Pend Oreille Mine Reopening Studied

A reopened Pend Oreille Mine near Metaline Falls could sustain 150 jobs during its expected eight-year life, according to information filed with the Washington Department of Ecology.

During construction, 350 would be employed.

But Pend Oreille County Assessor Steve Thompson, who has seen other proposals to reopen the 90-year-old mine evaporate, said Tuesday he will not estimate potential tax benefits until there is a decision to go ahead.

“There have been a lot of false starts,” he said.

Doug Horswill, vice president of Cominco American Inc., also expressed caution.

“We’ve only taken the decision to take the project towards feasibility,” he said, adding that economics will dictate whether zinc and lead is again hauled to the surface from almost half a mile underground.

Cominco acquired the Pend Oreille Mine in 1996, buying it from RFC Resource Finance Corp. for $31 million (Canadian).

RFC had obtained some of the permits needed to restart operations, but most of those have lapsed.

The mine, last operated in 1977, produced ore from two zones, the Josephine and the deeper Yellowstone. Cominco would mine the Yellowstone.

Though plans are not complete, Horswill said, the outline presented to the state says 2,600 tons of rock would be blasted from stopes and crushed below ground.

Crushed rock would be transported by conveyor to a mill that would produce 13 or 14 truckloads of concentrate. The trucks would carry the concentrate to Cominco’s smelter at Trail, British Columbia.

Horswill said material from the mine could replace concentrate from the Sullivan Mine at Kimberly, which will be played out by 2001.

Tailings will be stored on site, where about 40 additional acres would be disturbed. Most of the 1.8 million gallons of water needed to operate the mine daily would be recycled.

Cominco officials already check water pumped from the mine now for acidity, lead and zinc content, and monthly for uranium and radium concentrations.

The Department of Ecology will prepare an environmental impact statement and review applications for air, water and waste permits.

The Department of Natural Resources will issue burning, reclamation and forest practices permits, if necessary, and the Department of Health will be responsible for a sewage disposal permit.

An information meeting on the mine will be at 7 p.m., March 24 in the Cutter Theater at Metaline Falls.

, DataTimes