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FAQs

Will the project create acid mine drainage?

No, Sandfire has carefully designed the Black Butte Copper Project to protect all water resources and prevent any acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage, by definition, happens when water flows over or through sulfur-bearing materials that is exposed to oxygen, it then can oxidize, becomes acidic, and carries toxic materials to surface water ways. To prevent this, Sandfire has designed our underground mine so that all entrances are close to 200 feet above the ground water level and over 300 feet above the underground mine workings in the copper deposit. Water cannot run uphill out of the mine so nothing can ever drain/flow out of the mine. This ensures that terrible accidents like the one on the Animas River in Colorado cannot happen at our Black Butte Copper Project.