cimarron mining corp.

EAST OF HWY 380

The Cimarron Mining Corporation (Site) is located in Carrizozo, Lincoln County, New Mexico , and is approximately 100 miles south - southeast of Albuquerque. T he Site has been divided into two operable units (OUs) : the Cimarron Mill Site as OU - 1 and Sierra Blanca Mill Site as OU - 2. The Cimmarron Mill Site is approximately 0.6 acres in aerial extent and is located on the north side of Highway 380. The Sierra Blanca Mill Site is 7.5 acres in aerial extent and is located east of U.S. Highway 54. The two mill sites operated from 1960 to 1982 with some temporary shutdowns. They are both inactive today. The Cimarron Mill Site was originally owned by Zia Steel, Inc., and was used to recover iron and precious meta ls from ores. In 1979 the site was sold to Southwest Mineral Corporation and soon thereafter cyanide was apparently used to extract precious metals from the ore . An eight (8) foot fence restricts access to the site. It is currently used as an auto repair shop and salvage yard. The Sierra Blanca Mill Site was owned and operated by Scott - Tex, In c. The site was used to recover a variety of metals from ore transported to the Site, although cyanide was apparently not used at this location. The mill shut down temporarily in the early 1970’s. In 1979, the site was leased to American Minerals Recovery Corporation. The milling operation at the Cimarron Mill Site (OU - 1) was relocated to the Sierra Blanca Mill in June 1982 . The site is currently owned by the Town of Carrizozo. The site is fenced and presently not being used for residential or commercial purposes. Approximately 1500 people live within a two - mile radius of the Site. People obtain drinking water from 29 municipal wells within three miles of the Site. The current land use for the surrounding area is residential, range land, agricultural, and some recreational. The Contaminants of Concern are cyanide in ground water up to 4,330 parts per billion (ppb) at OU - 1 and lead in soil and sediment up to 18,000 parts per million (ppm) at OU - 2. The record of decision (ROD) for OU - 1 was issued by E PA on September 21, 1990 and required extraction of cyanide from the shallow ground water and discharge to the publicly owned treatment works (POTW). The ROD for OU - 2 was issued by EPA on September 6, 1991 and required solidification and stabilization of contaminated soil and waste piles exceeding 500 ppm lead, with on - Site disposal. Remediation of the contaminated soil, sludge , and sediments with lead content above 500 milligrams per kilogram ( mg/Kg ) resulted in the following: excavation, cement stabilization and on - site disposal of 182 cubic yards of waste from five material piles and 43 cubic yards of sediment from seven tanks and a cinder block trench ; excavation and on - site disposal of 345 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the discharge pit and surface soil ; removal and off - site disposal of process chemical drums, tanks and associated piping ; backfilling of excavations (discharge pits, cinder block trench and surface soil areas) with on - site soil and covering with clean fill. Late r another 29 9 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated, stabilized with cement and placed in the on - site disposal area. The disposal area was covered with a graded low permeability cap and revegetated

Hazardous Ranking Score

39 / 100

A score of 28.5 or higher qualifies a site for the Superfund National Priority List.

Regional Contact

Region 6
Phone: (800) 887-6063

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Timeline

Discovery
Site Inspection
Preliminary Assessment
Final Listing On NPL
Removal

Contaminants & Health Effects

      Carcinogen
      Endocrine Disrupter
      Neurotoxic
      Sensitiser
      Reproductive Toxin
      Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic
      VOC
      Mutagen

        Census

        White
        African American
        Asian
        American Indian and Alaska Native
        Native Hawaiian
        Other

        739

        People living
        within a 1 mile radius

        $47,396

        Average Income

        359

        Occupied homes

        Potentially Responsible Parties

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