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Show Thursday, November 22, WWa Csi7 prfsco, VTJLLAN, Idaho (AP) Tbe miners who toil bare in dark, Jg mld conditions a mSe below grand ask the question with lncrcatia regularity. How long caa the Lucky Friday Mine stay open with the price of tilver at its lowest level in 14 years? Answers vary, depending on the source. Cocanoditiea and stock brokers say mine closures in northern Idaho's Silver .Valley are inevitable soon. But producers disagree; they're bullish on silver's long-terfuture. , ' "I'm not predicting there wont be a shutdown at the Lucky Friday. We evaluate the mine on a m month-to-mont- basis," said Art h Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Heda Mining Co. in Coeur d'Alene. "But today, there are no plans to shut the mine down." .5 Business leaders throughout the region are keeping a nervous eye on the mining companies these days, hoping they can weather the storm of adverse market condi r ' gOGoo tions. , .' Mint ciotsras or layoffs would put a crimp In the Inland Northwest economy, particularly in parts of northern Idaho that only recently have rebounded from mine closure of the early lOs. ' So far, the mining companies are sending out tbe signals the business coffltnunlty wants to see. Even sQver producers that are losing money say they're determined to stay the course. It still costs more to close a mine mas it does to sell silver for less than the price of production. In addition, some silver mines also produce industrial metals as by-from those metals Eoducts. Profits losses from silver. The views A Harold Ireland, vice president for County, where Inland Northwest's pockctbook. Should there be substantial mine layoffs, she explained, corresponding layoffs likely would occur in the timber industry, since some forest products companies produce mine timbers. "The mining industry also has a very large impact on the economy through the spending of its workers," Tacke said. "Mining is a industry." Miners earn from $19 an hour to $200 a day, depending on their Jobs. Many also are eligible for profit sharing, further boosting annual v Dallas-base- d Sunshine Mining Co., typify those prevalent in the Silver Valley. "We have no intention of considering closing our mine," he said of the company's massive silver mine near Kellogg. "TheoreticaDy, even if silver went to zero, it wouldn't change our operation; not in tbe short-term- one out of four workers is a miner. Kathrrn Tacke, a labor market analyst for the Idaho Department of Employment, said layoffs In the mining industry would reach deep into the high-payin- g incomes. silver prices dipped below an ounce in the early 1930s, thousands of workers lost their Jobs. Now, as the price bounces above and below the $4.23 mark, miners wonder whether they will When $5 .' pocatog) on tfie inmpoBTioos That's good news for the entire region, but especially for Shoshone lose their Jobs once again. "It's really a question of how much red ink these guys can eat," one market observer said. "There has to be a moment of truth sometime soon." That moment of truth already has arrived In mining regions outside the Inland Northwest. Nerco Minerals Co. recently announced plans to dose its Candelaria silver mine in Nevada. And Teck Corp., a Canadian firm, plans to close the BeaverdeO Mine in Kelowna, British Columbia, Toy January. Beaver-del- l, one of Canada's oldest mines, started producing silver in 1898. So it's understandable that miners in eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle worry about job security. Silver's ride this year has bellied even the most stubborn bulls. The price dipped below the $5 mark for the first time in several months early last summer. In August, the metal reached a low of ar an ounce. Today, mining companies would welcome that price. But what surprises analysts more $4.77 THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, 1990 ; Page C3 dig F !; M A than tbe drop in silver prices is the durability of its producers. Ia the weeks ahead, they say, the difference between employed miners and unemployed miners will be the diversity of the companies they work for. Companies like Hecla, which depend on silver for a relatively small percentage of annual profits, are expected to make it through the latest market slide. saies iasx year came irom silver,:; while 34 percent came from the,; sale of ball clay, an industrial!; mineral mined in the South. The," company lost $1.8 million on silver;? operations during the first three-quart- ers of 1990, but gold mining;, earned nearly $18 million. Bunker Hill Mining Co., operator;-o- f the historic Bunker Hill Mine; got just 10 percent of its 19S9' revenue from silver. Seventy per-.'