Mining is essential to life as we know it today. However, significant knowledge and resources are required to mitigate the effects of mine waste on our environment. The Mine Waste Technology Program (MWTP) is committed to developing, evaluating, and deploying technologies that provide innovative solutions to successfully treat and control mine waste cost effectively.

In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) established the Mine Waste Technology Program to address mine waste issues. MSE manages the overall program, pilot-scale demonstrations, and the transfer of technology to other researchers, the mining industry, regulatory agencies, and the general public.

The MWTP's mission is to provide sustainable engineering solutions to national environmental issues resulting from the past practices of mining and smelting metallic ores. The program emphasizes treatment, technology development, testing, and evaluation at bench- and pilot-scale, and contains an educational component that emphasizes training and technology transfer.

MWTP team consisting of the EPA, DOE, MSE, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Montana State University Biofilm Research Center, and the mining industry has been extremely effective in selecting, evaluating, demonstrating, and transferring technologies to industry to prevent or mitigate hard rock mining impacts. And the need is great. Mining wastes generated by active and inactive mining production facilities ann the impact on human health and the environment are a growing problem for the Government, private industry, and the general public. Total remediation costs are estimated between $2 and $32 billion.

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