Alexco completes water treatment plant at Gold King Mine in Colorado

Nov. 4, 2015 -- Under a new contract with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Alexco Resource Corp., recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Alexco Environmental Group (AEG), has completed the construction and started operation of a 1,200-gallon-per-minute (GPM) interim water treatment facility at the Gold King Mine in Southern Colorado -- the site of EPA's contaminant spill in early August 2015.

AEG's contract to design, construct and automate an Interim Water Treatment Plant at the Gold King Mine is part of the Emergency Response and Removal Action being conducted by the EPA. AEG is the selected interim water treatment contractor for the EPA and acts under the supervision of Environmental Restoration, L.L.C. (ER).

The plant design was selected due to its proven capability to address water treatment residuals (sludge) during cold weather operations with a highly automated plant-wide control system, enabling 24-hour operation at low cost and high reliability. AEG completed the construction of the treatment system within a required three-week period and is now entering a four-week testing period during which the plant will be optimized and further winterized in anticipation of the harsh conditions expected at 10,500 feet in the San Juan Mountains.

The treatment plant has the flexibility to utilize diverse sources of low-cost alkalinity (lime or kiln dust) and is currently operating under complete automation in the 600 to 1,200 GPM range while achieving metals removal well in excess of the contractual standard of 85 percent total metals removal.

AEG's unique solids filtration and sludge handling experience will allow extended operation that avoids the need for sludge re-handling during winter operations by providing for simple on-site sludge storage and the opportunity for beneficial re-use. Separately, Alexco has developed and demonstrated the beneficial effects of water treatment sludge re-use at the Platoro mine and Globeville smelter treatment sites, which are also located in Colorado.

See also:

"EPA updates Gold King Mine response website with new sampling results, documents"

"EPA finalizes rule to modernize CWA reporting for utilities, municipalities"

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