Prices spur thirst for silver

WALLACE - The Galena Mine in Wallace is taking advantage of historically high silver prices by doing some overdue maintenance and starting surface drilling.

Crews will be updating infrastructure and painting buildings that are more than 50 years old that have never seen a fresh coat of paint.

An update to the electric wiring is also in the cards.

"It's kind of like going from a rotary phone to an iPhone," said U.S. Silver CEO Tom Parker.

He also has plans to redevelop the 5,500 level with work starting around the end of this year.

Workers are about 25 percent done with their first surface drilling project.

They plan to drill 12,000 feet. Parker said there's good exploration potential with the project.

Galena miners currently only use the No. 3 shaft to hoist ore and waste, but that's about to change, too.

Most of these projects are made possible by this year's high silver prices, Parker said.

"If silver prices stay where they are, there will be more exploration interest in the valley," he said. And even if they fall, he said, they now have money in reserves to handle it.

This year alone, there's been twice as much underground drilling as last year.

The company announced Aug. 15 that its third-quarter $30.8 million revenue more than doubled last year's revenue from Q2.

Galena Mine employs about 275 and U.S. Silver has increased staff by 5 to 10 percent since the beginning of this year.