Hecla lauded for safety, conservation

COEUR d’ALENE — Hecla Mining Co. recently won two awards that highlighted what industry peers say represents important practices and changes at its Lucky Friday Mine.

The National Mining Association handed the Mullan operation one of 19 Sentinals of Safety awards Oct. 23 after meeting the association’s standards as a coal or mineral mine with the best safety record in its division, as measured by injury-free work hours. Lucky Friday won the small underground metal mine category with 114,829 injury-free hours, according to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

“It is not a coincidence that this award follows the changes we have made in our management and safety systems,” Hecla chief executive Phillips Baker Jr. said. “This honor is a testament to our Lucky Friday team embracing change, and all of us at Hecla could not be prouder of their accomplishment.”

Those changes came after a trio of 2011 Lucky Friday incidents killed two, injured at least 10 and prompted the Mine Safety and Health Administration to temporarily close the Mullan operation.

Baker said the award was significant given that the mine operates with administrative staff and a skeleton crew. Lucky Friday miners have been on strike since March 2017 in a dispute based largely on control of mining crews and disagreements over compensation.

“Safety is not just a top priority,” National Mining Association chief Rich Nolan said. “It is the foundation that supports everything else in our industry. The Sentinels of Safety Award acknowledges outstanding achievements in safety and serves as a reminder that even the best safety programs require constant attention and awareness.”

The Sentinals of Safety award follows the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality’s recognition of Hecla as one of four companies statewide to enhance their commitment to environmental protection while shrinking their environmental footprint.

“The upgrades, process modifications and recycling projects that have been implemented at Hecla’s Lucky Friday mine have resulted in significant reductions of waste, water and energy used by the mine for the production of silver, zinc and lead,” Ben Jarvis, the department’s pollution prevention coordinator, said of Lucky Friday. “With growing demand for these metals, eliminating waste and pollution from production is more important than ever.”

Jarvis added that Lucky Friday was recognized for investing in state-of-the-art water treatment facilities that reduced lead and zinc concentrations by over 95 percent, developing a water recycling program that reduced the concentrator plant’s freshwater use by 95 percent, reducing waste generation by minimizing hazardous waste, and repurposing roughly 120,000 cubic yards of waste highway material with the Idaho Transportation Department.

“Responsible mining is central to our social license to operate,” Baker said. “We always strive to minimize our environmental effects and to maintain a mutually beneficial partnership with our neighbors. We practice continuous improvement, which means continuously evolving and adapting as we deploy new technologies and discover new best practices.”