DENVER—Two mining companies will pay Colorado 20 and a half million dollars in damages for pollution from mines that sparked a gold rush in 1860 around Leadville.
State officials say the companies will also provide millions of dollars for remediation and maintenance of the California Superfund Site in and around the town about 100 miles west of Denver.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers and Governor Bill Ritter announced the agreement today. Asarco will pay 10 million dollars, while Resurrection/Newmont USA Ltd. will pay 10 and a half million dollars for damages. Resurrection/Newmont spokesman Omar Jabara says the company also agreed to pay more than 28 million dollars additionally for remediation.
The California Gulch Superfund Site is an 18-square mile area surrounding and including the town of Leadville.
The settlement provides money for restoration of aquatic and wildlife habitat along the 11-mile reach of the Upper Arkansas River south of Leadville.
The contamination is a legacy of Leadville’s long-gone boom years, sparked by the discovery of gold in California Gulch in the spring of 1860.
