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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

New Techniques, Technology Raise Hopes For Resumption Of Production At Small Mines

David Gunter Staff writer

FOR THE RECORD (Wednesday, November 26, 1997): Wrong numbers: Ore grades from previous production at North Idaho’s Silver Strand mine were 10 ounces of silver and one-tenth ounce of gold per ton. The numbers were reported incorrectly Sunday.

Kurt Hoffman wasn’t even born when Lovon Fausett first dug holes at the Silver Strand mine on North Idaho’s Fernan Saddle.

Last week, 35 years after the small mine showed “color” following exploratory drilling, Hoffman and Fausett were standing ankle-deep in snow on the mountaintop just east of Coeur d’Alene, looking over core samples that could put the dormant project back into production.

Fausett, now nearing 60, is a veteran of Silver Valley mining. Hoffman, 31, is a mining consultant with fourth-generation roots in the industry.

The Silver Strand connects them in a mutual belief that silver prices will rise and that it makes sense to restart a mine left inactive for 15 years.

“That’s good lookin’ stuff,” Fausett said, peering at a core sample that showed fingers of gray wrapped around a cylinder of white quartz. “Good rock.”

The core sample was drilled hundreds of feet below, near where the original discovery at the Silver Strand produced 14,000 tons of ore bearing one-tenth of an ounce of silver per ton between 1972 and 1982.

Hoffman is the youngest of 10 Silver Trend Mining Co. directors. Silver Trend owns several mining properties in the district, including the Silver Strand. With silver prices on the upswing, Hoffman was part of a company drive to reignite interest in the small mines that tap into the Revett Formation - a band of silver that winds through the Sunshine, Coeur, Galena, and Lucky Friday mines on its way through the Silver Valley and northeast into Montana.

“Somebody had to do something,” Hoffman said. “There are all these companies owning all these various properties in this very rich silver-mining district. The only problem is, there has been no excitement for the investor.

“Now that there’s some activity,” he continued, “some other companies will see what we’re doing and might start working on their own stuff to compete with us.”

New mining techniques and advanced technology are making exploration and production more practical for small mines.

Fausett’s original drill holes near Lone Cabin Creek were no bigger than the diameter of a drafting pencil. Those random probes only hinted at a vein structure worth investigating.

More than 30 years later, a young engineer named Grant Brackebusch spread a geologic blueprint on the hood of his truck at the drill site and gave a detailed projection of where the vein is likely to be found.

“We’re getting closer to the ore body,” said Brackebusch, who works with his father, Fred, at Kellogg-based Mine Systems Design.

“It’s pretty much vertical,” he explained, slanting his hand downward to show the inclination of the silver deposit.

Investors have put up about $160,000 for the drilling project, which started Nov. 1 and will gather core samples from four holes directly above the old mine. Winter weather soon will stop exploration, but Brackebusch has struck enough sweet spots to encourage Silver Trend shareholders to take another run at silver.

“This is the first exploration play by a small company in 20 years or more,” Hoffman said.

“We probably are the forerunners,” agreed Silver Trend President Bill Jacobson, who also heads Atlas Mining Co. in Osburn. “We’ve thought about doing this for years; consolidating the efforts of these small mining companies to make something happen.

“Three years ago, we were talking to investors and bankers back east and they weren’t excited - everybody was thinking about gold,” Jacobson added. “This past year, they’ve become a lot more interested in silver.”

Steering his truck down the mountain, Fausett talked around an unfiltered cigarette and delivered Silver Strand’s history through puffs of smoke.

“To my knowledge, the Silver Strand is the only new discovery to produce ore since 1900,” he said. “I got involved in 1962.

“We reorganized the company a few years ago and put on a younger board of directors,” Fausett said, correcting for a slight fishtail on the slushy logging road. “We’re going into a lot of technology that us old-timers aren’t used to and we need new ideas.

“In other words,” he added, “we’re trying to move into the 21st Century.”

, DataTimes