A young miner's wife listened to Wednesday's Lucky Friday employee conference call with her husband.

"I'm so mad, my whole body is tingling," she said.

She said she's unhappy that they heard of the Hecla mine's planned closure through updates from the News-Press instead of her husband's employer.

"There's just nothing any of us can do," she said, "and that's the worst part because this is our (livelihood)."

She said that despite the fact that the Mine Safety and Health Administration claims to have good intentions, it doesn't always seem that way.

"Lucky Friday was cleared to have guys working underground last week and then MSHA comes back with another reason why they can't," the wife said. "It's ridiculous! (Was the shaft) not a problem then? They are just continuously trying to find reasons to fine an extremely successful mine."

Her husband said to his knowledge, the material Hecla needs to clean isn't a threat to workers.

"It's really not even loose," the miner said, "and it won't be until they start cleaning it out. No one I know of at work thinks that there is any hazard with it, along with management at the mine."

The material has been there for decades, he said.

The couple expressed concerns about fellow employees and the local economy.

"(Hecla will) probably lose a lot of good employees who will have to tramp out and go work for other mines here and in different states," she said.

"I think the local economy will take a big hit, seeing how most of us are going to go elsewhere for work," the miner added, "and won't be spending our money here as much."

The miner's wife has since had to return to the workforce, trying to put in at least 60 hours per week to make ends meet, while attending North Idaho College.

"It's all just devastating," she said.