Chat Piles from Lead and Zinc Mining
County: Cherokee
Date: 1980s 0r 1990s
Photographer: John Charlton/KGS
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Short description: Abandoned lead and zinc mines and chat piles at Galena in Cherokee County. The discovery of zinc ore near Galena in 1870 marked the beginning of a century of lead and zinc mining in the area. In the early 1980s, studies identified nearly 600 open shafts and collapsed mines in and around the town. In 1994 and 1995, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local citizens filled in the hazards.
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