“We are very excited and pleased to be recognized for the work that our mining contractor has performed these passed years,” said Clark Moseley, NTEC CEO. “Congratulations to the team members who worked tirelessly to ensure Navajo land is reclaimed not only according to the standards set by OSRME, but ensuring that future generations of Navajo people can enjoy the land much like their ancestors have. Nearly 75% of the employees at the mine are Native American with many being members of the Navajo Nation and have a stake in the mine’s success.”
“Federal regulations and standards mandate that we put the disturbed land back in a way that can sustain grazing, but we have taken it a step further,” said BHP Billiton Acting Asset President Shawn Goeckner. “What our engineers, technicians and workforce have accomplished has, in many ways, restored the landscape better than it was before the mine was here. We take land stewardship very seriously and the Chinde project is a prime example of that.”
The Chinde project, located toward the northern half of Navajo mine, was conceived to update and redesign a reclamation project that had been completed in the 1970s, but was showing signs of degradation and erosion. The project redesign, using fluvial geomorphic principles developed locally by mine environmental engineers, replaced an inefficient diversion channel with a naturally functioning stream channel and stable landform. Using this method, reclamation crews at Navajo mine have created a landscape that is self-sustaining, able to withstand erosion and that provides natural wildlife habitat.
Reclamation crews at the Navajo mine have created a landscape that is self-sustaining, able to withstand erosion and provides natural wildlife habitat.
The award will be handed out during an awards luncheon on September 28 in Las Vegas at MINExpo the National Mining Association’s annual conference.
Navajo mine is owned by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company. NTEC is 100% owned by the Navajo Nation.
