DEQ proposes releasing part of Troy Mine bond

Following completion of more than a third of the reclamation work at the Troy Mine Inc. site that closed in 2015, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is proposing to release part of Hecla Montana's bond for the project.

Nick Raines, Environmental Coordinator for Hecla Montana, stated that the DEQ is able to release portions of the bond as cleanup activities are completed. The goal of the site reclamation is to return it to a pre-mining condition, Raines said, turning it back to a vegetative forest and wildlife habitat. "As things have quieted down, we have seen more and more wildlife moving back into the area and through it as a traffic corridor in the Cabinet Mountains."

The public and Hecla have until November 24 to comment on the proposed DEQ action, which would release $7.9 million of Hecla's $24.6 million bond for the Troy Mine reclamation project. According to DEQ, if no comments are received, the funds will be released. Raines said that DEQ has spent about six months evaluating the work completed and looking at the bond values associated with that work.

"We think the Troy Mine is a positive story," Raines said.

The Troy Mine operations ceased in 2015 and the company began reclamation work in 2016, but Raines stated the bulk of the work started in 2017. "Our focus so far has been on reclaiming the tailing storage facility," Raines said, adding that the tailings material is benign. "Here we don't have issues like acid draining or high metal content as you see in other projects."

The reclamation of the tailing storage facility consists of regrading the surface, covering it with enough organic material to grow vegetation and then revegetating the approximate 435 of private land owned by Troy Mine Inc. and 40 acres of public U.S. Forest Service land. Raines said the company so far has used about half a million cubic yards of soil from stock piles created in the 1970s to distribute 8-18 inches of material on top of the tailings materials. Then, a combination of native grass seed and erosion control grass was planted. "We planted about 200,000 seedlings," Raines said. "Everything from small shrubs, alder, snowberry and wild rose up to full-size ponderosa, white pine and larch. Essentially everything you would find in the forested areas around the facility." The goal of the revegetation plan is to restore the tailing storage facility area so that is blends into the surrounding forest.

The revegetation phase of the reclamation work involved Hecla Montana partnering with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes to gather seeds from the forest surrounding the Troy Mine, growing seeds at the tribes' nursery and then contracting to plan those seedlings back at the mine site. "It's a neat opportunity to work with a local nursery and local expertise," Raines said.

Raines said the key factors they watch during reclamation are vegetation and wildlife. Hecla also does a wide range of fishery and water quality monitoring, something Raines said started prior to when mining operations began in the 1970s. He noted that ground water samples have been taken for more than 35 years. "This started prior to operations and data shows operations and the tailings facility essentially have no environmental impact on water quality or aquatic life," Raines stated of the Hecla data.

Though the majority of the reclamation project thus far has focused on the tailing storage facility area, Raines said Hecla has also been working on demolition of the former mill facility and nearby buildings, which are on Forest Service public lands. Along with completing the demolition, Hecla in the future will work on revegetation of the mill area similar to what is being done at the tailing storage facility, as well as closing portals which provided access to the mine's underground operations. The company also will install long-term water management features at the site. Though there is no target date of completion for the Troy Mine project, Raines said they are anticipating several more years of reclamation activities. The company is working with DEQ throughout the process. Raines said the company has good working relationship with both the state DEQ and the U.S. Forest Service.

Raines also stated that Hecla's relationship with the public continues to be positive. He noted the company is reaching out to Troy Mine neighbors and providing updates on the reclamation efforts. "We haven't really had much negative feedback or concerns," said Raines, who has been on the Troy Mine project for three years. "We maintain a strong, positive relationship with the community."