Tag Archives: Rock Creek Mine

Mine on edge of Cabinet Wilderness inches closer to USFS approval

August 1, 2018Environmental Issues, Newsbad actor law, Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, Hecla Mining Co., Rock Creek Minenfpa

Southern Cabinet Mountains, as seen from Swede Mountain, near Libby

Hecla Mining inches closer to Forest Service approval of their proposed Rock Creek Mine on the edge of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Meanwhile, Montana has a bone to pick with Hecla CEO Phillips Baker Jr. over past shenanigans in the state . . .

Federal officials proposed approval of the first phase of a silver and copper mine beneath a northwestern Montana wilderness area amid a legal fight between state officials and the company behind the project, officials said Wednesday.

A final decision is expected in coming weeks on the Rock Creek Mine near Noxon after the Kootenai National Forest released a lengthy environmental study of the proposal, forest spokesman Willie Sykes said

Idaho-based Hecla Mining Co. would initially mine on 20 acres, to determine the feasibility of a full-scale mine that would cover almost 500 acres.

Rock Creek Mine gets cautious, partial approval

November 5, 2017Environmental Issues, NewsCabinet Mountains, Hecla Mining Co., Rock Creek Minenfpa

Hecla Mining’s proposed Rock Creek Mine near the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness received partial approval from the US Forest Service — enough to build an adit and do some environmental work. By and large, this is a victory for opposition environmental groups . . .

Opponents and proponents of a proposed copper and silver mine in Sanders County are both celebrating after the U.S. Forest Service announced it would issue only a partial approval for the project in an upcoming Record of Decision.

Conservation groups say that the decision to withhold a full development permit for the Rock Creek Mine proves that a massive industrial project should not be developed beneath a wilderness area for fear that it will dewater the land above. But officials with Hecla Mining Company, the Coeur d’Alene-based mining company heading up the project, said that a phased approval has always been part of the plan.

In a letter dated Oct. 31, Deputy Regional Forester David E. Schmid announced that the final Record of Decision would only approve phase 1 of the Rock Creek Project, allowing the construction of a mine adit and an environmental evaluation of the site, which is located near Noxon.

Coalition challenges Rock Creek Mine water permit

September 19, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsCabinet Mountains, Hecla Mining Co., Montana DNRC, Rock Creek Minenfpa

An environmental coalition is challenging the DNRC water permit for the Rock Creek Mine, one of two proposed mines near the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness . . .

A coalition of environmental groups is challenging the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s proposed decision to issue a water permit to the company hoping to build a massive copper and silver mine near Noxon.

The coalition, including the Clark Fork Coalition, Rock Creek Alliance, Earthworks and the Montana Environmental Information Center, has alleged that the Hecla Mining Company’s Rock Creek Mine would dewater streams within the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. The nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice represents the groups.

The formal objection was filed with the DNRC on Sept. 6.

Forest Service extends comment period for Rock Creek Mine

March 27, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsKootenai National Forest, Rock Creek Minenfpa

The public now has extra time to make their views known about the proposed Rock Creek Mine . . .

The U.S. Forest Service has extended the comment period for the draft environmental impact statement for the Rock Creek Mine project near Noxon.

Residents will now have until April 19 to submit comments on the proposed copper and silver project. Kootenai National Forest officials said in a press release announcing the extension that they wanted to give people more time to review the draft supplemental environmental impact because it is a “complex document.”

The draft study released in February addresses concerns about sediment control and ground water at Rock Creek.

Read more . . .

Second mine near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness nears approval

February 16, 2016Environmental Issues, NewsCabinet Mountains, copper, Hecla Mining Co., Rock Creek Mine, silvernfpa

The second of two mines crowding the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness is getting closer to operational approval . . .

Days after one northwest Montana mining project won state approval to start operating near the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, another expects to see its supplemental environmental impact statement arrive for public review this week.

Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co. officials said they expected the environmental review to reach the U.S. Forest Service on Tuesday, with publication expected in the Federal Register on Friday. That starts a 45-day comment period.

Hecla took over Revett Mining Co. in June, paying Revett shareholders $20 million in Hecla stock in the deal. That spelled the closure of Revett’s Troy Mine, but gave greater impetus on opening the larger Rock Creek Mine project five miles northeast of Noxon, in Sanders County. That mine holds a purported 229 million ounces of silver and 2 billion pounds of copper.

Read more . . .