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January 24, 2012 in Idaho
Questions erupt over Lucky Friday
Otter offers support for mine at meeting
“This is an emergency,” former miner Dan Thompson says during the town hall meeting Monday in Wallace. The meeting was held to discuss the yearlong shutdown of the Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan, Idaho. Thompson has a son who works at the Lucky Friday.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
WALLACE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter will ask federal regulators to hold a public meeting in the Silver Valley to explain their decision to shut down the Lucky Friday Mine’s shaft for safety reasons.
“When I get home, that letter will be on its way to Washington, D.C.,” the governor told a standing-room-only crowd Monday during a town hall meeting in Wallace.
Many in the crowd questioned the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s decision to close the shaft, which transports workers and materials to and from the mile-deep silver mine.
Chuck Reitz, a city council member from Mullan, Idaho, said he’s puzzled by the explanations MSHA has given for the Jan. 6 shaft closure. Others noted the shaft had passed other federal safety inspections, which are given four times per year. “There are a lot of inconsistencies, and it doesn’t make sense to us,” Reitz said.
Otter was invited to Wallace to hear local residents’ concerns about the shaft closure. The Lucky Friday is one of the Silver Valley’s largest private employers. The closure, expected to last a year while repairs are made, could result in income losses of $25 million or more for the valley, according to state officials.
Otter expressed support for Hecla Mining Co., which owns the Lucky Friday. “I don’t know if there’s anyone in MSHA that cares more about the safety of those miners than the company itself,” the governor said.
Dave Knapp, a Lucky Friday miner, questioned whether MSHA inspectors were adequately trained to assess conditions in deep, hard-rock mines. “The biggest problem with MSHA is that we know more than they do,” he said.
Jesse Lawder, an MSHA spokesman, said agency officials frequently meet with stakeholder groups to discuss mine safety issues. “We would welcome such an invitation,” he said in an email.
More than 200 employees and contractors will be out of work during the shaft repairs. Hecla officials anticipate reopening the mine in early 2013.
In past interviews, MSHA officials said pipes that transport sand and cement into the mine are leaking, leaving deposits on the shaft’s walls. Some of the material is loose, posing hazards to employees traveling in the shaft, federal regulators said.
The shaft problems were flagged Dec. 20 during a special emphasis inspection, which followed two fatal accidents at the Lucky Friday in 2011 and a rock burst that trapped seven miners. MSHA officials said conditions in the Lucky Friday’s shaft have parallels to problems at a Nevada gold mine, where two workers were killed in the shaft when they tried to unplug a clogged pipe. They were struck by falling pipe and debris.
But Brandon Junso, a mining engineer who works as a consultant, said issues at the two mines are much different. At the Meikle Mine in Nevada, the pipe was four times as large and carried rock, he said. Workers were hitting the pipe to dislodge the material when the pipe burst.
Several audience members urged Otter to hire a state mining inspector, who could mediate in disputes with MSHA. State Reps. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, and Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton, have been approached about sponsoring a bill to establish the position, said Reitz, the Mullan council member.
In a later phone interview, Hecla spokeswoman Melanie Hennessey said: “We wouldn’t have operated the shaft if it hadn’t been safe. … But we’re trying to make the best of a challenging situation.”
The company is working on an engineering plan for the shaft repair, which officials expect to release within two weeks. Hecla has been working cooperatively with MSHA to address the issues raised in the closure order so the shaft can reopen “as safely and quickly as possible,” Hennessey said.
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johnclarke on January 24 at 10:07 a.m.
Sounds to me like those folks are angry with the wrong people. Sure, it’s easy to blame the big bad federal gubmint, and there is Mr Otter in his jeans acting like he will fix this issue. I wondering how angry these folks would be when their sons are dead in a mine collapse?
I just love how everyone knows more than the inspectors, right up until there is a huge accident.
986crazy on January 24 at 11:16 a.m.
johnclarke: I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Julia72 on January 24 at 12:02 p.m.
Otter and the Company care about the safety of the miners, just about as much as Colonel Sanders cares about the life of a chicken.
misjustice on January 24 at 9:16 p.m.
I understand the mining community’s concerns over the mine shutdown, I used to be married to a contract driller. But I also understand the dedication to safety.
The shutdown will only be for a year and after that the mine will be reopened. Deal with it, folks; it’s for your own good.
And it’s not like ya’ll won’t qualify for help, unemployment insurance, COBRA, and many other programs are in place to help you endure the shutdown. Better a year long shutdown and an improved, safer work place, than another lost life.
RedCedar on January 25 at 12:53 a.m.
Clearly, nobody commenting here has the first idea what either the technical facts are, or what the real issue with MSHA is. I won’t bother trying to explain anything to those who already think they know it all.
SafetyGuy on January 25 at 2:42 p.m.
Agreed RedCedar. None of the posters have any idea what they are talking about and it would do no good to try to explain.