#ALSO worth pointing out that acid mine drainage is a misnomer because if you had sulfuric rocks at surface; and we did in

[iamthepulta]

I do want to add too, that there are whole textbooks and companies and governmental bureaucracies dedicated to historic mining damage, lol. I've simplified it a whole lot. And this is an ongoing conversation- I think it's important for everyone to know the whole problem, which is: When you combine Water, Air, and Sulfuric Rocks, it creates acid.

Do we cap the landscape and plant acidic-tolerant plants so the slopes aren't exposed to air? Do we just keep this acid away from groundwater/people? Nuke the site so nobody goes there and nothing matters?

These are all valid options, said with varying levels of seriousness. But everyone brings something to the table, and at the end of the day, even IF "never mine anything ever" were an option, which it isn't, we'd still have to rectify our historic sins.