Bringing Geoscience to Bear on the Problem of Abandoned Mines

Alexandria, VA - Last summer, while the abandoned Gold King Mine in Colorado was being studied for acid mine drainage, the earthen plug blew out, releasing millions of gallons of acid mine water into the Animas River. This event added momentum to the national dialog on remediating abandoned mine lands. EARTH Magazine explores the role geoscience plays in this process.

Hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines exist nationwide, releasing untold amounts of pollutants into the environment. How to prevent such release is anything but a straightforward problem, made more complicated by laws that govern mining, some of which date back to Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency. Such laws greatly influence how states and communities can interact with abandoned mines.

Learn what exactly an abandoned mine is, and what geoscientists are doing to study the issue and potentially influence future legislation in EARTH Magazine.

EARTH Magazine is the premier source to discover the role geoscience is playing in our world. In addition to stories like the one above, readers can find stories based on the research of scientists worldwide. Explore these stories and much more at www.earthmagazine.org.