Mission

The state of Colorado has a legacy of some 23,000 abandoned mines, created as part of our history as one of the world’s great mineral producing regions and the abrupt economic and social transitions resulting from mineral ‘boom and bust’ cycles. Today, these abandoned or inactive mines adversely impact soil and water quality through acid mine drainage and heavy metal loading.

Successful remediation requires broad interdisciplinary collaboration among geologists, chemists, botanists, public participation specialists, engineers, legal title experts, environmental lawyers, wildlife experts and other stakeholders and experts. Collaboration is essential to addressing this issue– and addressing this issue is critical to ensure Colorado’s sustainable future as the headwaters of the southwestern United States.

Though Colorado has been a leader in addressing abandoned mines, the resources available to the state and federal governments for remediating these sites are limited compared to the scale of the problem; there are generations of effort ahead of us. And in much of the rest of the world, the effort has hardly started.

For information about our board of directors, click here. Otherwise, read on for more about our mission.

Goals

Our organization aims to: