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MIDNITE URANIUM MINE - HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH and CHARACTERIZATION' by Barbara C

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MIDNITE URANIUM MINE - HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH and CHARACTERIZATION' by Barbara C MIDNITE URANIUM MINE - HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH AND CHARACTERIZATION' by Barbara C. Williams2 and John A. Riley' Abstract. U.S. Bureau of Mines hydrologic and geochemical investiga- tions at the Midnite uranium mine include the following two objectives: predicting how excavated pits will refill after dewatering and determin- ing head distribution at the site. This paper focuses on the influence of the local groundwater flow system on the two open pits (3 and 4) at the site. Uncertainties remain to be resolved regarding (1) whether pit 4 will refill when dewatered and (2) the quality of water that will naturally re- charge pit 3 if it is dewatered. This information is required so that re- clamation alternatives can be evaluated. A comparison of potentiometric surfaces indicates that both pit 3 and pit 4 are hydraulically connected to the groundwater flow system. These potentiometric maps and other data indicate that both pits would probably refill if dewatered. The water qualities of the monitored and inferred sources of recharge to pit 3 and historical data from pit 3 indicate that if dewatered, pit 3 would be likely to be refilled with water of a quality that violates the NPDES standard for uranium. Additional Key Words: hydrology, ground water, acid mine drainage, Midnite uranium mine, potentiometric map, metal ion migration. Introduction Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acted as the permitting agencies during the more recent The Midnite uranium mine is on the operations and are now the key agencies over- Spokane Indian Reservation in northeastern seeing reclamation. The U.S. Bureau of Mines Washington (figure 1). The site was leased (BOM) has been conducting research at the site from the Spokane Tribe of Indians by the Dawn since 1989. This research began as a baseline Mining Co. beginning in 1954 and was mined study of metal ion migration, but has become from 1955 to 1965 and from 1969 to 1981. more focused on the reclamation issues faced Approximately 130 of the 328 hectares within . by several agencies within the Department of the lease boundary were disturbed, resulting in the Interior. U.S. Bureau of Mines hydrologic open pits, backfilled pits, stockpiles of soil, and geochemical research objectives are to piles of both nonreactive and reactive waste (1) identify contaminant source areas and plaus- rock, and stockpiles of low-grade uranium ore. ible migration pathways, (2) characterize the The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the chemical mechanisms that release uranium and 'Paper presented at the 1993 National Meeting of the American Society for Surface Mining ,and Reclamation, Spokane, Washington, May 16-19, 1993 "Civil engineer and hydrologist, Spokane Research Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Spokane, WA. 'Consulting hydrogeologist, Post Falls, ID. 455 LEGEND 0 Dawn Mining wells BOMwells <>• Surface sampling site N 356,000 -s7s./" Elevation centaur, m 0 250 Scale,m N Pit 3 813m N354,000 Seattle Washington 0 0 ~...,_,_0 "'C\i w Figure 1. Site plan view and area location map. 456 11 Well Dawn-26 LEGEND .Jl.. Measured water level · / 10 .,,..,- Ground surface I E I C\I ,:;. ?',,. Inferred phreatic surface I 0,... I ,-./ 5 z 1·--92 m 0 9 -901m I- Depth of water 24 m ~ Pollution Well w control pond 4 _Jw ------·? 8 / / "' -nom _ 755 m Depth of water 43 m --747m Depth of water 8 m 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 DISTANCE, km Figure 2. North-south cross section across Midnite Mine. Vertical exaggeration is 3 times. other contaminants, (3) predict how pits will re- During the period the mine was active, six fill after dewatering, (4) determine the potenti- pits or subpits were opened. Four of these were ometric surface in various hydrostratigraphic subsequently backfilled with overburden and units at the site, (5) determine the residence waste as mining progressed, while pits 3 and 4 times of meteoric water, and (6) develop means were left open (figures 1 and 2). Pit 3 contains to decrease or redirect recharge to the most approximately 1.6 million m3 water and is more strongly contaminated zones. Tne first two ob- contaminated than pit 4 (table 1). Pit 4 contains jectives are addressed in Marcy (1993). The 0. 72 million m3 of water; it received a signifi- third and fourth objectives are addressed in this cant amount of water from the dewatering opera- paper. tions required to mine pit 3. When pit 3 was no Table !.