Reclamation of the Londonderry Mine/Maxville Tailings site near Maxville, Montana

The Londonderry Mine/Maxville Tailings site is an abandoned hardrock mine located adjacent to Flint Creek in Granite County, Montana. Features associated with this site included two uncontained tailings ponds, two waste rock dumps, and a discharging adit. The largest waste rock dump at the site was situated on the steep, unstable west bank of Flint Creek and was contributing significant levels of metals into Flint Creek surface water and sediments. Flint Creek and several of its tributaries are critical habitat for Bull trout, a federally listed Category 2 species. In 1995, the Montana DEQ entered into cooperative agreements with the USDI Bureau of Land Management, Granite County, and private landowners to reclaim the site. The reclamation project included installation of a temporary stream protection structure, excavation of the large waste rock dump from the creek bank, and consolidation of the material with the two tailings impoundments in a 1.5 acre capped repository on the east side of the creek. The remaining waste rock dump was stabilized (recontoured, amended, and revegetated) in place.