Montanore Minerals’ Libby Mine exploration project is a go after Kootenai National Forest officials signed off on it last week.

The decision was lauded by Montana’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines.

“The Libby Exploration Project will provide good-paying Montana mining jobs without harming our beautiful lands and will help unlock the high value of world class copper and silver,” Daines said in a statement. “President Trump’s administration has proven yet again that they are committed to protecting Made-In-Montana energy and supporting Montana miners. I look forward to seeing the positive impacts this project will have on our state and our nation as we continue to unlock America’s full mining potential,” said Daines.

Many area residents and advocates say the project will unlock “world-class” copper and silver deposits. Officials cite the jobs that will be created as well as the mushroom effect of more spending in the local communities.

Lincoln County’s unemployment rate is currently at 4.6%, second-highest in the state, according to state figures for August. 

Opponents cite the possible pollution of Libby Creek, a major tributary to the Kootenai River, as well as adverse affects on imperiled fish and wildlife species, such as bull trout, grizzly bears and wolverines.

In February, Daines, along with fellow Sen. Tim Sheehy and Congressmen Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing, signed a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore in February 2025 urging the approval of the Libby Exploration Project. 

Daines also spoke in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing about the importance of the project.

“The project will provide the necessary information to advance the project and ultimately unlock the value of a world class copper and silver deposit southwest of Libby, Montana,” Daines said.

Montanore Minerals, a subsidiary of Hecla Mining Company, submitted a plan for operating the Libby Exploration Project to the U.S. Forest Service. The Forest Service accepted public comments as part of the Forest Service’s EA under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The hunt for copper and silver at the edge of the Cabinet Mountain Wilderness began more than 40 years ago when U.S. Borax bought old mine claims. 

Then, Canadian-based Noranda Minerals Corp. bought the claims and built a 14,000-foot exploratory mine shaft 20 miles south of Libby, just outside of the wilderness boundaries.

Hecla’s Director of Environmental Operations Marty Stearns told Montana Public Radio that exploration wouldn’t cause any more surface disturbance.

“We have 11.6 acres disturbed here. This project will disturb no more. And that's, this is all private land, privately owned. So the only thing that's happening under Forest Service is it's all underground,” Stearns said.

Half of the mine shaft, called an adit, is currently underwater. Hecla’s plan is to dewater that area. The work includes removing waste rock and drilling boreholes.

The exploration will determine if it is economically viable to mine.

Hecla officials say mining is still a decade away if it’s proven to be worth it.

Forest Service officials said that if Hecla pursues full-scale mining in the future, the company will need to submit a new proposal and undergo additional environmental review. 

Experts say the Cabinet Mountains hold vast mineral reserves — an estimated 500 million ounces of silver and 4 billion pounds of copper.

Hecla plans to extend the tunnel by 4,200 feet and build more tunnels for exploration. To manage increased waste rock, it would expand the existing storage area and build a second site. 

Hecla, based in Coeur d’Alene, has operated since 1891, is the largest silver producer in the U.S. and Canada. They currently operate mines in Idaho (Lucky Friday), Canada and Alaska (Greens Creek). According to information on their website, Hecla has 10 locations slated for exploration. They include Rock Creek (Noxon, Montana), Silver Valley/Star (Wallace, Idaho) as well as locations in Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Quebec, Durango, Mexico and the Yukon in Canada.

Hecla has been fined and paid hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements over the years in relation to its mining activities.

In 2011, it settled a suit with the U.S. government, state of Idaho and Coeur d'Alene Tribe for $263.4 million to resolve claims stemming from releases of wastes from its mining operations at the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site in northern Idaho.

In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency fined Hecla’s Greens Creek Mine, located on Admiralty Island near Juneau, Alaska, fined $143,124 for violating hazardous waste management involving lead and disposal requirements.

Also, Hecla was labeled a "bad actor" in Montana because its former CEO, Phillips Baker Jr., was a senior executive at Pegasus Gold, a company that went bankrupt in 1998 and left behind unreclaimed mining sites and cleanup obligations. A lawsuit was filed in 2024 to enforce Montana's "bad actor" law, which prevents individuals or companies with outstanding cleanup obligations from starting new mining projects. This lawsuit was dismissed after Baker retired in July 2024.