The Trump administration this week approved an Idaho company’s mine to explore for copper and silver near Libby in northwestern Montana.
In development for decades, the Hecla Mining Company’s Libby Exploration Project has faced criticism from environmental groups concerned about a mine beneath a sensitive wilderness area.
But earlier this year, the Trump administration put the proposed mine and nine other projects in line for “expedited permitting.” The decision followed President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order aimed at increasing mineral production, particularly on federal lands.
In a press release this week, Hecla President and CEO Rob Krcmarov praised the U.S. Forest Service’s decision and the federal government for adding the project to its “FAST-41” permitting dashboard.
“We are pleased to see the U.S. Forest Service advance the Libby Project, and we are grateful the FAST-41 process helped move this important project forward efficiently,” Krcmarov said. “… The Libby Project exemplifies our commitment to responsibly developing critical minerals in the United States, delivering long-term economic benefits to our communities, and maintaining rigorous environmental stewardship.”
The Libby Exploration Project, formerly known as the Montanore Mine, was first proposed in the early 1980s. Soon after, a nearly horizontal 14,000-foot exploratory mine shaft, known as an adit, was constructed to access the copper and silver deposits. According to some estimates, there are 500 million ounces of silver and 4 billion pounds of copper beneath the Cabinet Mountains.
Montanore was owned by a series of small mining companies until 2016, when it was purchased by Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co. for $30 million. The previous year, Hecla had acquired Revett Mining Co., which owned the proposed Rock Creek Mine in Sanders County. The acquisition of the Montanore and Rock Creek projects by Hecla was celebrated by local officials in northwest Montana. Hecla, which currently has operations in Alaska, Idaho and Quebec.
Under previous owners, the Montanore and Rock Creek projects received a patchwork of state and federal approvals to begin exploration. However, in February 2022, Hecla withdrew those plans and started over, focusing solely on Montanore. Hecla still owns the Rock Creek Mine but has stated it will not seek exploration permits for the project until the Libby Exploration Project advances.
Watch related coverage: A look into the Libby Exploration Project
If the U.S. Forest Service approves the Libby Exploration Project’s Plan of Operations, miners could be working in Lincoln County for the first time in more than a decade. That would be a boon for communities like Libby, one of Montana’s most economically depressed areas. Environmental groups, however, are concerned that mining activity could impact.
Hecla’s proposed plan of operation calls for drying the existing adit — about 7,000 feet of it is underwater — and extending it another 4,200 feet until it is directly above the deposit, the Montana Free Press reports. The company plans to build an additional 6,300 feet of tunnels to support its exploration.
The effort to evaluate the quality of the deposit would span 16 years, culminating in the eventual closure of the adit and reclamation of the site. Hecla officials have said the company will likely employ 30 to 35 people during the project’s construction, exploration and reclamation phases.
Mike Satre, Hecla’s director of governmental affairs, wrote in an email to Montana Free Press that the company still needs a discharge permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to move forward with the project but believes it will be acquired by the middle of next year.
The company is also actively seeking partners to participate in the exploration phase and beyond, Satre wrote.
Montana Sen. Steve Daines praised the decision to advance the Libby Exploration Project.
“The Libby Exploration Project will provide good-paying Montana mining jobs without harming our beautiful lands and will help unlock the high value of world-class copper and silver,” Daines said in a press release. “President Trump’s administration has proven yet again that they are committed to protecting Made-In-Montana energy and supporting Montana miners.”
But not everyone is praising the decision. Ben Catton, a policy and engagement associate for the Montana Environmental Information Center, said in an interview that the U.S. Forest Service’s environmental assessment was “rushed and incomplete.” He argued that the environmental assessment did not properly address the risk of draining water from the lakes and streams of the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness, which is prime habitat for grizzly bears and bull trout.
While Hecla has described an “exploration project,” Catton said it would have a major impact on the landscape, with numerous boreholes at the surface and hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of waste rock.
“This is not an ‘exploration project,’” Catton said. “Hecla has been pursuing this ore body for years. They know what’s there, but they also know what’s at stake given that the mine is adjacent to one of our first wilderness areas and a critical stronghold for threatened grizzlies, wolverines and bull trout. Hecla is trying to get an inch so they can take a mile.”
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.
