UI Collection Gold Mine Of History

The University of Idaho is the new home for more than 70 years’ worth of records from the Bunker Hill Mine.

But before researchers can start poring through the old corporate papers, reports, engineering sketches or Superfund documents, the UI’s Special Collection Department has to figure out how to store the nearly 600 cubic feet of company history.

The documents span Bunker Hill’s history from 1916 past its closure in 1981 to Superfund clean-up records from the 1990s.

Terry Abraham, UI’s Special Collections librarian, estimates it will cost $250,000 and take several years to organize, inventory and process the massive collection.

The UI may have to depend on private donations to accomplish the task, Abraham said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave the records to the university. The EPA and the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality acquired the records as part of ongoing cleanup efforts at the Bunker Hill Superfund Site.

, DataTimes