Arizona’s three public universities have developed a new tool to help environmental officials find and cleanup abandoned mines in the state.
The interactive database maps the tens of thousands of abandoned mines statewide and details how they interact with sensitive landscapes. It uses data on population, water, wildlife and terrain to pinpoint where the mines pose the greatest danger.
The software is designed to give the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality a better idea of how officials might prioritize cleanup of the sites.
“This partnership is an important and critical step in developing smarter tools to gain a clearer understanding of where abandoned mines are and what they could mean for the people who live nearby,” said ADEQ Director Karen Peters. “Through this collaboration, we will be able to prioritize cleanups more effectively and act quickly to reduce risks before they impact families and our communities. Our focus is on protecting the health of our neighbors and safeguarding the Arizona we all call home.”
Many Arizona mines were never fully documented, and the project draws on both historical records and modern data to find them.
The three-year collaboration between Northern Arizona University, Arizona State and the University of Arizona was funded by a $1.5 million grant from the state Board of Regents.
“Mining has been a major force in Arizona’s growth but abandoned mine sites pose risks to people and the environment,” said ABOR Chair Doug Goodyear. “By working together, our public universities are giving the state better information to support broad environmental planning and tools to protect water, land and wildlife.”
Officials say the technology could also be used to assess other natural and human-caused hazards and for infrastructure planning.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, mining activity in Arizona dates to at least the 1860s, and involved extensive mineral extraction and smelting throughout the territory and eventual state.
The BLM says Arizona likely has hundreds of thousands of abandoned mine features like open shafts, adits, unstable structures and steep pits that pose physical risks.
Tailings, process ponds and residual chemicals left behind from mining operations threaten the environment and public health.
