Legislative Subcommittee to Study Water. March 9, 2016

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Legislative Subcommittee to Study Water. March 9, 2016"

Milo Harris
5 years ago
Views:

1 Barrick Gold Corporation Legislative Subcommittee to Study Water March 9, 2016 EXHIBIT F - WATER Document consists of 17 pages. Entire exhibit provided. Meeting Date:

PERSHING Barrick Nevada Mines Turquoise Ridge Mine Underground Operations Cortez Operations Open Pits and Underground Operations Goldstrike Mine

2 PERSHING Barrick Nevada Mines Turquoise Ridge Mine Underground Operations Cortez Operations Open Pits and Underground Operations Goldstrike Mine Open Pits and Underground Operations Reno Elko ENLARGED TURQUOISE RIDGE HUMBOLDT ELKO LANDER EUREKA Humboldt River CORTEZ GOLDSTRIKE Carlin Las Vegas

3 Turquoise Ridge Mine

4 Turquoise Ridge Mine Located in Kelly Creek hydrographic area No. 66 Underground operations started in 1996 Water is pumped from the underground workings as it is encountered; approximately 770 gpm Approximately 430 gpm is used for underground and surface mining consumptive use Approximately 340 gpm is placed into the basin-fill aquifer in Rapid Infiltration Basins

Turquoise Ridge Mine Future post-mining pit lake Getchell pit lake of 61 acres Pit lake evaporation rate of 128 acre-feet/yr; equivalent to irrigation of 43

5 Turquoise Ridge Mine Future post-mining pit lake Getchell pit lake of 61 acres Pit lake evaporation rate of 128 acre-feet/yr; equivalent to irrigation of 43 acres Turquoise Ridge is located more than 20 miles from the Humboldt River Pumping from underground operations has no impact on Humboldt River flow (Geomega, 2011)

6 Cortez Operations Pipeline Complex

7 Cortez Operations Cortez Hills Complex

8 Cortez Operations Located in Crescent Valley hydrographic area No. 54 Mine dewatering started in 1996 Water rights allow wells to be drilled within 160-acre blocks at Pipeline Water rights allow wells to be drilled within a 4,200-acre consolidated block at Cortez Hills

Approximately 4,000 gpm is piped to the Dean Ranch for irrigation Approximately

9 Cortez Operations Combined mine dewatering pumping rate of approximately 18,900 gpm Approximately 2,100 gpm is used for mining and milling consumptive use Approximately 4,000 gpm is piped to the Dean Ranch for irrigation Approximately 12,800 gpm is placed into the basin-fill aquifer through Rapid Infiltration Basins

10 Cortez Operations Future post-mining pit lakes Crossroads pit lake of 275 acres Gap pit lake of 35 acres Cortez Hills pit lake of 39 acres Cortez pit lake of 5 acres Total pit lake evaporation rate of 890 acre-feet/yr; equivalent to irrigation of 300 acres

Cortez Operations Limited groundwater discharge from Crescent Valley to the Humboldt River (USGS 1961) Cortez Operations located more than 30 miles from the Humboldt River at southern

11 Cortez Operations Limited groundwater discharge from Crescent Valley to the Humboldt River (USGS 1961) Cortez Operations located more than 30 miles from the Humboldt River at southern end of the Crescent Valley basin Four-basin groundwater flow model shows no impact to flow in the Humboldt River (Itasca 2016) Carico Lake Valley Crescent Valley Grass Valley Pine Valley

12 Goldstrike Mine

13 Goldstrike Mine Located in Boulder Valley hydrographic area No. 61 Mine dewatering started in 1989 Water rights allow wells to be drilled within 160-acre blocks Pumping rate of approximately 22,600 gpm from the deep carbonate aquifer

Goldstrike Mine Consumptive use for mining and milling of approximately 5,100 gpm Approximately 17,500 gpm from Barrick (with additional flow from the Leeville

14 Goldstrike Mine Consumptive use for mining and milling of approximately 5,100 gpm Approximately 17,500 gpm from Barrick (with additional flow from the Leeville operation) piped to the TS Ranch Reservoir Water is used seasonally at irrigation pivots on the TS Ranch Water is infiltrated at the TS Ranch Reservoir into the rhyolite aquifer

Goldstrike Mine Post-mining pit lakes Betze pit lake of 847 acres Arturo pit lake of 88 acres Total pit lake evaporation rate of 2,060 acre-feet/yr; equivalent to irrigation of 690 acres Goldstrike

15 Goldstrike Mine Post-mining pit lakes Betze pit lake of 847 acres Arturo pit lake of 88 acres Total pit lake evaporation rate of 2,060 acre-feet/yr; equivalent to irrigation of 690 acres Goldstrike Mine located more than 20 miles from the Humboldt River No groundwater flow from the Boulder Valley hydrographic basin to the Humboldt River (Maurer, Plume, Thomas and Johnson 1996; McDonald Morrissey Associates 1998) No impact on Humboldt River flow (Prudic and Plume 2015)

16 Barrick Nevada Mines Water Use Irrigation 20% Mining & Milling 18% Infiltration 62%

17 References Geomega Groundwater Flow Model Update for Getchell and Turquoise Ridge Mines. Itasca Barrick Cortez Four-Basin (Carico Lake Valley, Crescent Valley, Grass Valley, and Pine Valley) Groundwater Flow Model Report. Maurer, Plume, Thomas and Johnson Water Resources and Effects of Changes in Ground-Water Use along the Carlin Trend, North-Central Nevada. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report McDonald Morrissey Associates Regional Hydrologic Model. Barrick Goldstrike Mines. Consultant Report. Prudic and Plume The Humboldt River and Groundwater Pumping for Mine Dewatering. USGS Zones, C.P., 1961, Ground-water potentialities in the Crescent Valley, Eureka and Lander Counties, Nevada, USGS Water-Supply Paper 1581.

A p p e n d i x A - B a s i n 5 4 C r e s c e n t V a l l e y Page 1 of 6

A p p e n d i x A - B a s i n 5 4 C r e s c e n t V a l l e y Page 1 of 6 Basin 54 - Crescent Valley Crescent Valley is a semi-closed basin that is bounded on the west by the Shoshone Range, on the east