Silver Valley Mining Association

• Local Silver (and Gold) Mines
  • February 2008: Press Releases by Hecla Mining Company and Independence Lead Mines Company       
    Hecla to Acquire Assets of Independence Lead Mines
     
    
  • February 2008: Press Release by New Jersey Mining Company       
    New Jersey Mining signed a term sheet with Newmont North American Exploration Limited under which the parties propose to create a joint venture to explore for gold deposits north of Murray, Idaho.
     
    
  • December 2007: Press Release by Sterling Mining Company       
    Sterling Mining Commences Production at Sunshine Mine
    production of 2.8 million ounces of silver forecast for 2008
     
    
  • December 2006: Internet Reprint by David Bond
    Ain't No Chalk Lines Here
    (bottom line: "This great camp is gonna rock.")
     
    
  • April, 2006: Newspaper Article, Shoshone News-Press
    Galena Mine will be sold. Company leaving valley, but jobs expected to stay.
     
    
  • March 2006: Internet Reprint by David Bond
    Whither Galena? or Much A-Brewin' In The Old Mining Camp
     
    
  • October 2004: Guest Editorial/Commentary by Jim Ebisch
    Understanding Montana's Controversial Rock Creek Mine
     
    
• Silver as Medicine
  • January 2006: Internet Reprint by Jennifer Savedge
    The History of Silver in Medicine
     
    
  • November 2005: Magazine Article, Business 2.0
    The Ultimate Silver Lining
     
    
  • March 2005: Feature Story, Wound News
    New Silver Bandages May Help Heal Wounds
     
    
  • February 2005: Newspaper Article, Shoshone News-Press
    More silver bandages to help relief efforts
     
    
• Silver Coins
  • August 2005: Newspaper Article, Shoshone News-Press
    [Bob Hopper] Forever set in silver
     
    
• Silver Economy
  • February 2006: Internet Reprint by David Bond
    The Paradigm Shift Is Here or Everybody Must Be Stoned
     
    
  • January 2005: Newspaper Article by Josh Wright
    Idaho legislator wants option of paying state taxes with silver, gold
     
    
  • November 2004: China Trip Report and Editorial by Dave Bond
    Thinking Asia
     
    
• SVMA Reports
  • December 2005: SVMA Annual Report by Jann Higdem
    Letter to our Members
     
    
  • December 2004: SVMA Report by Marlene Young
    Contributions to Local Charities & Sponsorships in the Silver Valley
     
    
  • June 2005: SVMA Report by Jann Higdem and Lex Smith
    SVMA Office is now also a STORE
     
    
• Silver Valley Happenings
  • October 2005: Newspaper Article, Shoshone News-Press
    London Man visits Center of the Universe
     
    
  • September 2005: SVMA Report, by Dave Bond
    Silver Summit 2005 Reprise
     
    
  • July 2005: SVMA Report by Lex Smith
    Natural Resources Education Outreach, Inc.
     
    
  • May 2005: SVMA Report by Jann Higdem
    Sunshine Mine Fire Disaster Memorial Ceremony
     
    
  • April 2005: SVMA Report by Jann Higdem
    A Very Productive Month for SVMA!
     
    

Shoshone News-Press — Mullan, Idaho — February 19, 2008 — Hecla Mining Company and Independence Lead Mines Company signed an agreement February 12, 2008, for Hecla to acquire substantially all of the assets of Independence Lead Mines Company (ILM).

"This transaction not only guarantees that Hecla will receive 100% of the the future profits of the Lucky Friday Mine, but also helps to consolidate our land position in the Morning Star District," said Hecla President and CEO Phillips S. Baker, Jr.

Included in the ILM assets of the Silver Valley company are the West Independence property and ILM's mining claims pertaining to the DIA agreement with the Lucky Friday mine, which includes any future interest or royalty obligation to ILM. The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders of ILM.

