STUDY NUMBER : 3.3 



ORGANIZATION ; Montana Department of State Lands--Hard Rock Mining 

 Bureau (MDSL) 



TITLE OF STUDY : Baseline Water Quality Monitoring for Big Black- 

 foot Project near Lincoln, Montana 



CONTACT ( S ) ; P. Dennis Smith, Hard Rock Bureau - 444-2074 



Larry Brown, Montana Department of Health and 

 Environmental Sciences, Water Quality Bureau- 

 444-2406 



Elton Modroo, Sunshine Mining Co. - (208) 345- 

 0660 



OBJECTIVE ; Chemical characterization and documentation of ground- 

 water and surface water quality prior to constructing a gold 

 mine and heap leach facility. 



DURATION : October, 1986 - end of mine life (approximately 5 

 years) 



CURRENT STATUS : The mine is currently in the design and feasi- 

 bility stage. Water quality baseline information is being gath- 

 ered in order to accommodate requests for such data from per- 

 mitting agencies such as the Hard Rock Bureau and Water Quality 

 Bureau. This information is incorporated into the company's 

 application for an operating permit and compared with future 

 monitoring results to assess impacts. Sunshine Mining Company 

 has just initiated the data collection phase of the application 

 process. 



FUTURE ACTIVITIES : An operational and post-mining water quality 

 monitoring program will be designed and implemented. 



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