Project Profile: Remediate Abandoned Gold Hill Placer Mines

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
Revegetation of Hazard Mine Lands | FY24-25 - $123,000

Abandoned mining equipment to be cleaned up in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

NPS / Michael Loso

The National Park Service (NPS) will assess and remove debris including trash, abandoned rusting barrels, and small amounts of hazardous mercury from abandoned mines within the Yukon-Kuskokwim watershed in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve.

Why? Barrels and other containers have been abandoned after decades of mining activities in the area. Eventually, without removal, the barrels and drums will rust and release their contents to the environment. Such a release could harm the local environment and the waters and riparian soils of Bonanza Creek, Shamrock Creek, and other small creeks that drain the Gold Hill area.

What else? In prior work, the NPS collaborated with current mine operators to identify and consolidate the abandoned materials. Phase 1 of this funded project will characterize and contain the contents of the abandoned barrels. Phase 2 will use a combination of helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft to remove all material, including those barrels, from multiple sites at Gold Hill and transport them to a suitable waste disposal site on the road system.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law makes critical investments in the resilience and restoration of America’s lands, skies, and waters, and enhances conservation and recreation opportunities. Visitors will see tangible results such as repaired and upgraded trails and campgrounds, removal of invasive species, as well as healthy wetlands, grasslands, and forests.