Regulatory and scientific failures in mine permitting result in widespread water pollution, increased public health risks, and costly taxpayer-funded cleanups

December 7, 2006

from Kuipers and Associates, Jim Kuipers(406)782-3441

Washington, DC and Tonasket, WA

New scientific research unveiled today finds that faulty prediction models and mitigation measures and regulatory failures result in the approval of mines with significant water pollution problems. Despite assurances from government regulators and mine proponents that mines in the study would not pollute clean water, researchers found that 76 percent of the time mines exceeded water quality standards, polluting streams and groundwater with contaminants such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cyanide, and exposing taxpayers to huge cleanup liabilities. The research, released by Okanogan Highlands Alliance and the Washington, DC-based conservation group EARTHWORKS, has major implications for proposed Buckhorn Mountain Project.

"Without correction, the human, environmental, and financial costs of these regulatory failures will continue to grow as more mines are permitted," said report author and mining engineer Jim Kuipers. "Where predictions of water quality at mine sites are concerned, the scientific process is broken and must be fixed."

The first-of-its-kind report, "Comparison of Predicted and Actual Water Quality at Hardrock Mines," by Kuipers, P.E., and geochemist Ann Maest, Ph.D., analyzed water quality predictions and consequences at 25 representative metal mines permitted in the United States over the last 25 years. The scientists found that predictions of mining's impact on clean water were made without checking the results of past predictions. They also found that predictions were often made using inadequate information, incorrectly applied. Not surprisingly, mitigation measures based on the inaccurate predictions also typically failed to protect clean water.

"This report is directly relevant to the proposed Buckhorn Mine where the mine proponent, Kinross, predicts no water quality problems." says David Kliegman, director of the Okanogan Highlands Alliance, "The Department of Ecology accepts Kinross's promise that water coming out of their treatment facility will meet water quality standards even when, as the report shows, rosy predictions often fail in actual experience."

Among the report's findings for the 25 mines examined in depth:

76 percent of mines exceeded groundwater or surface water quality standards.
93 percent of mines that are near groundwater and have elevated potential for acid drainage and metals contamination exceeded water quality standards.
85 percent of mines that are near surface water and have elevated potential for acid drainage and metals contamination exceeded water quality standards.
Mitigation measures predicted to protect clean water failed at 64 percent of the mines.

"Regulators and mining companies have a responsibility to ensure that sound science and widely available, state-of-the-art methods are used to prevent pollution at mine sites," said Maest. "Without major improvements in predictions and mitigation measures, we will have less clean water and fewer viable fisheries in mined areas across the United States."

The researchers also found that mines located near surface or groundwater that tapped ore bodies with high acid-generating or metal leaching potential were at high-risk of developing water pollution. This finding in particular has serious implications for controversial new mines now being proposed, including the proposed Buckhorn Mine in the Okanagan Highlands of northeast Washington.

The Buckhorn Mountain Mine is an underground mine proposed by Kinross Gold Corp. in the Okanagan Highlands of northeast Washington. It follows on the heels of the failed Crown Jewel Mine, which was denied by the Water Pollution Control Hearing Board due to unacceptable water quality impacts. Ann Maest, an author of the report, has also reviewed the water quality projections for the Buckhorn Mountain Mine. According to Maest, water quality impacts from the Buckhorn Mine are seriously under-estimated as well.

Sustained increases in metal prices, driven in part by growing demand from China and India, have triggered a sharp increase in the number of new mines and mine expansions being proposed in the United States. New mining claims filed in 2006 for mines on federal public lands are on track to more than quadruple since 2002.

Based on the report's findings, the groups releasing the study offered the following recommendations:

Better screening of high-risk mines-particularly those near water resources that have the potential to create pollution from acid drainage or metal leaching.
Take a precautionary approach to mine permitting and plan for worst-case scenarios.
Undertake a thorough review of water quality predictions at all existing mines.
Keep the public informed, make risks transparent.
Prevent conflicts-of-interest between mine proponents and expert consultants who prepare predictions and analyses.

The report has been extensively peer-reviewed and presented at five major conferences, including: U.S. EPA's Hardrock 2006 Conference in Tucson, Arizona; Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration's 2006 Annual Meeting in St. Louis; and the Mine Design, Operations and Closure Conference in Fairmont Hot Springs, Montana, also in 2006.

For copies of the full report and additional background, including a summary white paper and list of peer reviewers and publications, go to: www.mine-aid.org/predictions

CONTACTS: Jim Kuipers,(406) 782-3441
Ann Maest, Buka Environmental,(303) 324-6948
Alan Septoff, Earthworks, (202) 887-1872, ext. 205
Dave Kliegman, Okanagan Highlands Alliance, (509) 485-3361