In exchange for the assets, Hecla will distribute 6,936,884 of its common shares to ILM shareholders at the rate of 1.2 Hecla shares [HL:NYSE] for each share of Independence Lead, according to ILM President Bernard C. Lannen. ... "We feel the agreement is best for our shareholders, giving good value and the opportunity to continue to participaate in the metals market as Hecla shareholders," said Lannen.

The value of the transaction depends on what Hecla's shares are priced at during closing. [last trade on 02/19/08 was $10.01]

Kellogg, Idaho — February 6, 2008 — New Jersey Mining Company (NJMC: OTCBB) is pleased to announce that it has signed a term sheet with Newmont North American Exploration Limited, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) under which the parties propose to create a joint venture to explore for gold deposits within a 38 square mile area north of Murray, Idaho. The proposed joint venture is subject to a 60-day title due diligence period by Newmont and will require the parties to negotiate final terms and prepare, approve and execute a definitive joint venture agreement. The joint venture will cover all of NJMC’s mining claims within this area except the Niagara property. Under the proposed terms, Newmont can earn a 51% interest in the joint venture by spending $2,000,000 over three years, and Newmont can increase its interest to 70% by spending an additional $10,000,000 or completing a feasibility study in the years four through seven, whichever comes first. The joint venture will be named the Toboggan Project.

Press Release PDF file

Wallace, Idaho — December 20, 2007 — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sterling Mining Company (TSX: SMQ / OTCBB: SRLM / FSE: SMX) today announced that it has resumed initial production at the Sunshine Mine in Idaho, USA. This announcement caps off an extremely productive year for Sterling Mining Company which included becoming listed on Canada's senior exchange, the TSX; a successful fundraising of US$24.7 million; and completion of Sunshine Mine's technical report compliant to Canada's National Instrument 43-101 (the "43 101 Report").

The 43-101 Report outlines a production forecast for 2008, amounting to 2.8 million ounces of silver with additional copper and lead credits, based on an average milling rate of 479 dry short tons per day for the year. Building on this startup mill throughput for 2008, Sterling anticipates a steady increase in production over the next three years until an average daily processing rate of 1,000 tons per day is achieved.

The first shipment of concentrate, which left the Mine site this morning for Teck Cominco's Trail British Columbia smelter, comes from processing of newly mined ores.

Also this week, Sunshine Mine has resumed mining activities on lower levels after a methodical and intense four-year process to rehabilitate, improve and re-commission the Mine after its closure by previous operators in 2001.

With renovation of the Silver Summit hoist and rehabilitation of the Silver Summit shaft to the 3000 foot level, Sunshine Mine's secondary escapeway system is now complete. Sterling crews are resuming mining activities from 2700 foot and 3100 foot level workplaces idled at closure. Ores from these levels, at closure, averaged 23.6 ounces of silver per ton. In addition to mining activities being resumed on the lower levels, crews are also processing material from Upper Country drifting and exploration.

Sterling's President Ray De Motte said, "The credit for this historical event goes to the men and women at the Sunshine Mine. Without their expertise, teamwork and relentless efforts this simply would not be possible. We are grateful to the community, employees, vendors, support of shareholders, investors and investment bankers TD Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc., and look forward to achieving our goal of long-term sustainable production."

More....

Silver Valley Mining Journal, December 31, 2006

Wallace, Idaho – Those vultures who were drawing chalk lines around the supposed corpse of the Silver Valley just a few years ago had better atone right now, either by the utterance of Hail Marys, or by singing a dozen full renditions of “O, Canada.”

Because 2006 was a year for the books in this venerable mining camp, it portends great things in 2007 for silver investors and silver junkies who know where the good stuff comes from.

Twenty-oh-six rang in with the liberation of the district's midsection by U.S. Silver Corp. from Coeur d'Alene Mines, and rang out with the acquisition by an upstart Canadian miner, Strategic Nevada Resouces, of the Crescent mine. In between, Canadians Aura Silver and Silverfields leased up chunks of ground on the western- and eastern-most flanks, respectively, of the camp.

