Nearly ready for production

United Mining Group Inc. said it may reopen the Crescent Silver Mine in Big Creek about four miles east of Kellogg later this year.

"As the company moves toward its goal of bringing the Crescent Silver Mine back into production, it is also building its engineering, geological, mining and safety support teams," UMG CEO Charles Pitcher said in the release.

The company acquired an 80 percent ownership interest in the Crescent Silver Mine through an earn-in agreement in May, according to a press release. As of Dec. 31, United Mining Group had spent about $3.7 million toward its $9 million earn-in commitment.

In January, the company continued building the final 650 feet of the planned Hooper Tunnel extension, the release said. Scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2011, the 1,100-foot extension will allow for further underground drilling.

In mid-March, development mining crews pushed the Countess Decline Ramp to 2,200 feet, the release said. The Countess ramp now provides production access to the Alhambra and South veins.

Initial ore drifting on the South Vein has begun, along with development of the footwall and attack ramps, the release said.

As a condition of reopening the Crescent Silver Mine, UMG is required to build a secondary escape route. The company has studied several options that would allow the mine to commence production in the first half of 2012, the release said.

The first option - an internal shaft raise with an estimated cost of $7 million - has been replaced with a second option, the release noted. The Wilkie Incline, a secondary ramp at 3,600 feet. Construction is scheduled to begin in May, at an estimated cost of $5.9 million.

Independent from the Hooper Tunnel, the mine's main entrance, the Wilkie Incline is designed to allow all underground production and development to proceed quickly and easily on both the Alhambra and South veins, the release said.

"Our aggressive 2011 exploration program, along with the construction of the Wilkie Incline, will provide significant operational advantages both in terms of costs and scheduling," Pitcher said.