Demolition of old Bunker Hill mill building underway
Demolition of the maintenance shop in preparation for mill construction is now fully underway at the Bunker Hill Mine.
Photo courtesy of BUNKER HILL MINING COMPANY
KELLOGG — Progress continues to be made at the Bunker Hill Mine in Kellogg, as the mine’s newest stewards continue to work toward full production.
During the latest episode of their webinar series detailing the restart of the mine Tuesday morning, Bunker Hill Mining Company CEO and Director Sam Ash explained that November was an exciting month for the company.
“All-in-all, very productive November that we had and certainly off to a great start in December.”
Following up on the last webinar, abatement of the old mill building has been completed and demolition is underway. This will make room for a new pre-engineered metal building that will house the roughly 10,000 pieces of mill equipment the company acquired from the now-demolished Pend Oreille Processing Plant in Metaline Falls, Wash.
The new building that will become the new processing plant is set to fully comply with all building and environmental regulations. It’s also planned to have a full-length overhead crane that will be compatible with equipment planned for the mezzanine levels.
The planned timing of the new mill construction at the beginning of 2023 aligns perfectly with the project restart timeline.
The project team has also significantly advanced engineering on a concentrate load-out building, selected a vendor for the ore silo structure, and has progressed conveyor/crusher designs.
Under the surface, the 1,800-foot decline from the 5-Level (the highest accessible level of the mine) to the 6-Level is nearing completion and anticipated to be done by the end of 2022.
“We are closing in on our breakthrough into the historic existing development, the Newguard Ramp,” Ash said. “That will lead us to begin the rehabilitation process in earnest.”
After the decline is complete, attention will be shifted to rehabilitation of the pre-existing decline from the 6-Level to the 8-Level.
Ash added that the Newguard Ramp breakthrough gives the company access to roughly the first three years worth of mining in the mine plan.
Overall, Ash was optimistic that the plan to restart is slightly ahead of schedule and under budget at this point.
Restart operations are currently slated for late-Quarter 3/early-Quarter 4 of 2023.
For more information on the Bunker Hill Mining Company and its efforts to reopen the mine, visit www.bunkerhillmining.com.