Kennecott Utah Copper has approximately 110,000 acres along
the northern Oquirrh Mountains with active operations on approximately 10
percent of that area. The non-operational areas of the Oquirrhs are home to
diverse and abundant populations of vegetation and wildlife, due in large part
to the technical improvements in mineral processing and smelting and an
extensive reclamation program. The goals of the reclamation program vary,
depending on the history of the land and the regulatory requirements.
For example, at the southern end of Kennecott Utah Copper’s property
near the Bingham Canyon Mine, reclamation following extensive removal of
historic mining waste has been the major effort. Kennecott removed
material containing high levels of lead and arsenic, deposited clean
soil where needed, and recontoured and reseeded more than one thousand
acres of land. Kennecott has received three prestigious Earth Day
Reclamation Awards for these successful projects from the Utah Division
of Oil, Gas and Mining.
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Engineer planting a tree.
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Poppy field. |
| Much of the work done in the Oquirrhs has been
to rehabilitate land once severely impacted from historic smelter
emissions, over-grazing, floods and fires. Rehabilitation activities to
re-establish native vegetation and ensure sustainable habitats for
wildlife are continually being carried out. More than 100,000 trees have
been planted on Utah Copper land in recent years, as well as thousands
of acres of bushes, flowers and grasses. In addition to providing
habitat for wildlife, these efforts serve to control flooding and soil
erosion, which used to be severe. Kennecott Utah Copper’s commitment
to land restoration programs is demonstrated by the fact that, during
any given year, KUC’s engineers reclaim more acreage than typical
operations disturb. Reclaimed lands include obsolete facilities, old
tailings areas and overburden dumps. |
 The
Inland Sea Shorebird Reserve is a wetland created by KUC to mitigate for
wetlands impacted by an expansion of the tailings impoundment. These and
other wetlands associated with the Great Salt Lake provide stopover and
breeding habitat for migratory waterfowl. Between 2 and 5 million
shorebirds representing 36 different species visit the Great Salt Lake
and its surrounding wetlands each year.
Over $230 million and innumerable man-hours have been
spent on the cleanup of historic mining sites, many of which were
created prior to Kennecott’s involvement in the Oquirrh Mountains. KUC
has cleaned up over 20,000,000 cubic yards of mining-related material.
(That’s enough material to cover 20 city blocks to the height of a 10
story building!)
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