Certainly one of dozens of deserted mines that have been not too long ago closed off in Utah County. Utah Division of Pure Sources
Amanda Hunt, proper, visits a everlasting memorial for her niece, Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, and Otteson’s boyfriend, Riley Powell, close to the Tintic Normal Mine No. 2 close to Eureka, Juab County, on Feb. 4, 2021. Steve Griffin, Deseret Information
Certainly one of dozens of deserted mines that have been not too long ago closed off in Utah County. Utah Division of Pure Sources
Utah mining crews not too long ago accomplished a undertaking that closed off dozens of deserted mines throughout southwestern Utah County, together with a mine shaft the place the our bodies of a Utah couple have been recovered 5 years in the past.
The undertaking centered on closing off deserted mines on non-public land close to Eureka, positioned simply outdoors of Utah County. In all, crews capped 56 deserted mine openings inside the once-bustling Tintic Mining District, in keeping with the Utah Division of Oil, Fuel and Mining.
The entire mines have been "simply accessible" and shut sufficient to common off-highway automobile trails, which brought about potential security issues, mentioned Steve Fluke, supervisor of the division's Deserted Mine Reclamation Program.
"Safeguarding these mines ensures that future dangers are minimized or eradicated, bettering public security," he mentioned in a press release Tuesday.
Probably the most notable of the newly closed mines is Tintic Normal Mine No. 2, the place the our bodies of Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson and Riley Powell have been recovered in 2018 after that they had gone lacking months prior. Jerrod Baum was convicted of homicide within the case final yr and sentenced to 4 consecutive phrases of life in jail with out the potential for parole.
A everlasting memorial was erected to honor Otteson and Powell simply outdoors of the mine, the place individuals have left pictures, stuffed animals, flowers and different objects through the years.
Amanda Hunt, proper, visits a everlasting memorial for her niece, Brelynne “Breezy” Otteson, and Otteson’s boyfriend, Riley Powell, close to the Tintic Normal Mine No. 2 close to Eureka, Juab County, on Feb. 4, 2021.
Steve Griffin, Deseret Information
The district was a preferred mining hub in the course of the late 1800s and early 1900s. It produced a "substantial" quantity of lead, silver, gold, copper and zinc, the mining database Mindat.org wrote.
Issues of safety arose after the mine turned deserted.
The Utah Division of Oil, Fuel and Mining introduced a day earlier than Baum was convicted that it might shut off Tintic Normal Mine No. 2 as half of a bigger undertaking. Fluke mentioned crews used backfills, rebar grates, partitions and polyurethane foam to shut off the openings whereas additionally defending "options of historic significance" and animal habitats.
The Deserted Mine Reclamation Program has closed about 7,000 openings because it was created 40 years in the past. Nevertheless, state mining officers mentioned Tuesday that there are nonetheless an estimated 17,000 deserted mine openings positioned throughout Utah.
Virtually all of those have been deserted earlier than the Seventies. Utah legislators handed a legislation in 1975 that makes it unlawful for corporations to desert mines with out reclamation work first.
Certainly one of dozens of deserted mines that have been not too long ago closed off in Utah County.
Utah Division of Pure Sources