WALLACE - U.S. Silver and Gold laid off 126 employees Tuesday from the Galena Mine Complex.

During a mandatory meeting at the old Wallace High School gymnasium Tuesday morning for the entire staff of the Galena Mine, Steve Long, the senior vice president of U.S. Silver and Gold, announced that the company reduced the mine's workforce by 126 staff members, effective immediately.

Long, who addressed the large crowd by microphone, first read from a statement released by Darren Blasutti, the company's president and CEO. Blasutti blames the low price of silver for the cuts in the company's workforce, which will also see direct effects to the amount of production and operation at Galena.

Blasutti and the board of directors of U.S. Silver and Gold will take a voluntary 20 percent pay cut, according to the U.S. Silver and Gold website.

U.S. Silver and Gold, meanwhile, finished Tuesday up four cents at 6.67 percent on the stock market.

The layoff will affect more than 30 percent of Galena Mine employees, including both the hourly and salary staff. Long said that the hourly staff will be reduced from 283 to roughly 180 employees, while the staff on salary will be cut from 68 to 45 employees.

"I have no doubt this is survivable," said Mel Baillie, an employee of the Galena Mine. Baillie was hired in 2006 and is currently working in the mine's hoisting department.

"It's the human factor that is so sad," he said. "A lot of the younger guys are up and coming miners." He noted that the layoff will greatly impact entry-level employees.

"The layoff is due to two things: the depressed mineral prices and the company's want to make more money," Baillie said.

Long added during Tuesday's meeting that mining will continue in certain areas of the complex.

"We will mine areas that we have high confidence in and that are currently efficient. And we will continue to develop areas that have potential," he said.

The mine will continue efforts to maximize revenue through a Small Mine Plan, Long said. Besides the cuts to the workforce, the number of operating stopes will be reduced while a 50 percent increase in grade will be put into place.

The mine is also seeking to develop the silver/copper Silver Halo area, which has the highest grade potential.

The plan puts the Coeur shaft and Coeur mill on care and maintenance and states, "milling of both silver/copper and silver/lead ore will be campaigned through the Galena Mill."

Employees affected by the layoff will be notified by a letter in the mail, which will either tell them to stand down or to continue working through the 60-day notice period effective through Sept. 16.

"None of us have a crystal ball," Long said Tuesday. "We can't see into the future."

Several workers posed questions to Long after he broke the news. He made sure to communicate that the mine is attempting to set the stage for improved silver prices in the future.

"Until [silver] prices come back up, that is when we will gear up," he said.