OFF HWY 299 9 MI NW OF
From the 1860s through 1963, the 4,400-acre Iron Mountain Mine (IMM) site periodically was mined for iron, silver, gold, copper, zinc, and pyrite. Though mining operations were discontinued in 1963, underground mine workings, waste rock dumps, piles of mine tailings, and an open mine pit still remain at the site. Historic mining activity at IMM has fractured the mountain, exposing minerals in the mountain to surface water, rain water, and oxygen. When pyrite is exposed to moisture and oxygen, sulfuric acid forms. This sulfuric acid runs through the mountain and leaches out copper, cadmium, zinc, and other heavy metals. This acid flows out of the seeps and portals of the mine. Much of the acidic mine drainage ultimately is channeled into the Spring Creek Reservoir by creeks surrounding IMM. The Bureau of Reclamation periodically releases the stored acid mine drainage into Keswick Reservoir. Planned releases are timed to coincide with the presence of diluting releases of water from Shasta Dam. On occasion, uncontrolled spills and excessive waste releases have occurred when Spring Creek Reservoir reached capacity. Without sufficient dilution, this results in the release of harmful quantities of heavy metals into the Sacramento River. Approximately 70,000 people use surface water within 3 miles as their source of drinking water. The low pH and high heavy metal contamination from the mine have caused the virtual elimination of aquatic life in sections of Slickrock Creek, Boulder Creek, and Spring Creek. Since 1963, spills from the containment reservoir during large storms have caused at least 20 major fish kills in the Sacramento River [ 1.]. Winter-run salmon are listed as endangered by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Endangered Species Act The Sacramento River downstream of its confluence with drainage from Iron Mountain Mine is the sole spawning ground for this species and a failure of the retention dam is considered a significant risk to their continued existence [2.] 1. Nordstrom, D.K. and C. N. Alpers, 1999. Negative pH, efflorescent mineralogy, and consequences for environmental restoration at the Iron Mountain Superfund site, California Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96, 3455. 2. Good, T.P., R.S. Waples, and P. Adams (editors). 2005. Updated status of federally listed ESUs of West Coast salmon and steelhead. U.S. Dept. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NWFSC-66, 598 p. available at: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Publications/Biological-Status-Reviews/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=21346 See page 145 for a summary of factors, including Iron Mountain Mine.
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