A coalition of environmental groups has sued the Trump administration after it expedited permitting for a proposed copper and silver mine near Libby.  When the federal government greenlit the project last year, it claimed the proposed Libby Exploration Project would boost Lincoln County’s str uggling economy while also providing the nation with essential minerals. However, environmental groups have argued that the mine could drain water from a wilderness area home to threatened grizzlies, wolverines and bull trout. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the Cabinet Resource Group, the Clark Fork Coalition, Earthworks, the Montana Environmental Information Center, Save Our Cabinets and the Yaak Valley Forest Council. The suit was filed in federal court in Missoula on Tuesday by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization. “The Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, one of the first 10 wilderness areas receiving protection under the 1964 Wilderness Act, is treasured by locals and visitors alike, and should not be exploited by mining companies for profit,” said Mary Costello, director of Save Our Cabinets, in a press release. “We are fighting to preserve the integrity of this special place for generations of people and wildlife to come.“ Spearheaded by Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co., the Libby Exploration Project, formally known as the Montanore Mine, was among 10 mining projects added last year to the U.S. Forest Service’s “FAST-41” permitting dashboard. The addition came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to increase mineral production, especially on federal lands. The Libby Exploration Project was first proposed in the early 1980s. Soon after, a nearly horizontal 14,000-foot exploratory mine shaft, called an adit, was built to access the copper and silver deposits. Some estimates suggest there are 500 million ounces of silver and 4 billion pounds of copper beneath the Cabinet Mountains. Montanore was owned by a series of small mining companies until 2016, when Hecla Mining Co. purchased it for $30 million. The previous year, Hecla had acquired Revett Mining Co., which owned the proposed Rock Creek Mine in Sanders County. The acquisition of the Montanore and Rock Creek projects by Hecla was celebrated by local officials in northwest Montana. Hecla currently operates in Alaska, Idaho and Quebec.  Under previous owners, the Montanore and Rock Creek projects received a patchwork of state and federal approvals to start exploration. However, in February 2022, Hecla withdrew those plans and started over, focusing solely on Montanore. Hecla still owns the Rock Creek Mine but has said it will not seek exploration permits for the project until the Libby Exploration Project moves forward.  Hecla’s proposed plan of operation involves drying the existing adit, which is about half-filled with water, and extending it an additional 4,200 feet until it is directly above the deposit. The company also plans to build another 6,300 feet of tunnels to support its exploration. The effort to evaluate the quality of the deposit would span 16 years, culminating in the eventual closure of the adit and reclamation of the site. Hecla officials have said the company will likely employ 30 to 35 people during the project’s construction, exploration and reclamation phases. The project still needs a discharge permit from the state, but mine officials are optimistic it will be approved this year. Additionally, the company is actively seeking partners to participate in the exploration phase. But environmental groups, including those involved in the lawsuit filed this week, have argued that the government’s permitting of the project was rushed and didn’t consider how it would affect the wilderness above. The groups are especially concerned about what the expanded adit could do to surface lakes and streams. “It’s truly remarkable that we are seriously talking about issuing a permit for a mine that will intrude upon designated wilderness,” said Derf Johnson, deputy director of the Montana Environmental Information Center, in a press release. “There are some places you just should not permit a mine, and this is one of them. Some of the cleanest waters in the Lower 48, a refuge for endangered species such as grizzly bears and bull trout, and one of the first wilderness areas ever created. It’s just a terrible spot for opening a mine.” In a statement to MTFP, Hecla’s director of government affairs, Mike Satre, wrote that the company was committed to developing the copper and silver mine responsibly. It also said that it planned to move forward with the project while litigation proceeds.  “The project approval and finding of no significant impact reflect extensive agency analysis, stakeholder engagement, and input from the local community. We appreciate the diligence the USFS and other participating agencies applied throughout this process as well as the local community support,” Satre wrote. “Projects like Libby are essential to domestic critical mineral production and ensuring these resources are developed under the strong environmental standards that exist in the United States.” The post Environmental groups sue Trump administration over Libby mine approval appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less