State agencies wrapping up cleanup of western Montana mine

BUTTE – State agencies are wrapping up cleanup operations on a western Montana mine that caused high mercury concentrations in fish in nearby bodies of water.

The Montana Standard reported that the state Department of Environmental Quality has been working to clean up the Black Pine Mine area since 2015, and officials with participating agencies say they expect to have the operations completed by this fall.

The department began an investigation in 2010 and found elevated levels of toxic metals at the historic mine site. The state Fish, Wildlife and Parks department conducted a fish study in 2014 on a creek and reservoir, and officials say they discovered mercury levels 22 times higher than expected. This led to a fish advisory that recommended limited consumption of fish from these bodies of water.