If you have recently received an Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) hazard notice, you may be wondering exactly what AML hazard fencing is and why it is important.
Until recently, prospectors were allowed to leave a mine site without being required to leave the property in a safe condition. These aging abandoned mines may contain sheer drop-offs, unstable earth, abandoned equipment, trapped gasses, deep standing water, and more. With no posted warning signs or barriers required, abandoned mines became a hazard across the country. Each year, individuals in the United States are injured or killed in these mining hazards due to falls, entrapment, drowning, and more. To help prevent accidents, owners of abandoned mine land are required to erect and maintain AML hazard notices and barricades.
To aid in this safety effort, several state and federal organizations identify and monitor abandoned land mines. Landowners are asked to proactively manage AML hazard fencing around known abandoned mine lands, even if they have not received a notice, to help protect the public.
WHAT IS AML HAZARD FENCING?
AML hazard fencing refers to posted signage, barricades, and/or fences erected around abandoned mine land areas and access points. These barricades and signs are intended to help protect individuals from undue access and injury.
For ordered AML Hazard fencing required by a state or federal program, there are minimal requirements for these signs and barricades that must be followed depending on access point type and hazard level. Individuals receiving an AML Hazard Notice will be provided a certain amount of time (typically between 60-180 days, depending on the hazard level) to erect this fencing and send proof of completion. In addition, landowners are required to maintain these notices and barricades to ensure safety.
COMMON ABANDONED MINE LAND HAZARDS
What’s so dangerous about abandoned mine land hazards? When mines are constructed, they have safety precautions in place that are intended only for the short term. When these mines were abandoned, vertical openings were often left uncovered, support structures were removed or left to rot, and safety systems such as ventilation and water-pumping equipment were removed.
There are several types of hazards that may be present at an abandoned mine site depending on the size, scope, equipment, and location of the mine.
- Adits, Declines, and Shafts. Open adits and shafts are the most common type of hazard in the Western United States. Adits tunnel into the ground horizontally, declines tunnel in at an angle, and shafts tunnel down vertically. These diggings can be unstable and there may not be much indication the hazard is there until someone is very close to it.
- Trenches and Pits. Trenches and Pits are common in historical mining districts. Many times the walls are unstable; these areas need to be fenced to keep people out and warn people that a hazard is in the area.
- Water Hazards. The largest cause of death in abandoned mines in the United States is water. Many abandoned mines become flooded, leaving water that may be dangerously deep and cold, as well as having slippery walls, steep drop-offs, and other hazards.
- Gasses & Oxygen Deficiency. Mines are also at risk of accumulating pockets of deadly gasses such as carbon monoxide, methane, or even pockets of still air that have little oxygen concentration.
- Cave-Ins. Even active mines are at risk of cave-ins, but for abandoned mines, this risk increases. Over time, bedrock can become increasingly unstable due to weathering, blasting, water accumulation, and other factors. This makes even casual exploration dangerous in or around an abandoned mine.
- Highwalls. Underground mines are not the only AML areas that contain risks. Open pits and quarries also contain risks. Highwalls are vertical or near-vertical edges of these pits or quarries. These areas can be prone to collapse, which makes them dangerous to climb on or near.
AML HAZARD FENCING SERVICES
If you’d like to learn more about AML hazard fencing requirements or services, please reach out to Rangefront’s mining services experts today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRIAN GOSS
President, Rangefront Mining Services
Brian Goss brings over 20 years of experience in gold and mineral exploration. He is the founder and President of Rangefront, a premier geological services and mining consulting company that caters to a large spectrum of clients in the mining and minerals exploration industries. Brian is also a director of Lithium Corp. (OTCQB: LTUM), an exploration stage company specializing in energy storage minerals and from 2014 to 2017, he fulfilled the role of President and Director of Graphite Corp. (OTCQB: GRPH), an exploration stage that specialized in the development of graphite properties. Prior to founding Rangefront, Brian worked as a staff geologist for Centerra Gold on the REN project, as well as various exploration and development projects in the Western United States and Michigan. Brian Goss holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Geology from Wayne State University in Michigan.
You may also be interested in...
How to Stake a Mining Claim: What it is and How it Works
The process of staking a mining claim began in 1849 with the California gold rush, where, in the absence of governmental regulations, miners adopted their own rules to claim and mine land. The law was based on prior appropriation, which means that the first person to...
5 Examples of Mineral Exploration
Mineral exploration is one of the first steps that takes place in a prospector’s journey from mineral discovery to active mining. This can be a long and resource-intensive process, but the payoffs can be significant. In mineral exploration, the goal is to investigate...
What Do Mining Consultants Do?
A successful mining project takes careful planning, expertise, and execution. With increasing focus on environmental regulations, corporate responsibility, political pressure, and more, engaging a mining consultant has become a practical solution to navigating the...
What to Look for in a Mining Recruiting Company
As the weather starts to warm, mining companies are beginning to recruit to fill seasonal contract needs. While some mining companies may use direct recruitment efforts, it’s more common for mining and exploration companies to use a recruiting service. WHAT TO LOOK...
Why Choose Rangefront for Your Mining Consulting Services
Rangefront provides a wide range of mining consulting services to help your project succeed. Whether you’re still in early exploration stages or looking to improve the output of your current project, the experts at Rangefront can help. WHY CHOOSE RANGEFRONT AS YOUR...
What are Mineral Reserves & Mineral Resources?
Mineral resources and mineral reserves are crucial data points in a mining company’s operations. In mining and exploration, the terms “Mineral Resource” and “Mineral Reserve” can be confusing—and are often used incorrectly or even interchangeably. Mineral resources...
Direct-Hire vs. Contract Labor: What are the Differences?
Rangefront offers both direct-hire and contract labor services, but what is the difference and how do you know which you need? THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTRACT LABOR AND DIRECT-HIRE IN MINING AND GEOLOGY When our clients tell us they need help with recruitment...
What to Know About Reference Materials in Mining Geology
If you are new to the metals industry; whether that be in exploration or production, you have probably come across or used a Certified Reference Material (CRM), also known as a “standard.” Standards are used in a wide variety of applications and for a variety of...
What is an NI 43-101 & What is it Used For?
An NI 43-101 report is a summary for potential investors of scientific and technical information for a mineral exploration, development, or production project. This report is required for listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSXV. Intended for the investing...
Steps in the Mining Consulting Process
For such an old industry, mining remains relatively enigmatic to new prospectors or early operations in today's economics. With complex geophysical and geochemical testing, ever-changing regulations and claims, reporting and processes, as well as the complications of...
FAQs About Mineral Exploration
As stated in our blog “8 Steps of Mineral Exploration,” mineral exploration is the process of seeking concentrated deposits of minerals for the purpose of mining these minerals for economic benefit. In this article, we discuss some of the frequently asked questions...
7 (More) Frequently Asked Questions About Claim Staking
Rangefront Mining Services has been in the mining industry for decades, which means we’ve seen more than our fair share of mining claims. In fact, each year we help our clients renew over 11,000 mining claims. Long story short, we have a lot of experience in claim...