Effect of Burlington Mine Pond on Metal Concentrations in

Little James Creek

Joe RyanUniversity of Colorado

Lefthand Watershed Oversight GroupDecember 6, 2005

Denver Public Library X-2579 Denver Public Library X-61529

[Zn]

(

g L-1

)0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Balarat CreekBurlington Mine pond

[Zn]

(

g L-1

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Little James backgroundLittle James upstream

time (2004)

Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

[Zn]

(

g L-1

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Little James downstream

EPA Data

Zincdissolved

aquatic life criteria,acute and chronic:50-100 mg L-1

(depends on hardness)

Our Data – Zinc, April 2003

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Zn

conc

entr

atio

n (

g L-1

)

0

200

400

600

16800

16900 total Zn, Little James Creekdissolved Zn, Little James Creektotal Zn, tributariesacute TVSchronic TVS

Little James Creek distance (km)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Zn

load

(k

g da

y-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

total Zn, Little James Creekdissolved Zn, Little James Creektotal Zn, tributaries

un

na

me

d g

ully

, so

uth

Arg

o m

ine

Em

me

tt a

dit

dra

ina

ge

Ba

lara

t C

ree

k

un

na

me

d t

rib

uta

ry,

sou

th

"str

ea

msi

de

ta

ilin

gs"

"Bu

en

o M

tn G

ully

"

wa

terf

all

Co

un

ty R

oa

d 1

02

J

"Arg

o G

ully

"

min

e

wa

ste

pile

, n

ort

h

Bu

lrin

gto

n m

ine

un

na

me

d w

ast

e r

ock

pile

, n

ort

h

Ba

lara

t R

oa

d

Our Data – Zinc, June 2003

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Zn

conc

entr

atio

n (

g L-1

)

0

200

400

600

800

1800018200

total Zn, Little James Creekdissolved Zn, Little James Creektotal Zn, tributariesacute TVSchronic TVS

Little James Creek distance (km)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0

Zn

load

(kg

day

-1)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0 Total Zn load, Little James Creek

Total Zn load, tributariesDissolved Zn, Little James Creek

un

nam

ed

gu

lly,

sou

th

Arg

o m

ine

Em

me

tt a

dit

dra

ina

ge

Ba

lara

t C

ree

k

un

nam

ed

tri

bu

tary

, so

uth

"str

ea

msi

de t

aili

ng

s"

"Bu

en

o M

tn G

ully

"

wa

terf

all

Co

unty

Ro

ad

102

J

"Arg

o G

ully

"

min

e

wa

ste

pile

, n

ort

h

Bu

lrin

gto

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ine

un

nam

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wa

ste

ro

ck p

ile,

no

rth

Ba

lara

t R

oad

Summary

Similar results for other metalscopper, lead

Burlington Mine cleanupreduced erosion, contact with waste rockpond still flowingno clear improvement

High concentrations downstreamBurlington Mine pond still a sourceEmmet Mine probably bigger source

Lefthand Canyon Rd

Sawmill Rd

California Gulch RdWhite Raven Mine

Captain JackMine and Mill

Big FiveTunnel

Lefth

and

Can

yon

Rd

To W

ard

Tina M. Winwood

A.P. &T.S. Brown

Toy L.B. &

Lucian S.F.

Toy L.B. &Lucian S.F.

Bird DogProperties LLC

Bird D

og

Properties LLC

Bird D

og

Properties LLC

Bird DogProperties LLC

Bird DogProperties LLC

Bird DogProperties LLC

Peter P. Brady

Ameriquest Mortgage Co.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co.

Ameriquest Mortgage Co.Captain Jack Mining Ltd.

Captain Jack Mining Ltd.

Captain Jack Mining Ltd.

Captain Jack Mining Ltd.David E. Van Dyke

Captain Jack

Mining Ltd.

Captain Jack M

ining Ltd. Bird D

og

Properties LLC

Bird D

og

Properties LLC

Boulder County

Boulder County

W. Andrew

Ketchin

Captain Jack

Mining Ltd.

AR Tiedemann

& RL Vogel

J.M. & M.J.

Shaffer

W. Andrew Ketchin

J.M. & M.J.

Shaffer

WV Mickey Jr.& R Patrick

Boulder County

AR Tiedemann& RL Vogel

AR Tiedemann& RL Vogel

Boulder County

Grover E. Burdine

Grover E.Burdine

BoulderCo.

U.S. Govt.

U.S. GovernmentU.S. Government

U.S. Government

A.P. & T.S. Brown

Boulder County