#22 - Little Rockies Damaged by Mining

Above: This photo of the Pegasus Gold Mine near Landusky was taken in 2023. Much of what you see is waste rock and tailings. The Pegasus Gold Mine is a few miles away near Zortman. About 2.5 million ounces of gold were extracted from 1979 until the mines closed in 1996. Click on photo to enlarge.

The Grinnell Notch . . .
The Zortman and Landusky open-pit gold mine, located just outside the southern edge of the Ft. Belknap Indian Reservations, were owned and operated by Pegasus Gold, Inc. from 1979 to 1996. The mined land used to be part of the reservation, but the discovery of gold there in the 1890s prompted the government to renegotiate the extent of the reservation. George Bird Grinnell was the lead negotiator for the federal government. The notch measures about 7 miles x 7 miles, was purchased from the tribe for $360,000. The map of the reservation below shows the Grinnell Notch along Ft. Belknap's southern border. The photo at the top of this page was taken from Mission Peak.

Shortfall . . .
Before a company begins to mine an area, it is required to pay a "reclamation bond." With the mines in the Little Rockies, Pegasus was required to post a $30 million bond. Normally the bond money is given back to the mining company when they are finished mining and the government is satisfied that the company has restored the land. If the company leaves without cleaning up the land, the government uses the money to do the cleanup. This is exactly what happened with the Zortman and Landusky mines. Pegasus declared bankruptcy in 1998, forfeited its $30 million bond, and left the mess for the government to cleanup. The problem was that $30 million was not nearly enough to clean up the mess, leaving taxpayers and federal agencies to foot the bill. By 2018 the state had poured $32 million into cleanup efforts at Zortman-Landusky, while federal agencies had contributed another $45 million.

Acid mine drainage . . .
The scars left on the landscape of this scenic little mountain range are obvious, but the more dangerous issue is the threat to streams and groundwater. The Pegasus mines used a cyanide heap leaching process to extract the gold. Crushed (milled) ore was piled on impermeable pads, and a dilute sodium cyanide solution was sprayed over it. As the cyanide soaked down through the crushed ore, it dissolved the gold (leaching). The solution was then collected (called a pregnant solution), and some fancy chemistry was used to extract the gold. When the mining was going on the cyanide solution posed significant environmental risks from liner leaks, and cyanide spills. Hopwever, cyanide is no longer an issue. The problem today is that all of the waste rock and crushed ore (tailings) contain sulfide minerals. As these minerals are exposed to air and water (rain, snow) a weak acid forms - called acid mine drainage (AMD). Then, as the acidic water drains off the mine sites into streams it dissolves metals naturally contained in rocks, making it toxic. By breaking and crushing the bedrock the mining activity greatly increased the surface area of sulfide laden rocks - providing plenty of opportunity for air and water to react with the sulfides.

In perpetuity . . .
Two water treatment plants constructed to neutralize acidic water draining from the mine. Because there is no way to stop the exposed rock from generating acidic runoff, mitigation must continue around the clock and “in perpetuity" (forever). Monitoring of groundwater and surface water will have to continue as well. The ongoing cost to taxpayers now rests at around $2 million to $2.5 million per year. Bad actors . . . ,br> As a result of the Pegasus bankruptcy in 2002 the Montana Legislature passed some of the strictest metal mining laws in the nation, often referred to as the "bad actor laws." Here are the key Aspects of Montana's "Bad Actor" Laws:

Purpose: To prevent mining companies and their executives from skipping out on cleanup responsibilities and starting new mines, shifting the financial burden to the public.

Trigger: Occurs when a company or its leaders fail to reclaim a mine site or reimburse the state for cleanups after bankruptcy or abandonment, like the Zortman-Landusky mine case.

Consequence: Prohibits the "bad actor" from receiving new mining permits in Montana until past cleanup costs are repaid, often with interest.

Enforcement: The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) identifies and takes action against bad actors, even those based out-of-state, as ruled by courts.

History: Passed in 2001 following the Pegasus Gold bankruptcy, showing bipartisan support for holding polluters accountable

Terms: waste rock, ore, tailings

CLICK HERE to access a photo album that includes many more photos from the Pegasus Mines in the Little Rockies