Local miners New Jersey (NJMC) and Sterling (SRLM) advanced their goals – New Jersey by adding a leach circuit to produce dore at their mill instead of shipping concentrates all the way to Mexico; Sterling by poking more holes in the Sunshine mine's upper country, advancing the Sterling Tunnel, and by adding steadily to their work force, now over 30. Bunker Hill is thrumming along nicely, thanks for asking, and Hecla, well, that's a story in and of itself.

In researching the obligatory year-end thumb-sucker for the 1 January 2007 issue of Platt's Metals Week, one of the McGraw-Hill companies, we found CEOs and presidents of all stripes more hopeful than even (dare we say it?) 1979 or 1965. Here is Hecla's (HL) CEO, Phil Baker:

"In 2007, we are going to conduct the first generative exploration program on Hecla's 40 square miles of Silver Valley properties, looking for exploration targets, for the first time in perhaps 50 years. We're picking up all the data on the land that we have, and will be evaluating that data to decide if there's new mines to be discovered in our land package. ... Why all of these developments are taking place now? Because for the last 20 years we've been in a price environment that prevented us from exploring. Now is the time for us to do the work and, hopefully, to make the investments. We are very much in a growth mode."

Hecla intends to upgrade its 1,100 tonnet/day mill at its flagship Lucky Friday silver mine on the Coeur d'Alene District's east end. The company will also improve the ventilation to permit mining below the Lucky Friday's current depths. "We now have a resource of 100-million oz of silver, and at the rate we're mining, it would take 25 years to produce it," said Baker. "The exploration programs we initiated in 2006 will continue through 2007 regardless of the silver price, although I doubt that price is going to go down much."

New mines? Can you say Star? Hercules? Dayrock? Tamarack? Forty square miles of land in the world's richest silver district? You betcha they're looking. And to meet Phil Baker is to immediately like him. And Baker actually likes this place. Imagine that. Hecla may not move its corporate headquarters back to Wallace any time soon, but trust us, their heart has returned. Gus Voltolini would be proud. For most of the 30 years we have been covering this district, Hecla has had one foot out of the door. But Hecla has just turned over its hole card, and guess what it says? Here's a hint: the first word on the card is Lucky.

We started the year with an upstart Wallace High School grad, John Ryan, who formed up U.S. Silver Corporation to acquire the Coeur, Caladay and Galena assets – three mines and two mills – from the formerly great Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. Acquiring Coeur's three Idaho properties made perfect sense for a guy able to raise more than $20 million: $15 million for the purchase from Coeur, and the balance to explore, develop and make infrastructure improvements.

Says Ryan, "The Silver Valley has been on its death bed many, many times, going back to the early days" and it managed to bounce back, said Ryan. "It's a good, old camp – and there's no shortage of ore." U.S. Silver is in the process of merging with Chryalis Capital (CYX.P-V) and will come out shortly with a new trading symbol.

Like Hecla, US Silver undertook an extensive geologic review of its land package around Galena, having first throttled production back from 600 st/day to 200 st/day and reducing its workforce by nearly 50percent.

The company is now ready to ramp production back up to 800 tonnes per day, utilising both the Coeur and Galena mills in 2007 for ore recovery – Galena for silver-copper tetrahedrite ores and the currently-idle Coeur mill for lead-silver sulfide material, according to Ryan. US Silver intends to spend $4 million to $5 million in 2007 on exploration and boost silver production.

"We're just marching right along on our business plan; we expect silver production to be about 3.2 million oz in 2007," Ryan said. "I feel confident we will be successful, and we're in the Silver Valley for the long haul.".

Sterling President Ray DeMotte said the company has had no difficulty attracting experienced hands back to the Sunshine. "We are bringing back to the Sunshine many bright people who left the Silver Valley during the price depression of the 1980s and 1990s, and they're glad to be coming home," DeMotte said. Sterling's complement of 30 will increase toward year-end 2007, as the silver mine, which produced more than 300 million ounces between 1884 and 2002, returns to production late in '07 or early in 2008. Sterling bootstrapped off the Pink Sheets earlier this year to become a fully reporting company – no mean feat for an outfit over 100 years old.

