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Mine efforts continue

MULLAN, Idaho – Longtime Silver Valley miners said if Larry “Pete” Marek survived the Friday night rockfall that trapped him 6,150 feet underground, his hydraulic drill could supply him with the air and water he needs to keep him alive. Hecla Mining Co. officials said that Marek, 53, was working in a 152-foot-long tunnel at the Lucky Friday Mine and that the rockfall occurred 75 feet from the entrance. That leaves 77 feet that might be partly or wholly filled with rock; no one knows at this point.

Efforts to rescue trapped miner continue

Larry "Pete" Marek, 53, was trapped by debris when part of the mine's ceiling collapsed in his work area at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Company officials have not been able to contact him.

Rescue crews dig for trapped miner at Lucky Friday Mine

MULLAN, Idaho – Hecla Mining crews were still digging Saturday evening for a miner trapped more than a mile underground at the Lucky Friday Mine. Company officials Saturday continued to call their efforts a rescue operation nearly 24 hours after the roof of a tunnel where the Idaho miner was extracting silver-bearing ore collapsed.

Missing Lucky Friday miner identified

MULLAN, ID - Hecla Mining crews are still digging for a miner trapped this evening more than a mile underground at the Lucky Friday Mine. Company officials continued to call their efforts a rescue operation nearly 24 hours after the roof of a tunnel where the miner was extracting silver-bearing ore collapsed.

Hecla in tentative deal to pay $263 million over mining waste

Hecla Mining Co. has reached a tentative settlement with the federal government, Coeur d’Alene Tribe and state of Idaho over its role in turning the Coeur d’Alene basin into a Superfund site, company officials said Friday. Hecla is the last large mining company to settle its Superfund obligations in the Coeur d’Alene basin. The litigation has dragged on since 1991.

Hecla says $263 million pollution settlement possible

Hecla Mining Co. has reached a tentative settlement with the federal government, Coeur d’Alene Tribe and state of Idaho over its role in turning the Coeur d’Alene Basin into a Superfund site, company officials said today.

Local mining, bank stocks had solid gains in 2010

The composite market value of 15 Inland Northwest stocks reached a record Dec. 31, possibly foretelling more good things for 2011, Hart Capital Management President Craig Hart said Wednesday. The company’s Inland Northwest Composite finished the year at $13.2 billion, up almost 35 percent for the year, he said, based largely on substantial gains in its mining and banking components.

Zanetti Brothers agrees to share of basin cleanup

One of the Silver Valley’s oldest family-run companies has reached a $200,000 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over Superfund cleanup of historic mine waste. Zanetti Brothers Inc. will pay the government $150,000 and provide $50,000 worth of gravel, soil or other clean fill for environmental remediation efforts.

High prices, booming silver industry bankroll mine’s expansion

MULLAN, Idaho – At the Lucky Friday Mine, a descent of nearly a mile takes only 2  1/2 minutes. You climb aboard the “cage” on the Silver Shaft, which operates like a high-speed elevator. Rock walls, encased in concrete, whiz by. When the cage stops with a rattle and a shake, you’re 4,900 feet below the Earth’s surface, deep in the Bitterroot Mountains, where the rock is shot through with silver veins.

Meyer to oversee mine cleanup

A $447 million trust established to pay for Superfund cleanup in the Coeur d’Alene River basin has hired its first full-time employee. Dan Meyer will start work Jan. 1. He most recently worked for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, where he was responsible for cleanup of residential and commercial properties in the Bunker Hill Superfund site. Meyer is also a former environmental manager for Hecla Mining Co.

Residents fear cleanup will hinder Silver Valley economy

KELLOGG – Too far-reaching, too costly. Another knock for the Silver Valley. That was the consensus of public testimony Monday evening at a town hall meeting on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $1.3 billion plan to clean up mining waste in the upper Coeur d’Alene River Basin over the next 50 to 100 years.

Residents, officials knock Silver Valley mine cleanup plan

Too far-reaching, too costly. Another knock for the Silver Valley. That was the consensus of public testimony Monday evening at a town hall meeting on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s $1.3 billion plan to clean up mining waste in the upper Coeur d’Alene River Basin over the next 50 to 100 years.

Cleanup plan for CdA Basin shifts focus from soil to water

As water percolates through old mine workings in the headwaters of the Coeur d’Alene River, it picks up lead, arsenic, zinc and other heavy metals. The metals stunt fish populations in 66 miles of the river and its tributaries, with some stretches too toxic to support aquatic life. They also pose potential health risks for people who swim or float down the river, or recreate along the shore, government officials said.

Hecla stakes its claim in Wallace with new office

After an absence of 26 years, Hecla Mining Co. has moved an office back into Wallace. The 119-year-old company had an office in Wallace from about 1917 to 1984, when it moved its corporate office to 6500 N. Mineral Drive in Coeur d’Alene. The main office will remain there, and the Wallace office is at 611 Bank St. Dr. Wayne Jurkovich moved his dental office from there to an empty location next door. With about 320 employees in North Idaho alone, Hecla also has an office in Vancouver, B.C., and mines of silver and/or gold in the Silver Valley (the Lucky Friday), Alaska, Colorado, Mexico and Venezuela. The name Hecla historically has connections to old mines in Montana and back East and a volcano in Iceland. Hours at the Wallace office are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. Visit www.hecla-mining.com.