
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993                   TAG: 9304300055
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-15   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Short

OLD IRON MINE BEING RECLAIMED

An abandoned iron mine in Pulaski County that has affected a stream with sediment is being reclaimed under Virginia's Orphaned Land Program.

The Turman Mine project will eliminate severe sedimentation in Big Reed Island Creek, a tributary of the New River.

The sediment comes from the abandoned mine's steep, eroded and barren slopes. Reclamation is scheduled for completion next month by Strickland Construction Inc. from Fancy Gap under a $71,082 contract with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy.

Iron was extensively mined in Pulaski County from the late 1800s to about 1912. Mining for iron oxides used in pigments continues today in the county.

Orphaned mineral mines that pose environmental, health or safety hazards may be reclaimed under the Orphaned Land Program. Its funding comes from interest earned by the Minerals Reclamation Fund, an industry self-bonding program required under state law to ensure that active mines are reclaimed.

So far, 476 acres of heavily-eroded non-productive lands have been reclaimed under the program at a cost of more than $1.3 million.

by CNB