Asarco Lays Off Five Workers At Mine

A cost-reduction program and a decline in metal prices are prompting Asarco Inc. to lay off half the staff at its Troy, Mont., silver and copper mine.

“The decline in metal prices, particularly copper, made the past year a difficult one for Asarco,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Osborne said in the company’s fourth-quarter report.

Dave Young, manager of Asarco’s Troy mine and the Rock Creek mine project, said Friday that four hourly employees and one salaried employee were laid off at the idled mine. Operations at the mine have been suspended since 1993 because of the slumping metals market.

“We were all instructed to cut costs,” Young said from his office in Denver. “We had gotten to a point where maintenance was not such a big issue, so we decided to cut the jobs.”

Chances of reopening the mine in the near future are “pretty slim,” Young said.

The layoffs at the Troy mine are part of Asarco’s plan to shave operating costs through staff reductions, operational improvements and reductions in purchased services, saving an estimated $50 million annually.