Summitville Mine Reclamation Superfund Site

The Summitville Mine located in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado is 11,500 feet above sea level and approximately 20 miles southwest of Del Norte, Colorado. Gold and silver mining activities began in 1870 and large-scale open pit mining began in the mid 1980’s. Cyanide heap leaching was utilized to extract the precious metals from the mined ore.  Due to a faulty heap leach pad, the site and surrounding area became contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals and was designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as a Super Fund cleanup site.

DelHur was contracted by the state of Colorado to perform reclamation activities at the mine site. The project included:

• 1.3 million cy of excavation of mine waste
• Ditch/stream channel excavation and re-establishment
• Amendment of 300 acres of subsoils with agricultural lime and compost
• Amendment of topsoil conserved during general excavation and replacement on amended subsoil
• Onsite quarry development for Rip-rap channel lining
• Placement of 54-inch minus channel lining
• Crushing/processing/placement of Rip-rap bedding and 15 miles of base course for USFS access to site
• Demolition and disposal of the mine crusher building plant and administration buildings