Let's talk mining: Part 2

KELLOGG — Second to speak at the Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce's After Hours “State of the Mines” event on March 16 was Tyson Clyne, the Environmental Health & Safety Superintendent of the Sunshine Mine in Big Creek.

Currently in "care and maintenance" mode, Clyne explained that the 15 employees working at the Sunshine mine wear several hats while preparing for possible projects in the future.

"We're not producing any ore. We're not breaking any rock. But we are doing a lot of strategic projects to move the mine forward," he said.

Much of the rehabilitation on the over 100 year-old mine has been focused on two distinct mining areas.

"You've got the Jewel Shaft, which is the 4,000 ft. shaft right near Big Creek," Clyne said, "but we also have the ConSil Tunnel. That's a three mile long tunnel that's half rubber tire and half rail. It connects the Big Creek side of the property to Osburn."

In the Jewel Shaft, recent focus has been on electrical infrastructure upgrades, general maintenance and pumping/treating water. Completed improvements include upgrades on all the pump rooms, the replacement of the water line, replacement of numerous substations, rerouting power and the installation of an emergency generator.

In the ConSil Tunnel, crews have removed a significant amount of old wood while rock bolting and conducting ground support.

"It's a permanent excavation and we made it one. It's in really good condition," Clyne said.

The Sunshine Silver Mining & Refining Company, the owners of the property, purchased the Big Creek silver refinery in 2013 in addition to 15 acres of land and an old Osburn tailings pond just downstream of the Polaris Mill in 2018.

"We're maintaining the asset for whenever the ownership decides to move forward- be it with a drill program, be it with development of the mine and mill," Clyne added. "It's a lot of fun to work there, but we all have a really good attitude. We're really proud of our environmental health and safety record. It's been a couple years since our last lost time or reportable accident."

Next up was Lucky Friday Mine Vice President/General Manager Carlos Aguiar and HR Manager Michelle Horning, who spoke about the Hecla Mining Company-owned operation in Mullan.

Aguiar, who was appointed to his position in July of 2021 after serving in the same role at the San Sebastian Mine from April 2016 to June 2021, explained the Lucky Friday had a solid year in 2021.

"We had the best production in the last decade and then we had the best safety record in the last 20 years, but the thing that is really interesting about our place is the future."

Coming off of a nearly three-year labor strike in 2020, Aguiar said the operation has since implemented a new mining method designed to control when pressure is released during blasting and drilling. This method has been shown to be safer for miners working underground, since the lower the stopes go, the more pressure there is.

Speaking on a future optimization plan, Aguiar's hope is to double the average production of the last 80 years and maintain a high standard of safety.

"In the past, our production was 2 million ounces a year and we are projecting to produce 4 million ounces per year in the next 15 years."

As with many businesses in North Idaho though, the Lucky Friday has struggled to keep consistent staff levels and is currently looking to fill between 30 and 40 various positions.

Horning cited societal issues such as inflation and lack of housing as big factors for the shortage.

"Right now, one of our biggest challenges is probably staffing ... we're sitting right about at 360 employees, so about 30 short."

When asked if the Lucky Friday mine would be interested in an employee housing program, Horning said they would be open to the idea and working with the community to provide that resource. She also mentioned current efforts to work with local colleges and technical programs to attract employees.

To wrap up the evening, Galena Mine Chief Geologist Sadae Lortz brought attendees up to speed on what was happening there and how the mine got its start.

"The Coeur d'Alene (mining) district is the No. 1 silver producer in the world over time," she said. "1.4 billion ounces and counting. The Galena Complex itself has produced over 237 million of those ounces, which put us No. 2 behind the Sunshine. We're always like the little engine that could, but we're still chugging along."

For most of the mine's history, miners have focused on silver/copper veins and largely ignored the silver/lead veins. As the silver dried up though, owners of the mine have had to shift focus.

"We had to start getting serious about all this lead that the old timers left behind, so we started the transition and the transition was difficult," Lortz said. "By 2016, we were primarily mining silver/lead and there's some challenges that came with that.

Lortz explained the silver/lead mineralization is more chaotic and complex compared to the silver/copper, in addition to simply being worth less and physically weighing more. So the switch resulted in decreased production and more wear and tear on equipment.

"But we're still getting by, we're still chugging along. Everybody who works there has a love for the Galena. We're like a family."

Citing the $20 million recapitalization plan between Eric Sprott and Americas Gold and Silver Corporation implemented in 2019 as a saving grace for the Galena, Lortz listed many of the projects that have been completed since.

"We were able to start rehabilitating a lot of the levels that were dilapidated, we did new development, we rebuilt a lot of of our equipment, we purchased some new equipment, we upgraded the ventilation, we were able to put money towards replacing the Galena hoist- which was a big bottleneck for us having that down, we purchased a new generator to power the #3 hoists, and we also did a lot of work on exploration- which is probably the most important thing."

With 170,000 feet of exploratory drilling done since the investment, Lortz is hopeful the mine and its 244 employees will work up to historic mining output levels.

"I think we'll get there are we're projecting to see those kinds of values around 2025.

For part one, visit www.shoshonenewspress.com and search "Let's talk mining: Part 1."