Canadian explorer Aura Silver (AUU.V) has high hopes for the venerable old Pine Creek mining district on Bunker Hill's west edge. Aura has scheduled exploration activities in the historic zinc mining district and think they'll find silver there. "What better strategy than to go into established camps not exposed to modern exploration and mining techniques?" says Aura CEO Paul Pitman. "I think the Coeur d'Alene District is going to be our company-builder. What can be done in a week with a helicopter would on foot have cost you a fortune, and years, a decade ago. Previously you looked for gold, silver or lead. Now there’s all sorts of pathfinder elements that can now measure minute quantities. It’s a combined regional play on the camp on the northern end of Bunker Hill,” Pitman said. Watch these guys for news on Pine Creek.

Not to be outdone, explorers Timberline (TBLC.OB) and Silverfields (SF.V) are poking around the Coeur d'Alene District's east end, in the shadow of the Lucky Friday's headframe. Interesting geology in that neck of the woods, where the Revett Fault leaves the Coeur d'Alenes and the Montana Copper-Sulfide belt kicks in.

And we ended the old year and ring in the new with the newest kid on the block: Strategic Nevada Resources (SNS.V) who on Tuesday, Jan. 2 will assume ownership of the Crescent Silver Mine smack dab between Bunker Hill and Sunshine. SNS has let no grass grow under their feet. Right after the mid-December court house auction (which broke a few hearts of mining companies who wanted Crescent but weren't in a position to make the lunge) Strategic Nevada President Neil Linder announced the hiring of long-time Coeur d'Alene District geologist Brian White and the appointments to SNS's board of long-time mining executive Tom Fudge, who managed both the Lucky Friday mine in northern Idaho and the La Camorra gold mine in Venezuela for Hecla, and Dr. Ishuing Wu, formerly U.S. Exploration Manager for Chevron Resources, Exxon Minerals, Kennecott Exploration, Great Wall Gold Corp., and General Minerals Corp.

Lastly, we would be remiss not to mention Silver Royal Apex, a new company founded by former Coeur d'Alene Mines CEO and mine-finder nonpareil Justin Rice, which is kicking rocks north of the Osburn Fault to find what may be a mirror-image of the rich Silver Belt on the south of the fault. There's a very good chance another billion or two ounces may be found in that unexplored territory.

So, silver fans, 2006 was indeed a year for the record books for the old Silver Valley and the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, now 120 years old and going strong. And long overdue. After all, how long can you trip over 20-ounce mill-heads in your dash to Bolivia or some other Bolshevik dictatorship? The silver is here, and so are the people with the will to mine it. Thus we enter 2007 with this prediction – nay, a promise: This great camp is gonna rock.

Shoshone News-Press, April 11, 2006

Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. is leaving the valley that birthed it with the sale of the 53-year-old Galena Mine.

The company announced Monday that it has struck a deal to sell the mine and other properties in Idaho's Silver Valley to a privately held company, U.S. Silver Corp., for $15 million. The sale is expected to close by June 1.

"It's kind of tough to see a name like Coeur d'Alene Mines leave the valley. They've been here forever," said Vince Rinaldi, executive director of the Silver Valley Economic Development Corp., even as he expressed optimism about the new owner's plans for the mine.

The Galena's 180 workers are expected to keep their jobs, and officials at U.S. Silver Corp. said they plan to invest aggressively in the mine in hopes of reversing its downward slide. The Galena lost $2.2 million last year despite rising silver prices.

Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. Chairman Dennis Wheeler declined a request for an interview Monday, but he said in a statement that cash from the sale will be reinvested in more profitable operations. In recent years, the company has focused on low-cost silver properties in South America and Australia.

