Hecla seeking new permit for Montanore Mine in Cabinet Mountains Wilderness
Idaho-based Hecla Mining is ready for another shot at operating the Montanore Mine, located south of Libby in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.
According to a press release from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, it has drafted a new Montana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to replace a 2006 permit for the Montanore Minerals Corporation Libby Exploration Project Libby Creek Adit.
The state is seeking public review and comment on two separate but related public notices. The first is for the termination of the 2006 permit and the second is for the draft permit and the associated draft environmental assessment, which was prepared in accordance with the Montana Environmental Policy Act.
The agency said there will be no lapse in permit coverage as the 2006 permit would not terminate until the new permit becomes effective.
Comments will be accepted for both proposed actions through Dec. 6. To review the public notices, draft permit, fact sheet and draft environmental assessment and learn how to submit comments, visit DEQ’s website using the following links:
For the termination notice, go to: deq.mt.gov/News/publiccomment-folder/Public-Notice-MT-24-13-MT0030279.
For the draft permit and environmental assessment: deq.mt.gov/News/publiccomment-folder/Public-Notice-MT-24-11-MT0032158.
Montanore Minerals is a subsidiary of Hecla, the largest silver producer in the U.S. According to previous reporting, it acquired the Montanore project near Libby in 2016.
The Libby Exploration Project is an underground silver ore and copper ore mineral exploration operation. Montanore Minerals is authorized to conduct limited development of the Libby Creek adit, or mine entrance.
Further development of the entrance would require additional authorization. The draft permit covers the discharge of wastewater associated with the previously authorized exploration activity only. It does not cover any potential discharge associated with active mining.
Wastewater from the site includes storm water as well as treated mine drainage that has been mixed with storm water. The draft permit sets requirements for how clean the water must be before it can re-enter Montana water bodies.
If it is approved, the draft permit would take the place of the active permit issued in 2006, which the Department of Environmental Quality proposes to terminate. The state agency previously issued a renewal permit in 2017, which was vacated by the Montana Supreme Court in 2020 following litigation.
The draft permit reassesses and updates how Montanore Minerals will meet applicable water quality standards.
According to the Department of Environmental Quality's environmental assessment, the proposed permit would allow water discharge from the Libby adit during tunnel rehabilitation work, expansion and exploration. It would also allow potential discharge of runoff from storm water into Upper Libby Creek.
Construction projects would affect approximately 14 more acres. Included in the plan is an expansion of the existing waste rock storage area to increase capacity to about 77,000 cubic yards or about 7,000 dump-truck loads.
It would also allow upgrades to the water treatment plant, construction of a new waste rock storage area with a capacity of about 87,000 cubic yards and the building of a new 360,000-gallon waste rock sump, which is a pit filled with waste rock and a screen or casing to house a pump.
Kootenai National Forest officials said the publication of their draft environmental assessment is planned to be released in early December.