The Missouri Department of Natural Resources nominated Teck American Incorporated for the Interstate Mining Compact Commission’s 2019 National Non-Coal Category Reclamation award, which was accepted in May. The award is intended to identify and recognize companies that maintain compliance and apply innovative techniques to reclaim land following mining activities.
Teck’s Magmont Mine, located in Reynolds County, won because they remained in compliance, welcomed and implemented suggestions made by the department and utilized innovative mining techniques and high-quality reclamation activities. The award was presented to Dave Enos, manager of dormant properties for Teck American Incorporated, on May 8, in Tucson, Arizona.
On December 27, 2017, Carol Comer, director of the Department of Natural Resources, released 318-acres of the 371-acre bonded area under the Metallic Minerals Waste Management Act. Teck consistently exceeded the spirit and intent of the law in regard to closure and reclamation at Magmont Mine. Production of lead, zinc and copper concentrates began at the mine site in 1968 and reclamation activities started before cessation of mining on May 26, 1994. Revegetation activities on the Magmont tailings area began in 1992 with an innovative pilot planting on a 30-acre test plot. The pilot planting was performed to evaluate the capability of native grasses to grow on cover material, and to inform reclamation planners about erosion and soil conditioning needs.
To view the full gallery, tap on any image.
“Teck has been conducting reclamation monitoring and maintenance in close coordination with the department since 1996,” said Larry Lehman, Land Reclamation Program director with the department's Missouri Geological Survey. Groundwater monitoring has been conducted from 1991 to present. The site met the revegetation success criteria of greater than 80% coverage in 2006 and exceeds 90% today.
“Teck American Incorporated has a long history of working alongside the Land Reclamation Program and other DNR agency staff from our operation of the Magmont Mine in the Viburnum Trend. In the early 1990s when we started mine reclamation, DNR helped us create our post-mining vision of reclaiming the land to benefit native wildlife. As we completed our reclamation in the 2000s, Land Reclamation Program staff guided us toward compliance with the various DNR programs. The process was rigorous, as it should be, but never frustrating as environmental programs can sometimes be,” said Enos. “My personal experience has been extremely positive. Bill Zeaman, Ashley Harrison, her predecessor Beth Aubuchon and others have encouraged us to set mutually-beneficial site reclamation goals, and we have worked collaboratively as we took the steps needed to obtain those goals.”The department works closely with Teck and others to ensure mined lands are returned to beneficial use.
Learn more about Teck’s award online. Read about Teck by visiting the Teck website. A video about Magmont Mine and other reclamation projects in Missouri is online on the department's YouTube page.
Related Stories
