The Apex and El Nido Mine sites are located within the boundaries of the Alaska District of the Corps of Engineers. The federal partner with the Corps for this project is the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

The Apex and El Nido Mine sites are located in southeastern Alaska on the northwestern side of Chichagof Island in the Tongass National Forest. The mine properties lie on the northern end of a north-northwest trending belt of load gold occurrences that bisects western Chichagof Island. Both mines are located just below the timerbline in a glacial valley. Surface equipment supporting both mine sites included a water power plant, crusher, stamps, amalgamators and concentrating tables, pipelines, an aerial tramway, camp building, and a corduroy access road. Most of these outbuildings and surface structures are in various states of disrepair. The USFS performed a Level III Cultural Resource Inventory of the site workings in 1993 as part of the Environmental Assessment completed in December 1993. As a result, the Apex-El Nido Mine Complex has been determined "Eligible" for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.

Project Description

The contractor will conduct a site visit to the Apex and El Nido Mine sites and collect pertinent information to address the following items:

• Collection and review of existing data

• Completion of a brief review of sensitive environments and other environmental factors

• Completion of a brief examination of mine features and subjective determine of integrity

• Identification of nature and extent of hazardous substance or waste release or threat of a release

• Evaluation of possible threats to human health or the environment

• Evaluation of the magnitude of any threat from each identified hazardous release

• Determination of removal factors

Current Status

The Final Work Plans were completed during May 2003. Field work occurred between July 9th and 13th, 2003. Two contractor and three Forest Service personnel participated in the site visit. All samples collected during the field visit were submitted to and received by the laboratory in good condition. Analytical results are pending. The Final Report was completed October 2003. Results indicated a small potential for acid generation, and elevated concentrations of several metals and diesel range organics (DRO). Since the levels were relatively low and the site fairly inaccessible, no removal actions were recommended. Limiting access the haulage tunnel as well as placing warning signs of physical hazards was recommended.

Existing Documents

As documents for this project become available, they will be provided in PDF format that can be accessed by clicking on the title of the document below. These documents may be accessed from menu to the left. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these documents and may be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe Acrobat web site by clicking on Adobe Acrobat Reader above. Disclaimer: The appearance of an external hyperlink does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) of this web site or the information, products, or services contained therein. USACE does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at this location.

Documents

1. Apex and El Nido Final Report

2. Site Safety and Health Plan

3. Work Plan