The Kansas portion of the Tri-State Mining District is primarily in Cherokee County in southeastern Kansas. The Tri-State Mining District extends from the northwest edge of the Ozark Uplift in Missouri west and south to the eastern fringe of the Great Plains. Cherokee County in Kansas lies mainly on the Osage Plains, and is characterized by a flat terrain with shallow stream valleys and elevations of 800-900 feet above sea level.

Lead and zinc mining began in the mid-19th century. Mine production peaked in Missouri in about 1916, and then shifted to Kansas and Oklahoma. Diminishing production led to the closure of the mining industry in Missouri by 1957. Output from the Cherokee County mines peaked in the 1920s and 1930s and diminished thereafter, until it ceased entirely in the 1970s. The number of operating mines in the early 1900s was estimated to be in the hundreds.

Mining operations in the Tri-State Mining District were principally underground and involved sinking shafts to subsurface ore bodies. At the surface, the raw ore was crushed in stages and the metals were separated by gravity separation or, later, flotation. Waste rock, development rock, chat, and tailings materials were dumped at the surface in waste piles. Many wastes were re-milled as more efficient separation techniques became available.

Ores were also smelted. Initially there may have been crude log smelters associated with each mine. However, these were later consolidated. A smelter was established at Galena in Cherokee County in about 1920, and it remained in operation until 1970.

After 150 years of mining and smelting, chat piles, tailings sites, development and waste rock piles, and subsidence ponds were prominent features of the landscape. Much of the total volume of surface mine wastes has been removed over the last few decades to provide materials for building and roads. However, thousands of acres of wastes still remain on the ground surface. Much of this waste is highly contaminated with hazardous substances, including cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se). Of these, cadmium, lead, and zinc are the main focus of remedial and restoration activities because of their relative volume, concentration, and toxicity.