gilt edge mine

4 MILES SE OF LEAD

The Gilt Edge Mine Superfund site is located about 6.5 miles east of Lead, at the headwaters of cold-water fisheries and municipal water supplies of the northern Black Hills in South Dakota. The 360-acre primary mine disturbance area encompasses a former open pit and a cyanide heap-leach gold mine, as well as prior mine exploration activities from various companies. In the late 1990s the most recent mine operator, Brohm Mining Company (BMC), became insolvent. In doing so, they left 150 million gallons of acidic heavy-metal-laden water in three open pits, as well as millions of cubic yards of acid-generating waste rock that requires cleanup and long-term treatment. Mining operations for gold, copper and tungsten were conducted in this small mining district starting in 1876. And a legacy of contamination was left by many of these mining entities. When BMC faced financial problems and informed the state that it would not continue site controls, the governor of South Dakota requested that EPA Region 8 propose the site for the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). EPA proposed the site on May 11, 2000 and announced the site's final NPL designation in the Federal Register on December 1, 2000. The NPL is a list of sites with environmental contamination, commonly referred to as Superfund sites.

Hazardous Ranking Score

50 / 100

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

Regional Contact

Region 8
Phone: (303) 312-6312

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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

        3

        People living
        within a 1 mile radius

        $48,403

        Average Income

        2

        Occupied homes

        Potentially Responsible Parties

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