Rio Tinto updates Fairfield County on Ridgeway mine closure, monitoring and local outreach

Paul Buttsavage, asset manager for the Ridgeway Kennecott mine, told the Fairfield County Council on Jan. 27 that the privately owned site near Ridgeway remains under long-term closure and routine monitoring.

Buttsavage said Rio Tinto owns the Ridgeway mine site and that the company has been supporting reclamation activities since the mine closed in 1999. He said the latest phase of reclamation began in January 2020 after the south pit filled with water and began discharging to Bear Creek. "We routinely communicate with DHEC, which is now the Department of Environmental Services, and provide regular updates to them," Buttsavage said.

The company told the council it holds a post-closure monitoring permit that extends through 2050 — described in the meeting as a 30-year monitoring period — and that the site is a permitted industrial facility with no public access. Buttsavage said Rio Tinto follows the global industry standard for tailings management (GISTM) and that two GISTM elements — emergency planning and community outreach — are guiding the company's renewed engagement with the county.

Buttsavage described ongoing coordination with Fairfield County emergency management on response planning for trespass, water rescue, employee injuries, wildfires and other incidents. He said Rio Tinto has produced a short video about the site's history and plans and expects to send postcards with a link to nearby residents and an email to council members shortly.

On future activity, Buttsavage said the company will undertake more work at the site in 2025, including construction of a new office and warehouse of about 10,000 square feet. "It's not related to any remaining mining at the site. We have no plans for that at this point," he said, adding the existing 1980s-era buildings are not fit for purpose and will be replaced. He said demolition of remaining maintenance shops and small buildings is planned for 2026 and that the main processing plant was demolished in the late 1990s.

Council members and area residents asked about end state, public access and employment. Buttsavage said the company currently plans perpetual care under the permit and does not intend to open the site for public recreation. He said the south pit now supports fish and turtles but is fenced because it is a mine pit lake. He also said the company presently employs four full-time staff on site, all South Carolina residents, and that one of those employees lives in Fairfield County.

The presentation concluded with an offer to answer follow-up questions and to provide the postcard and video link to council members before outreach to neighbors begins.