PIT BACKFILL: YEA or NAY, A MONTANA EXAMPLEe

Abstract

Following a complex legal history after a permit expansion in 1990, a Montana District Court ruled in 2002 that the Golden Sunlight's reclamation plan must include backfilling the pit in compliance with the Montana State Constitution and the Metal Mine Reclamation Act. The Golden Sunlight Mine submitted a proposed partial pit backfill plan in December of 2002. This presentation will detail the analysis and conclusions of the detailed studies that were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of backfilling the open pit at the mine with 33 million tons of acidic waste rock.