Back-to-back king of the hardrock

OSBURN — Another year, another chance for the miners of the Silver Valley to prove their mettle.

Some of the most talented miners in the area and beyond gathered at Gene Day Park last Saturday for the 33rd Annual Coeur d’Alene District Mining Contest to show off their skills.

The grassy viewing area just south of the competition area was bustling with spectators who watched the 28 adult and numerous child competitors attempt to one-up each other throughout the various mining-themed events. This was a sight that could not be seen in 2020, as the competition was canceled due to the COVID pandemic.

Guy Sande, the Coeur d’Alene District Mining Contest Committee Secretary, explains that just like previous years, the male portion of the competition includes four primary solo events including Hand Mucking (contestant shovels gravel into an ore car), Spike Driving (contestant hammers two 80p spikes overhead into a 12-by-12 cap and three 60p spikes down into a 12-by-12 timber), 12B Machine Mucking (contestant uses a compressed air-powered rail-mounted mucking machine to fill an ore car) and Single Jackleg (contestant must drill two separate 4-foot deep holes into a concrete block). There is also a Team Jackleg event in which two miners each drill a 4-foot hole, swapping between a single jackleg machine.

Competitors who sign up for all four solo events are eligible to win the title of “All-Around Miner,” which recognizes the competitor who places highest in all four solo events. Points corresponding to their final placing in an event are then added together at the end of the competition and the individual with the lowest score is declared the winner.

This year’s title once again went to Matt Karst with the Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan, who finished with 7 total points. Karst now has back-to-back All-Around Miner wins, as he took the top spot in the last 2019 event as well with 8 points.

What largely earned him the title this year was his impressive first place finishes in the Hand Mucking and Spike driving events, with finishing times of 1:07.14 and 0:33, respectively. He also placed second in 12B Machine Mucking and third in Single Jackleg.

Byron Bratton with the Lucky Friday is also now the back-to-back runner-up to Karst, finishing just behind him with 13 total points this year and 14 in 2019. Bratton took first place in Single Jackleg with a finishing time of 2:16 and third in Spike Driving.

The team of Vince Lee and Daniel Myles ended up walking away with first place in Team Jackleg, finishing in 2:18.13.

Women participants went head-to-head as well in a separate Hand Mucking event. Casey Figueroa with the Lucky Friday came out on top with a time of 0:51.06 — beating out the other three participants.

Kids ages 5-6 were also invited to join in on the fun and competed in Hand Mucking. The top young mucker this year was Bentley Karst with a time of 1:21.07.

This year’s participant numbers were right in line with the average turnout compared to previous years, but a break in the hot weather provided cooler temperatures to those who did come — which allowed competitors and spectators to work and watch comfortably.

Historically, competitors primarily come from the local mines, but out-of-state competitors from Nevada, Montana, Oregon or Alaska have also been known to attend.

"The Galena Mine had the largest number of contestants this year with a good showing from Lucky Friday and contractors such as Redpath and Moran Mining," Sande said.

The event itself began in 1984 to commemorate the Wallace Centennial and has been consistently supported by the community in its active years.

“Many local mining contests had been held sporadically in various locations before then, but our founder Lavon Faussett, organized local mining professionals into a committee to hold an annual event which contestants could plan around,” Sande said.

With the exception of a few years in the mid-1990s when mining was in particularly bad shape, 33 contests have been held annually. The prize money in the event is donated by the local mining companies, as well as international mining vendors and suppliers.

With this year's competition in the books, the Contest Committee is thankful to those who supported the competition and are already looking to next year.

The 2021 Coeur d’Alene District Mining Contest adult top finalists are as follows.

Information is organized by placing, name, employer and points or finishing time:

All Around Miner:

1st — Matt Karst, Lucky Friday, 7 points

2nd — Byron Bratton, Lucky Friday, 13 points

3rd — Dan Clark, Nadine, 15 points

Hand Mucking:

1st — Matt Karst, Luck Friday, 1:07.14

2nd — Jeremie Figueroa, Redpath, 1:08.01

3rd — Jason Bauer, Galena, 1:10.29

Spike Driving:

1st — Matt Karst, Lucky Friday, 0:33

2nd — Dan Clark, Nadine, 0:46

3rd — Byron Bratton, Lucky Friday, 0:50

12B Machine Mucking:

1st — Dan Clark, Nadine, 0:57.69

2nd — Matt Karst, Lucky Friday, 0:59.31

3rd — Dustin Coast, Galena, 1:02.25

Single Jackleg:

1st — Byron Bratton, Lucky Friday, 2:16

2nd — Jeremie Figueroa, Redpath, 2:20

3rd — Matt Karst, Lucky Friday, 2:30

Team Jackleg:

1st — Vince Lee and Daniel Myles, 2:18.13

2nd — Aaron White and Jason Bauer, 2:19.65

3rd — Matt Karst and Jeremy Figueroa, 2:21.56

Women’s Mucking:

1st — Casey Figueroa, Lucky Friday, 0:51.06

2nd — Roszina Baumberge, Galena, 1:04.79

3rd — Tina Karst, 1:11.22