New life is being breathed into the old Montanore Mine, near Libby. The plan is to mine copper and silver from beneath the Cabinet Mountains from north of Noxon to just west of Libby.
The whole process stopped dead-in-its-tracks by the Montana “Bad Actors” rule, under the State’s Metal Mine Reclamation Act. . That, when Heckla Mining bought the mine. Their CEO, Phillips Baker Jr. was involved in the doomed Pegasus Gold mine, that declared bankruptcy leaving Montana with a massive clean-up bill. Now that Baker has retired and has no connection to Heckla, they’re hoping the project can get back on track.
Up now, DEQ appears ready to consider granting a new permit for waste water discharge into the Libby River. The Forest Service must also sign-off on the plan and the public comment period is now open.
Once the mine is in operation, it’s estimated that 450-people will be working there.
