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Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex CECRA Facility
Link to Supporting Information
Background
The Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex (UBMC; also known as the Heddleston district) is an inactive mining district, greater than 50 acres in size, which was mined intermittently from 1889 to the 1950s and explored intermittently up to the present. The mining district is located in in the headwaters of the Blackfoot River in a fairly remote location on and near national forest land, which is used by hunters and other recreationists. One residence with a domestic well is located on Beartrap Creek above the impoundment. Other residences are present within a few miles downstream of the mining area. The town of Lincoln is about 15 miles downstream.
The main workings at the UBMC are the Mike Horse, Anaconda, Carbonate, Edith, Mary P and Paymaster mines; and a surface impoundment on Beartrap Creek. The historic mining and exploration activities in this area have resulted in numerous tailings and waste rock dumps. Seeps from the tailings and waste rock dumps along with acid mine drainage from old adits have contaminated surface water, sediments, soils and groundwater. Additional contamination exists due to the 1975 surface impoundment failure that washed metal-laden tailings down the Beartrap Creek drainage and into the upper Blackfoot River.
In 2007, the Montana Legislature provided funding to conduct a remedial investigation at the UBMC. Funding became available on July 1, 2007. Documents relating to this project will be available for download and/or viewing on this page as they are finalized.
| Download Name | Link |
|---|---|
| Map of Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex |
 3,398 K |
| Map of UBMC Remedial Investigation Area |
3,398 K |
| Upper Blackfoot Mining Complex Site Summary | 29 K |
| 1MH Creek seepage just below the dam-2007 | 654 K |
| 2MH Creek seepage just below the dam-2007 |
694 K |
| 3MH Creek seepage just below the dam-2007 | 651 K |
| 4-2005 USFS personnel (Bo Stuart-hydrologist and Beth Ihle-geologist) inspect seeps from MH dam | 332 K |
| Beartrap Creek and mine waste - looking north from toe of the MH dam-2007 | 645 K |
| Mike Horse Dam looking south from just above confluence of Mike Horse Creek and Beartrap Creek | 515 K |
| October 3 2007 UBMC Fall Investigation 004 Cory Sandow (Tetra Tech, Inc.) collecting aquatic bugs for metals analysis | 635 K |
| Pretreatment system - (part of system that treats acid mine drainage for MH adit) being replaced or upgraded | 517 K |
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