generate a new title here, between 50 to 60 characters long
Written on
Chapter 1: The Beauty and the Blight of Colorado's Landscape
As you ascend Kokomo Pass in Colorado, roughly 20 miles northeast of Leadville at an elevation of 12,000 feet, breathtaking vistas await. The Sawatch Mountains stand majestically, capped with snow, while the Collegiate Peaks rise above the Arkansas River Valley. To the south, the Sangre de Cristos roll gently, fading into soft blue tones against the horizon. The nearby slopes are adorned with thickets of lodgepole pines, Engelmann spruces, and subalpine firs, while meadows burst with vibrant wildflowers like mountain bluebells and blue columbines. This scenery appears almost untouched by human hands.
However, if you were to venture just south of Kokomo Pass and peer further into the valley, a starkly different sight would emerge.
In stark contrast, you'd observe a reservoir filled with copper-orange sludge, tainted by acid mine drainage runoff. Other reservoirs filled with dark, murky water scatter the valley floors. Rust-colored mine tailings mar the crumbling slopes surrounding the pits of grimy runoff. Distant mountains display rust-colored patches, revealing how entire mountainsides have been excavated, stripped of their vegetation.
Nestled along the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass, the Climax Mine features a large, orb-like structure reminiscent of the Death Star, marking the entrance to the largest underground mine globally. From 1925 to the 1970s, this area produced over half of the world's molybdenum, a metal essential for manufacturing steel and robust alloys.
While the surrounding mountains are forested with pine, extensive areas bear the scars of mining activities dating back to the late 1800s.
Section 1.1: The Rise of Mining in Colorado
The establishment of Colorado's mountain towns can be traced back to adventurous settlers seeking fortune. The gold rush ignited in 1850 when gold was discovered along Ralston Creek near Denver. This discovery led to a rush of miners, and by 1860, over 100,000 prospectors traversed the Great Plains heading toward Colorado's mountains. They built countless mines, searching for gold, silver, copper, and other valuable minerals. While some struck it rich, others set up towns like Leadville, which now hosts the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum.
According to a report by M. H. Bergendahl and A. H. Koschmann for the U.S. Department of the Interior, "During the gold rush to the Pikes Peak region in 1859, some prospectors ventured to the Arkansas River's headwaters, crossed Fremont Pass, and found placer gold deposits in McNulty Gulch in 1860."
This area, located approximately twelve miles northeast of Leadville, soon attracted thousands of miners drawn by its rich ore deposits. By the late 1860s, Leadville and the nearby Oro City became bustling hubs for prospectors.
Back then, the environment was viewed primarily as a resource to exploit rather than a treasure to protect. The establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was still a century away. The initial placer mining soon escalated into hydraulic and hardrock mining, which devastated the mountainsides. By 1880, Leadville became Colorado's largest silver mining site and was among the most populated areas in the state, second only to Denver.
Section 1.2: The Decline of Mining Operations
Despite the mining boom, by the late 1800s, gold and silver prices fell significantly. As easily accessible deposits dwindled, many mines became unprofitable and were abandoned. By the 1990s, scientists from the Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) identified 18,382 abandoned mine sites throughout the state. These neglected sites began leaching acid mine drainage and heavy metals into Colorado's major river systems.
The Arkansas, Las Animas, Rio Grande, Alamosa, and Uncompahgre Rivers are all affected, with 672 abandoned mines posing "potentially significant hazards" to local watersheds. Over 200 had caused "significant degradation" to ecosystems.
Subsection 1.2.1: The Chemistry Behind Acid Mine Drainage
When mining operations disturb the earth, minerals like pyrite (iron sulfide, or "fool's gold") become exposed. This exposure accelerates the natural erosion process. When water and oxygen interact with pyrite, they create sulfuric acid and dissolved iron, leading to acid mine drainage—a toxic mix of acidic water and heavy metals.
As rain and snowmelt flow into abandoned mine shafts, they generate substantial amounts of acid mine drainage. This toxic runoff eventually contaminates rivers, streams, and groundwater, threatening both aquatic life and human drinking water supplies.
Chapter 2: The Ongoing Impact of Mining Pollution
For instance, California Gulch, part of the Leadville Mining District, is littered with remnants of historic mining, including 75 mills and 44 smelters. The area has suffered from the pollution of approximately 115,000 cubic yards of mine drainage impacting the Arkansas River's headwaters. Consequently, this stretch of the river has been found to exceed state aquatic life standards for various metals, including zinc and lead.
Similarly, Peru Creek, which flows downstream from the Pennsylvania Mine, has become virtually devoid of aquatic life due to continuous acid mine drainage pollution. This scenario reflects a broader trend seen in many streams across Colorado and the greater American West.
Section 2.1: A Nationwide Concern
Across the United States, over 500,000 abandoned mine sites threaten drinking water supplies. The Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia estimates that acid mine drainage from these sites has contaminated more than 135,000 acre-feet of reservoirs and 9,000 miles of rivers. More than 40% of Western watersheds are currently polluted due to historic mining operations.
While the issues surrounding abandoned mines have been recognized for decades, solutions remain elusive. A 2017 report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment highlighted that over 23,000 abandoned mines exist in the state, with 1,800 miles of streams impaired by acid mine drainage-related pollutants.
Despite the existence of numerous Superfund sites—areas deemed severely polluted—most abandoned mines lack thorough assessment or intervention from the EPA. The Gold King Mine, notorious for a catastrophic spill in 2015, exemplifies the challenges of cleaning up these historic sites.
Section 2.2: The Path Forward
Resolving Colorado's abandoned mine issues requires regulatory reform at the federal level. The General Mining Act of 1872, which governs mining claims on public lands, is laden with loopholes that allow harmful practices to continue. As a result, the burden of addressing ongoing pollution falls on government agencies and environmental groups, who face significant financial disincentives.
Without substantial reform and incentivization to clean up these abandoned sites, acid mine drainage will persist, threatening the state’s ecosystems and drinking water supplies.
The breadth of downstream effects from this pollution remains largely unknown, as does the specific reform needed to address these critical issues. Acknowledging the problem is the first step toward finding a solution.
Ultimately, the challenges posed by abandoned mines and acid mine drainage are not confined to Colorado; they reflect a national crisis that necessitates urgent attention and action.
Note: This narrative is adapted from my book, The Trail to Nowhere: Life and Death Along the Colorado Trail, which will be published on August 24, 2024. For those interested, a free copy can be claimed here. Thank you for reading.