Cave-in, no problem

WALLACE — What began as a routine maintenance project on the lower portal at the Silver Sierra Mine in Wallace quickly evolved into something a bit more labor-intensive.

Known as one of the most popular and exciting educational tours in the area, the Silver Sierra Mine Tour (SSMT) was forced to delay its season due to the unexpected damage just two months before its planned opening day.

Susan Halley, executive director of Sierra Silver Mine Tours, said when the side of the portal caved in back on March 31 due to heavy ground saturation from snow and rain, the initial plan to simply replace five sets of timbers went out the window.

“The cave-in necessitated a relocation of the compressor and shed,” Halley said, “and complete rebuilding of the lower portal.”

Once the relocation was in progress and the repairs on the lower portal were underway, another red flag sprung up; this time concerning the upper portal.

With limited space already, the addition of the compressor at the upper portal would have made it “nearly impossible” for crews to access the area for scheduled maintenance that was originally slated for a couple years from now.

So with the equipment already on site, it was decided that the upper portal was to be rebuilt as well.

In order complete the needed repairs, a tremendous community effort was required that involved several organizations, companies, mines, and individuals contributing their time and effort.

Dave Clark and sons from Tamarack contributed the heavy equipment work and rebuilt the lower portal, donating 50 percent of their labor and equipment to the cause.

Keith Simms and crew from KASCO of Idaho were responsible for removing the dangerous trees around the area and rebuilding the shed, donating the removal of one tree and their equipment.

Whiteman’s Lumber pitched in and offered one third of the timber needed for the portals.

The Morbeck Foundation and the Society for metallurgy, mining, and exploration contributed monetarily.

Even some of the local mines in the area got in on the effort.

The Sunshine, Lucky Friday, Galena, and Morning Star all donated materials to aid in the rebuild.

After a month and two weeks of construction, SSMT opened for the season on May 15.

Halley is incredibly proud of the effort put forth on this project by everyone involved.

“With the extensive necessary work, having our opening delayed by only two weeks was a testament to a lot of hard work during a cold and wet April and early May.”

Individuals worked extensively on the repairs, including SSMT Mine guides Wally Dreher, Lenny Hoiland, Fred Bentley, and Marty McNamee.

Lucky Friday miners Casey McKinnon, Bob Clark, and Travis Medrano donated labor.

Jack Rupp and David Sherman of the SSMT board of directors also donated time and labor as well.

The Sierra Silver Mine was originally claimed in the early 1900s as the Cathella.

It was bought and sold many times over the years after that, never producing rich enough ore to warrant production.

During the 1970’s it served as the lab for the mining vocational class at Wallace High School.

SSMT was formed as a nonprofit in 1982 to bring visitors to the Silver Valley following the crash of the metals market.

SSMT is open seven days a week through October 1; June through August from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

May and September hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, call 208-752-5151 or visit the SSMT website at http://silverminetour.org.