Pro-mine rally scheduled in Libby today

 The Montanore Positive Action Committee is sponsoring a rally in support of the Montanore Mine Project today at 4 p.m. at Fireman’s Park in Libby.  

The rally is intended to garner broad-based support of the Montanore Project and to demonstrate community engagement in bringing a significant number of new jobs to Lincoln County. The theme of the rally is “Jobs not hand-outs; work not welfare.”

“We are hoping that this rally will show all the regulatory agencies that we stand ready to assist them in moving this project forward,” commented Alvin Benitz, chairperson for the Positive Action Committee.

“Actions speak louder than words. A large community presence at this rally will send a positive message that the people of Lincoln County support the Montanore Mine Project, and that we all recognize the positive impact it will have on the economy in our communities,” said Benitz. “With the unemployment rate now at 20.2 percent in Lincoln County, this absolutely necessary project will breathe new life into Libby and Troy Montana.”

According to Western Economic Services, a Portland based company that conducts economic impact studies throughout the Northwest, for every mining job created, 3.3 ancillary jobs will be created in the adjacent communities. 

Mines Management projects 246 new jobs by year five of the project, and the creation of an additional 817 jobs in the communities of Libby and Troy.

The project is in its seventh year of a permitting process that normally takes three years. 

“This project really needs to have a Record of Decision on the permit by December 2011,” said Pat Pezzelle, MPAC member.  “Mines Management Inc., parent company of the Montanore Mineral Corporation has already spent millions of dollars in satisfying the concerns of interested parties and government regulators.  Should the current permitting process continue to be delayed,  Lincoln County is in danger of losing this project altogether.  This project is our chance to rise above the gloom and doom of our asbestosis reputation, to that of a community that can resolve its past and move forward to rebuild itself. If we let this opportunity slip through our fingers, it will be a socio/economic disaster that could take us several decades to overcome.

“The community can make this project a reality by attending the rally, actively engaging their support, and serving notice that we collectively want a permit issued for the Montanore Project.”