TROY – Managers for Revett Minerals say a tailings pipe at Troy Mine has ruptured and spilled about 40 tons of mine waste, some of it into nearby Stanley Creek.
Carson Rife, Revett’s vice president of operations, says Wednesday night’s spill was not a “major incident.”
He says the pressure inside the 8-inch steel pipes is monitored constantly, and workers immediately shut down the mill when they realized there was a leak.
After the leak, Stanley and Lake creeks were tinted white by the sediment, which Rife says was primarily comprised of water and fine sand. He says the incident was reported to state and federal regulators, and no site visit is anticipated.
Lisa Peterson with the state Department of Environmental Quality, agreed, saying, “It didn’t seem like the spill was going to contain any toxins.”