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[dead] icantdrive55
"Then mining became more mechanized. Instead of using humans to crawl around underground tunnels and dig out ore, massive machines were used to dig out vast areas of earth and gigantic trucks hauled away much more material than any single human ever could. As these large surface mines, called open-pit mines, became more common across the American West, large machines took the jobs of men, and employment in places like Butte plummeted. "

And we have a guy who doesn't have a clue?

d6e
Why can't they slowly push more dirt into the pit filling it up as they pump out and filter/treat the water?
Baeocystin
All adding dirt would accomplish is to take up space made from pumping out water in the first place.
ratacat
First and foremost because "they" cashed out all their profits over seas and bankrupted the company, neatly avoiding any of the responsibility of dealing with the repercussions of their actions. This is the most basic strategy of mining companies everywhere. They. Don't. Ever. Clean. Up. Their. Messes. If they did, most mining wouldn't be profitable. This is why people get up in arms about the DAPL pipeline and other such projects.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
dekhn
See also Iron Mountain Mine in CA. It's a Superfund site and it generates pH -3.6 water (which is absurd).