 BioteQ commissioned a water treatment plant in the fall of 2008 at the former Wellington Oro silver-zinc mine site near Breckenridge, Colorado. The plant uses BioteQ's ChemSulphide® technology to remove dissolved cadmium and zinc from wastewater emanating from the closed mine, producing clean water that is discharged to the environment, and a metal by-product that can be recycled into useful products.
The Wellington Oro Mine was the largest mine in Summit County, with active underground mining from the late 1880s to the 1970s. The mine produced silver, gold, lead and zinc from an extensive network of tunnels and adits. When the Wellington Oro Mine ceased operation in 1972, it left an unintended environmental legacy - water draining from the mine site is contaminated with dissolved metals including cadmium and zinc.
In 1989, the mine site was identified for potential Superfund listing by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). A team was formed to address the area's water quality issues while protecting alpine habitat and open space. In 2005, the Town of Breckenridge and Summit County purchased the site as part of an 1,800 acre open space plan, and an international call for proposals was issued to find a water treatment solution for the metal contaminated water.
The BioteQ process for water treatment and metal removal was selected in 2005 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, Summit County, and the Town of Breckenridge as the best available technology to remove dissolved cadmium and zinc from mine drainage produced at the Wellington Oro site. The process was selected because of its ability to produce treated water that meets strict water quality criteria for metal content while generating no waste sludge that requires special disposal. The goal of the mine cleanup is to lower the concentration of dissolved metals in French Creek and the Blue River to meet Colorado Water Quality Standards and protect the brown trout fishery.
This project is a plant sale. BioteQ provided process design and engineering, procurement support, plant commissioning, and operator training. The plant is operated by the Town of Breckenridge Water Division.
Click here for a printable profile of the Wellington Oro project.
The application of BioteQ's technology at the Wellington Oro Mine has economic and environmental benefits. The plant:
- Reduces the environmental liability associated with metal-contaminated water.
- Removes heavy metals from the environment, producing saleable metal products that can be recycled into useful products, offsetting the cost of water treatment.
- Produces high quality treated water that can be discharged directly to the environment.
- Produces no waste sludge that would otherwise require long term storage and management.
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