Lake Berkeley is an open copper mine pit in Butte, Montana, USA. Lake Berkeley is considered one of the attractions of its open copper pit in Poti Montana. It is now one of the only places in the world that allows you to see toxic waste. The entrance fee is two dollars to see the sheer volume of this site.
Information about Berkeley Lake
Lake Berkeley, also known as the Lake of Death or the Berkeley Crater. Lake Berkeley is a copper mine pit in the United States of America that opened in 1955 and is managed by Anaconda Copper and later by the Richfield Atlantic Company (ARCO), until it was closed in 1982. When the hole was closed, and the water pumps closed in the mine near Kelly, it reached 3,800 feet below the surface, and the groundwater from the surrounding aquifers began to fill the hole slowly, increasing at an average rate of about one foot per month. Since the crater closed in 1982, the boundary level has risen to 150 feet from the natural groundwater level.
Crater and water are a serious environmental problem because their water contains dissolved oxygen, which allows the decay of pyrite, sulfide of raw minerals, and rock wall, which leads to acid release. The acidic water in the hole carries a heavy burden of dissolved heavy metals. In fact, the hole contains water that contains a lot of minerals (up to 187 ppm copper) but some materials are extracted directly from the water.
In 1990 plans were made to solve the groundwater problem. The water that flows into the hole has been diverted to reduce the height of the water level. Plans have been made to address the expansion of the future until Berkeley Lake has become one of the top excellent sites.
Early history and development
Lake Berkeley is a formerly open copper mine crater in Butte, Montana, and is one of the few places in the world to see toxic waste.
During the first year of operation, approximately 17,000 tons of ore were extracted daily from the pit in a row of 0.75% copper. Finally, about 1,000,000,000 tons of material was extracted from Lake Berkeley. Copper was the main mineral produced, although the lake also contained other extracted minerals, including silver and gold.
The water treatment plant was built in 2003 to prevent Berkeley Lake water from ever reaching that critical level. The plant, which is evident next to the waterfall on the northeastern edge of the crater, will begin to pump and treat the water crater before it reaches a critical level, currently expected around 2023. Treated pit water is then either used in the Montana Resources Mining Operations adjacent, or discharged to Silver Bow Creek, the main water headwaters of the Creek Fork River. Currently, a station is used to capture and treat surface water flowing from the north of the pit, thus slowing the rate of rise.
The water level in the crater is constantly increasing at a rate of approximately 0.7 feet per month. As of April 2012, the water level was about 5,301.13 feet above sea level.
It is interesting to find new fungal and bacterial species that adapt to the harsh living conditions inside the hole. The intense competition caused the limited resources of these species to develop in the production of highly toxic compounds while improving survival, and some of these organisms are isolated to show selective activity against cancer cell lines.
Geography
The mine is located at 46 ° 00’56 “N 112 ° 30’37” W, at an altitude of 4,698 feet (1432 meters) above sea level.
You can enter Berkeley Lake for $ 2 to see the viewing platform, during which you will see a hole of 1780 feet deep per mile, and half a mile wide. Lake Berkeley has been operating as a mine since 1955-1982, and a crater is now filled with acidic water lurking in a wide range of heavy metals and toxic chemicals, including copper, iron, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, and sulfuric acid. The iron-rich water near the surface is reddish, and the lush green-colored bow.
The hole is currently a tourist attraction and an attractive gift shop.
entrance fees
The admission fee charged at Berkeley Lake is $ 2 for exit to the viewing platform.
