WILDERNESS -- Hecla Mining Company has scheduled three town hall meetings to discuss its proposed mine that would drill for silver and copper deposits under the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness in Northwest Montana.

The meetings to update communities on the Rock Creek Mine project will be held at 6:30 p.m. as follows:

• March 8 -- Noxon, at the Sawtooth Grill.
• March 9 -- Thompson Falls, at the Elks Lodge.
• March 10 -- Libby, at the Venture Motor Inn.

Hecla, based in Coeur d'Alene, is the fourth company to own the Rock Creek Mine project since the 1980s.

The Rock Creek Mine is one of two mines proposed for drilling into ore deposits under the wilderness.

In February, the U.S. Forest Service issued a new supplemental environmental impact statement for the project that addressed concerns about sediment control and ground water at Rock Creek. Its release started a 45-day comment period that will end on April 4.