Cominco Mine Plan To Receive Scrutiny Public Will Get Opportunity To Comment On Impacts Of Zinc Mine Near Metaline Falls
Cominco American’s plans to reopen the 94-year-old Pend Oreille Mine come up for public discussion next month.
The Department of Ecology has scheduled a March 15 public hearing to gather comments on the company’s proposal to restart the mine, about two miles north of Metaline Falls, Wash.
Cominco American expects to extract 6.1 million tons of zinc and lead ore from the underground mine over eight years. The mine would employ 168 workers.
Cominco bought the mine four years ago. It last operated in 1977.
Reopening the mine would help supply a growing world market for zinc, according to a draft environmental impact statement. It would also support Cominco’s smelter in Trail, British Columbia, after the company’s lead-zinc mine in Kimberley, British Columbia, shuts down in 2002.
The Pend Oreille Mine has produced about 15million tons of lead and zinc ore since its inception in 1906. Cominco plans to extend the depth of the mine, extracting ore located about 2,600 feet below the surface.
Restarting the mine will cost about $100 million, according to company estimates.
One of the biggest environmental issues is construction of a 78-acre facility to hold the tailings, the crushed rock left after the lead and zinc have been extracted. The facility would be double-lined to prevent metals from seeping into ground water, and reclaimed after the mine closes.
The draft EIS also looks at socioeconomic impacts on the neighboring towns of Metaline Falls, Metaline and Ione.
Cominco officials expect to hire about one-third of the workers locally. Annual payroll during the operation of the mine is estimated at $10.5 million.
However, an influx of people into the sparsely populated area would also impact housing, schools and medical facilities, the draft EIS noted.
The city of Metaline Falls has applied for a grant to hire a planner to mitigate impacts and extend economic benefits of the mine beyond its eight-year life.
Cominco, for instance, has indicated that it would be willing to contract locally for items such as environmental monitoring, instead of hiring its own staff.
Community residents hope the mine will encourage economic development that will remain in the area after the mine closes.
Draft EIS documents are available for review at the public library in Metaline Falls, and the Washington Department of Ecology, 4601 N. Monroe, Suite 202, in Spokane.
Idaho Veneer is starting to regain some of its Canadian market for white pine lumber.
The Post Falls company has sold several loads of white pine into eastern Canada markets during the past three months through a Chicago-based electronic exchange, said Rick Palmiter, sales manager for lumber products.
TALPX Inc. matches mills with retail outlets for plywood, lumber and oriented strand board.
Canada provided a steady market for Idaho Veneer’s white pine until the Canadian dollar weakened, Palmiter said. The exchange is helping the company regain some of that business, he said.
Idaho Veneer produces pine veneers for furniture and cabinet-grade plywoods. It also produces lumber as a by-product.
The International Selkirk Loop is featured in the March issue of Sunset Magazine.
The nonprofit loop promotes tourism in small towns along a 280-mile route through Washington, Canada and Idaho.
Sunset named the loop “Best Scenic Drive” in a feature on Western attractions. The loop includes Newport, Wash., Metaline Falls, the Idaho resort areas of Priest Lake and Sandpoint, and Nelson, British Columbia.
Sunset has a circulation of 1.5 million.
This sidebar appeared with the story:
TO COMMENT
Public hearing
The Cominco session for the public will be March 15 at the Cutter Theatre, 302 Park St., Metaline Falls. A presentation begins at 7 p.m. A public hearing follows at 8 p.m.