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Homestake and Richmond Hill closure manager reports stable water-quality monitoring and ongoing reclamation
Summary
Homestake representatives reported continued reclamation, monitoring and water treatment at Homestake and Richmond Hill sites; an option agreement with Dakota Gold was noted through Dec. 31, 2028, and staff said no complaints or technical permit revisions were recorded for 2024.
Mark Teason, closure manager for Homestake operations, updated the Lawrence County Commission on 2024 reclamation, monitoring and water-treatment activities at the Richmond Hill and Homestake sites.
Richmond Hill: Teason said Richmond Hill has 262 released acres and about 75 affected acres overall; unreclaimed acres in the affected area total 71.37 and reclaimed affected acres 3.76. In 2024 the operation discharged about 14,440,000 gallons through its biological water treatment plant and an additional 3,410,000 gallons during winter operations; leach-pad effluent averaged approximately 26.7 gallons per minute.
Homestake: For Homestake, combined year-end staffing across Homestake and Richmond Hill was 10 full-time equivalents plus two part-time contract workers. Teason said reclamation is largely complete across waste-rock facilities, with 555 acres released and about 87 affected acres remaining as of 2024; monitoring indicates the cap and capping systems are performing at or above design expectations.
Environmental safeguards and plans: Teason described routine geotechnical monitoring (survey monuments, inclinometers, piezometers, satellite InSAR) and reported no significant new movement in areas previously of concern. The Blackdale Gulch/Dedwood Creek monitoring indicates in-stream selenium and TDS levels remain well below surface-water quality standards, and the site continues routine water treatment operations.
Contractual note: Teason said Homestake entered an option agreement with Dakota Gold in 2021; that option was extended in December and Dakota Gold now has until Dec. 31, 2028 to exercise for one or both properties.
Commission response: Commissioners asked technical questions about slope repairs, monitoring methods and the scope of planned 2025 maintenance projects, including replacement of an emergency pond pipeline and continued water-treatment contracts.
No formal county action was taken; the item was an informational presentation.
