I THINK MINING

Just a short note to turn your attention to an article extolling the Cannon Mine in Wenatchee, WA and its tailings impoundment.  The article seems to be an attempt to support the reopening of the Idaho-Maryland mine in California. 

I spent two years on site designing & building the Cannon Mine tailings impoundment (a big file so be really patient.)  Its embankment is a 300-foot high earth and rock fill dike with an inner clay core and filters downstream of the core and on the sides of the abutments.  We could see the town of Wenatchee as we worked on the embankment each day.

It is gratifying to see it now held out as a good example of a mine next to a town and as an example of a well-reclaimed mine.  The trick to its success was the conviction of the managers and their commitment to do it right.  They assembled a good team, lead them with precision, and did not shrink from spending the money needed to build safely. 

Maybe we should all be pulled from our other activities, including retirement, to do it again for it can be done and will have to be done like that again if we are to keep the economy rolling along.

A shorter paper on the impoundment is available at this link, although a bit of patience may still be in order.