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Denton Rawhide Mine Revegetation (Nevada)
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Problem:
 Kennecott Rawhide Mining Company requested PHC-REC to revegetate a waste dump in western Nevada. The cover soil was low in nutrients and organic content, and portions of the waste dump involved steep slope reclamation. The desert minesite typically receives less than 8 inches of precipitation each year.
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Objective:
 The objectives of the reclamation project was to revegetate the waste dump with native grasses, shrubs, and forbs while controlling erosion on the steeply sloped waste dump. A nearby alluvium/colluvium borrow pit was to provide the cover material for the waste dump. This previously buried alluvium/colluvium cover material would be inoculated with PHC-REC's VAM pellets. These VAM pellets would provide the mycorrhizal fungi (not present in the cover material) necessary for healthy soil conditions.
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PHC Solutions:
 Starting in December of 2003 and continuing through February 2004, over 400 acres were reclaimed. T he earthwork activities included wasted dump and borrow pit recontouring and alluvium/colluvium cover soil placement. The reclamation revegetation project involved ripping, fertilizing, pitting, seeding, and the application of pelletized mycorrhizal fungi spores(VAM) on the reclaimed wasted dump.
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Results:
 For a period of 12 months after reclamation activities, the mine site experienced an abnormally dry season and received way below average precipitation amounts. Consequently, the seeds and the VAM remained dormant (yet healthy) in the hot, dry cover soil. In 2005, following more normal winter and spring precipitation events, germination of the seeds in the individual pits began and the waste dump began to green up. Adding to the revegetation success was that erosion (from both runoff and wind) has been completely controlled on the steep slopes of the waste dump. There has also been no need for any reclamation maintenance (i.e. fertilizer or erosion control mitigation) to date.
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