Uranium Mine Site Waste Removal & Repository Construction/Cap
Site Overview
The remote site is an inactive uranium mine located on public land administered by the United States Forest Service (USFS) as a Removal Action. Uranium ore was mined from a deposit approximately 1,000 feet below the surface, resulting in waste rock and debris piles that required remediation. Envirocon provided tailings remediation, repository construction/capping, and site restoration services.
Project Highlights
- Excavated and consolidated over 145,000 cubic yards of uranium mine wastes
- Constructed a 26-acre onsite mine waste repository and a multi-layer evapotranspiration cover with a 1,000-year design life
- Constructed 3,500 linear feet of rock-armored drainage channels for permanent stormwater conveyance
- Restored and revegetated the 110-acre site with native desert plant species
- Restored the former uranium mine site to its natural state
Value Delivered
During execution, remedial action surveys identified an additional 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated waste that required removal. The efficiencies provided by Envirocon’s excavation means and methods and the use of GPS equipment and modeling allowed our team to quickly address additional excavation quantities and modify the waste repository grading model without impacts to the original project schedule.