting the Great Basin.

As part of our regular monitoring of resource extraction project in the Great Basin we track mining explorations. Many commodity prices have been high for the past few years, especially gold, hovering around $1,600 per ounce on the spot market. As a result, a large number of new areas of mining have been opening up in the Great Basin, and many of these areas are described as having "wilderness characteristics." However, once mining exploration and certainly mining development occurs these areas are likely to be robbed of their wilderness qualities.

Our Protection of Potential Wilderness and sensitive lands program seeks to use existing laws and public action to prevent these areas from irretreivable impacts and option for future wilderness designation.  Photo:  North Pequops Range - Terry Dempsey

The Anaconda mine is an abandoned copper mine covering more than 3,400 acres in Yerington, Nevada, where acid run-off and waste rock containing low levels of uranium, thorium, and other exposed metals were disposed in unlined ponds.  In November 2009 the U.S. EPA revealed clear evidence that contamination, including uranium and arsenic, has also leached into the groundwater.   Thus, the mine is a threat to the people of Yerington and the Yerington Paiute Tribe. 

Yerington resident, Rebecca, points towards her home from the Anaconda abandoned mine.

Photo:  Terry Dempsey, August 2009

Our work around energy involves three avenues; 1) Energy Project Monitoring - working in coalition with other groups monitoring large-scale energy development projects in the Great Basin, 2) Minefields to Energy Fields - advocating for the reclamation of old mining areas for renewable energy development, 3) Great Basin Energy Project - moving towards inproving our energy choices and development of distributed generation.

The thrust of our work in energy is facilitation of distributed and “community-owned” renewable electrical production on “brownfields,” already developed and disturbed lands, to offset the need for large-scale production on undeveloped lands.

Solar Warehouse - better than in our untouched Great Basin high desert.

Using legal and media action with the Western Shoshone people and ally communities, we have been trying to protect the special cultural site of Mt. Tenabo including the sacred waters within from the destructive forces of a large-scale gold mine.

Mt. Tenabo circa 2002 provided by Barbara Ridley

Photo taken circa 2007 Reno, Nevada

Mercury air pollution from Nevada's gold mines has been a significant threat to public health and the environment.  In the early 2000's GBRW lead a citizen campaign for the reduction of mercury emissions from gold mines.  As a result the state of Nevada has implimented a Mercury Control Program.  Find out about the effectiveness of the program and our work to further reduce mercury contamination from extractive industries.

There are several projects that we are currently monitoring.  The issues range from affected communities, and potentially impacted cultural and environmental areas.

Learn how GBRW actively offers support to rural communities and how we promote civic engagement.