- ; fent rnmo from in anH tha rest' from lead. But analysts place question marks next to the names of compa- nies like Sunshine, whose silver operations account for 50 percent oi total annual revenues. Whether layoffs occur will depend on the extent to which a "But there s really no way to,' downplay what's happened to silver'J prices," Bunker Hill President Jack Kendrick said. "We're simply coping. If we had decent prices, wet probably would have another mineS' open right now, employing 75 to 80 1 , I; people." He referred to the Crescent Mine, east of Kellogg. It was moth balled in 1935, but could be reacti-- ;' . vated if silver prices reached $7 an '. ounce, Kendrick said. 't "I've been in the business for 25 years and I've never seen anything ', like this," he said. company has insulated itself against adverse market conditions for precious metals. Silver's fall is cushioned, to some degree, by the prices of other industrial metals. Lead and zinc, for example, are byproducts of silver production at the Lucky Friday, as well as the Bunker Hill Mine in Kellogg. Both metals sell at prices high enough to offset some losses from silver production. Only 25 percent of - Heck's total as TEW DOWNTOWW PROVO DAY SHOPPERS tts onlsrs Levor RUST COIN .d raise & SPORTS CARDS BRIGHT INVESTMENTS FOR '90 rear odds. TRAIN AND RAILROAD SPECIALISTS Prwo 140 Wat Cma Street MODEL U 374-030- 10 IFF. nun VSSIf&s store and get IftttOFP AMY PURCHASE of Trains and Train Supplies Expires Dec. 24th, 1990 it Are curently at levels for great future potential CARDS 5 DRIIIG THIS AD INTO GOLD & SILVER SPORTS Controlling your blood pressure can reduce your chances of heart disease. Have your blood pressure checked. And keep it in check for life. We Carry an Extensive Line of Sports Cards. Largest In The State. Complete line of U.S. & Foreign Coins Major dealer in Silver Coins and .999 bars Famous for fairness RUST COIN & SPORT CARDS' 135 W. Center Provo UNBELIEVABLE SAVINGS American Heart Association Factory SeL.....10.00 and up WAX Packs 10$ and up WERE FGHWJG FOR VOUR LIFE 373-305- 9 J HOP-DOWNTOW- PROVO THIS CHRISTMA N FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 IN PROVO "ry $$$ PARADE & SANTA . LIGHTING CEREMONY BELLS OF CHRISTMAS 2 Tabernacle Nativity Display 4 PM NATIVITY PAGEANT Provo Tabernacle 7 PM P;M CHRISTMAS EVENTS IN DOWNTOWN PROVO AREA 1990 November 23: The Utah County "Christmas at Home Parade. University Avenue, Provo, between North and 100 South. The Parade starts at 4:00 pm November 23: Immediately following the Christmas Parade, will be the Downtown Provo Lighting Ceremony. (Approximately 5 p.m. in front of the Provo Tabernacle, 75 South University Avenue.) November 23: 1 000 "The Bells of Christmas Nativity Pageant sponsored by the Women's Division of the Provo-OreChamber of Commerce, wii be in the Provo Tabernacle at 7 p.m. m November 24: November 26: November 30: December 10: Provo Arts Council (Provo Tabernacle). December 1 1 : David Hatch performs Christmas Carols (Provo Tabernacle). December 12: Utah Valley Choral Society (Provo Tabernacle). December 14: Utah Valley Polynesian Choir (Provo Tabernacle). December 15: will be at Startup's Candy Store from Provo. Avenue, University December 15: "Christmas Revels, An old Christmas party for children and adults. Doll Museum, 246 North 100 East, Provo) December BYU Stake Christmas Program (Provo Tabernacle). Santa Claus :45 a.m. to 1 :45 p.m., located at 45 North Santa Claus will be at Startup's Candy Store from 2 pm. to 4 p.m. located at 45 North University Avenue, Provo. Provo Arts Courxa I in the Provo Tabernacle 630 p.m. Flalph Woodward Chorale presents Handers Messiah in the Provo December 2: BYU German Advent at December 3: Utah Valley Children December 6: Utah Valley Symphony (Provo Tabernacle). December 8: Utah Valley Choral Society presents the Messiah Sing 630 p.m., 1 6: (1 30 p.m. at the McCurdy Ta'wnacle at 730 p.m. in the Provo Tabernacle. December 18: Meridian December 21 : "Love Light" - Christmas entertainment performed by Joyce Christiansen (Provo Tabernacle 730-10:00- December 9: 1 1 School Christmas Concert (Provo Tabernacle). ). Choir (Provo Tabernacle). Santa Claus December 22: Tenth annual "Carols by Candlelight will be at Startup's Candy Store from University Avenue, Provo. In (Provo Tabernacle). Decexnber 24: Christmas Eve Mass West). 1 1 :45 a.m. to 1 ;45 p.m., located at 45 North - 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. (St. Francis Catholic Church, 1 72 North 500 by "Friends of the Provo Library" and North University the McCurdy Doll Museum, Held at the Provo Community Church, 175 Avenue, at 730 p.m. i 5l i i |