-Average values of water quality characteristics at selected sampling locations. Averages are arithmetic means of 30 samples taken over 2 years (1990-1992). Location Specific pH Eh, S04=, Alkalinity' u, conductance, mV mg/L mg/Las mg/L µSiem HC03- Well 6 ..•.•..• 210 6.1 460 9.7 52 <DL Pit 4 ·········· 350 7.0 470 380 46 3.1 Pit 3 ·········· 1,500 4.2 . 450 2,500 20 24 Pit 3 seep ... 790 7.2 390 720 91 2.0 Well 3M .... 7,900 5.3 360 9,400 520 15 . Well 30..... 1,100 6.5 390 650 170 2.7 Well SM ...•. 230 7.2 330 32 140 <DL PCP .....••... 2,000 4.0 480 3,600 16 29 DL = Detection limit. 457 was no longer mined (1981), some portion of The general trend of the structural features the water accumulated in· pit ·4 was siphoned in the area is north-northeast (Ludwig et al., back into pit 3. No record of the water _eleva- . 1981); these features include fractures,. the tions in pit 4 is known to have been maintained Midnite mineral trend, and dikes and sills asso- during the period of these additions and with- ciated with the quartz monzonite intrusion. drawals. A pollution control pond (PCP) was built in 1979 to hold contaminated water col- lected from various seeps and drains at the Monitoring Wells and Surface southernmost end of the permit area. In 1983, Water Sampling pumping of water from the PCP into pit ~ was initiated and has continued until the present at a Thirty-one monitoring wells at 15 locations rate of about O.15 m3 /min. were drilled in two phases. In 1989, 15 moni- toring wells were installed at 7 locations; these wells and 14 surface-water sampling locations Site Geology have been monitored since December 1989. An additional 16 wells at 8 locations were con- The Midnite Mine is located on the south~ structed in the summer of 1992. Wells drilled west slope of Spokane Mountain on the western in 1989 were constructed to document the dis- edge of the metasedimentary Togo Formation tribution of water elevation and quality in three in the Belt Supergroup. This Precambrian se- dimensions, whereas wells drilled in 1992 were quence is at least 900 m thick and contains · constructed to collect specific information deter- graphitic and pyritic mica phyllite and mus- mined as needed after the first set of wells had covite schist with interbeds of marble, calc- been installed. Geophysical techniques were silicate, homfels, and quartzite (Nash, 1977). used to optimize the placement of holes for the Ore deposition was hydrothermal in a contact 1992 drilling program. Holes with an inside metamorphic-metasomatic system that produced diameter (ID) of 0.2 m were drilled, and steel sulfide minerals, which causes acid rock drain- casing was driven as needed to stabilize the hole age when exposed to oxidation. This is very during drilling. After completion, . the steel unusual for a uranium deposit. Disseminated casings were pulled, leaving only 3 to 5 m of uranium minerals occur aiong foliations in mus- permanent steel casing. All monitoring wells covite schist, phyllite, and homfels (Nash and were constructed with 0.05-m threaded poly- Lehrman, 1975) and within fractures, shear vinyl chloride (PVC) casing and factory-slotted zones, and clay-rich layers within the calc- screens. One, two, or three monitoring wells silicate rock (Ludwig et al;, 1981). Uranium were installed inside the 0.2-m drill hole. Clean ore-bearing phyllite schist is the predominant silica sand was poured into the drilled hole in rock type on the northern wall of pit 3. the interval around the screened section. A ben- tonite sealing material was pumped into the hole A Late Cretaceous porphyritic quartz mon- with a tremie line to seal the sections between zonite intrusion crops out along the west side of the screened intervals. Either the bentonite the mine (Fleshman and Dodd,.1982) and under- slurry or bentonite chips were used to seal the lies the eastern portion of the mine. The con- well from the top of the shallowest sandpack to tact between the quartz monzonite and the ore- the surface. Lithologic logs and completion bearing metasediments appears to run north- depths are shown in figure 3. General descrip- south from the middle of pit 4 through pit 3 tions of field .sampling methods and laboratory riear the west wall. Intrusive rock forms the analytical procedures are provided in detail in a west highwall of pit 4 as well as the ridge above BOM Report of Investigation to be published in that highwall. Intrusive rock also forms part of 1993 and also in Marcy (1993). the west highwall of pit 3. 458 A Well Well Well Well Well · -1S . 1M · 10 B 2S 20 0 835 0 878 E @Wame n E z :::c 0 40 .795 I- 40 ~ D.. l:)llJr 838 ~ E w TD46m E z Cl w ....I 0 w [ 80 Cale-silicate 755 I- 80 798 .W ~ Cl w ....I w 120 715 Intrusive .• •. TD 154m 160 675 C Well Well Well Well 3$ 30 D 4S 40 0 856 0 822 E E E z· E z 0 0 40 ta.
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