Effect of Cyanide Residue on Vegetation Bordering a Black Hills Stream

This is a study of the impact of cyanide from mining waste on riparian communities, primarily vegetation, near Whitewood Creek, downstream from Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, South Dakota. Cyanide is used in gold processing, and the effluent, until fairly recently, was discharged directly into Gold Run Creek which empties into Whitewood Creek. Vegetation, soil, and water were collected from four different sites over a six month period, and samples tested for cyanide concentration. Data indicate a relationship between cyanide in soil and its uptake by certain plants, also, that the Homestake cleanup effort has made the stream in many ways viable again. EFFECT OF CYANIDE RESIDUE ON VEGETATION BORDERING A BLACK HILLS STREAM Gold ore-processing began in the Lead-Deadwood area of South Dakota in 1878, and has continued at variable activity levels up to the present time. Cyanidation of mill tailings was introduced at the turn of this century. The amount of cyanide and heavy metals entering the ecosystem via effluent has been considerable, although there is little data for confirmation of cyanide levels prior to 1960, probably due to lack of understanding and concern about environmental contamination. As a result of six decades of receiving mine effluent, Whitewood Creek, a tributary of Belle Fourche River which flows into the Cheyenne River, and ultimately into the Missouri River, had become a biologically "dead" stream by 1960. This project was designed to study the impact of mining waste