North Idaho Mining and its environmental issues (Clark Fork, Kootenai: appointed, cabinet)

[westcoastforme]

Hecla Mining. Anyone know anything about this company or anyone who works there. Im trying to get to the bottom of what ratio of silver is actually mined along with gold and Copper. Ive seen for every gold ounce there are 8 silver ounces.

Just wondering if true or if anyone knows? thanks

[Syringaloid]

Is this why you are interested?


Stock in ID's Hecla, nation's largest silver producer, jumps …
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/...248960524.html



Idaho has U.S.’s largest silver producer. Did GameStop frenzy boost its stock price?

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/...pdigest_latest

[Clark Fork Fantast]

That Clark Fork River report is from 2007, and it contains recommendations for improvement. We read it (or a reference to it) in 2008 before buying our property. The Montana temperature numbers above the Cabinet Gorge Dam weren't considered excessive, and pollutants also came from fires and the timber industry. It is good to be vigilant, but let's not jump to conclusions. I'm much more concerned about the current mining prospects on the Montana side in the Cabinet Mt wilderness.

Sorry to hear about your son's illness, ejay. Best wishes.

[volosong]

There is no mining in Coeur d'Alene, nor anywhere nearby, (other than a few gravel pits which provide raw material for construction purposes). Hecla does have their main corporate offices in CdA. The Hecla-owned Lucky Friday mine is outside Mullan, on the Montana border. CdA is near the Washington border.

They are pulling silver out of Lucky Friday, no gold or copper.

[ejay]

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/10/100253223.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...ed-north-idaho

[banjomike]

I don't know much except that the Lucky Friday strike was enormous. Huge, as large as any in Nevada.

Hecla is only the last owner; there were several others. Hecla is still mining in Idaho- they have an active mine in Challis, and from what I've heard, they're busy trying to develop some rare earth deposits nearby to begin mining operations on them.

The C d'A district's mines are probably all played out now, or too played out to be profitable under modern mining regulations and standards.

The district's lodes were rich for sure; the gold they yielded was as big as the California strike and the reason why Lincoln created the Idaho Territory. And the silver strike that followed was much larger than the gold strike.

Copper was Montana's mineral. The Anaconda mine in Butte.

[westcoastforme]

Originally Posted by volosong

There is no mining in Coeur d'Alene, nor anywhere nearby, (other than a few gravel pits which provide raw material for construction purposes). Hecla does have their main corporate offices in CdA. The Hecla-owned Lucky Friday mine is outside Mullan, on the Montana border. CdA is near the Washington border.

They are pulling silver out of Lucky Friday, no gold or copper.

ok good to know. I guess I just have to go by what I've read that the ratio of gold to silver is 1 to 8

[MTJoe]

Originally Posted by volosong

There is no mining in Coeur d'Alene, nor anywhere nearby,...

Although technically true, "nearby" is a relative term. It's a 1 hr drive from CDA to Mullan. Some people's commute to work is longer than that. What about the Galena mine in Wallace (53 minutes)?

A quick search shows 3700+ active mines in Shoshone county, 345 in Bonner county, 95 in Boundary county and 46 in Kootenai county. The caveat..."counties with gold, silver, and other mining activity found In Idaho." The key here could be "other mining activity" as the list does not specify what each mine is digging for. Gravel pits do fall under mining if I recall correctly but they can't all be gravel pits alone either. I will however agree that there is no large-scale precious mineral mining in CDA.

For the OP: Another tidbit I found...
Since circa 1885 the Silver Valley has produced:
-1.2 billion ounces of silver
-3.3 million tons of zinc
-8.3 million tons of lead
-207,000 tons of copper
-529,000 ounces of gold.
Although not current production figures, it's clear to see that silver outpaces gold by a significant margin.

[volosong]

Originally Posted by MTJoe

Although technically true, "nearby" is a relative term. It's a 1 hr drive from CDA to Mullan. Some people's commute to work is longer than that. What about the Galena mine in Wallace (53 minutes)?...

Yeah. I was going by his thread title and assumed interest. Probably should never assume anything, (how many times have we all heard that?). I thought he was asking about Coeur d'Alene itself, and I extended my comments to include all of the Rathdrum Prairie.

Thankfully, we have the Fourth of July pass between the Silver Valley and the Rathdrum Prairie. Other than the lake being all messed up from the tailings of mining, the Rathdrum Priarie is relatively uneffected by mining side effects.

[MTJoe]

Valid point Volosong. I tend to look at requests here on City Data as being from outside the area unless their location says otherwise. In doing that I look at them meaning "the CDA area" in general. Different perspectives as we approach our responses just means more info for those asking the questions.