The Galena is one of the deepest mines in North America, with workers descending roughly a mile underground to extract silver and copper ore. Labor and mining costs, already high, spiked last year amid lower ore grades.

News of the sale, however, saddened Justin Rice, Wheeler's 87-year-old uncle. "It really is a shame. It really breaks my heart, because I was born and raised Coeur d'Alene Mines," said Rice, who retired as the company's chairman in 1992.

Rice's father, Harlow Rice – a baker by trade – helped shepherd the firm from a penny mining stock into a going concern during the 1950s and '60s. Coeur d'Alene Mines was one of many small mining companies that sprang up during the Silver Valley's heyday, but among a select few that went on to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

In addition to the Galena Mine, the sale includes the closed Coeur Mine and other exploration properties in the Silver Valley. Coeur d'Alene Mines operated the properties in conjunction with Asarco Inc. until 1999, when it acquired full ownership. At the time, Wheeler had ambitious plans for the Galena, setting a production goal of 8 million ounces of silver from the mine by 2007. Last year's performance, however, was a disappointing 2.1 million ounces of silver.

The Galena is one of two operating silver mines left in the valley. [The other is Hecla's Lucky Friday in Mullan.]

U.S. Silver Corp. formed specifically to purchase Coeur d'Alene Mines' Silver Valley assets. Even though the Galena doesn't fit Coeur d'Alene Mines' profile for low-cost properties, it's still a valuable mine – particularly with silver prices topping $12 an ounce, said John Ryan, U.S. Silver's chief executive officer. The firm expects to spend heavily on exploration and capital improvements at the Galena, areas where Coeur d'Alene Mines cut back during lean years of low silver prices.

"In order for this mine to be successful in the long term, there needs to be additional discoveries of silver resources," said Mark Hartmann, U.S. Silver's president. Hartmann expects to meet with the mine's employees within the next week to answer questions about the sale. U.S. Silver isn't expecting any changes in the work force in the near term and hopes to expand the number of employees over time, he said. A contract with the hourly workers that expired March 1 has been extended for six months.

Though U.S. Silver is new, both Ryan and Hartmann have ties to the Silver Valley. Ryan graduated from Wallace High School and earned a mine engineering degree from the University of Idaho. He's been involved in a number of startup companies. Hartmann formerly worked for Sunshine Mining Co. U.S. Silver was incorporated in Delaware. Its headquarters will be in Wallace.

Most analysts believe that metals prices are in a period of sustained growth, Ryan said, based on demand from the rapid industrial expansion in China, India, Russia and Brazil. That bodes well for the Galena, which produces copper as well as silver, he said. "We just hope like heck that silver prices stay where they're at," added Rinaldi, director of the Silver Valley EDC. "Those 180 jobs are really important to us."

Wallace, Idaho, 20 March 2006 – So much is happening in the world of Silver these days that it's impossible to take a snapshot of it without getting a blurry image, even at 1/1000th of a second. Even this old mining camp is getting an adrenalin jolt.

Ever since Coeur d'Alene Mines put the Galena silver mine here in Wallace up on the block on Jan. 31, barely a day goes by we don't see some new, very out-of-place corporate jet or turboprop sitting in the ramp at the county airfield (future home of Air Wallace, BTW) which on normal days may see a wayward Piper J-3 or Cessna 172.

Serious suitors for the Galena, which staff have been given until 31 March to get the beasty off Coeur's books, include: Sterling Mining Co., recent acquirers of the Sunshine silver mine; Revett Mining Co., who own the Troy copper-silver producer and the Rock Creek silver-copper property (both former Asarco plays) in western Montana; Hecla Mining Co.; Teck-Cominco; and another unnamed Canadian. The vig is $10 million, with another $10-mil to get Galena back on her feet, our sources tell us.

Galena is a fine silver resource, and in a good year could serve up 5 million ounces. Is it a done resource? Well, Fred Owsley, who for two decades navigated Galena for Asarco through the Coeur d'Alene District's treacherous waters of strikes and layoffs and never endured either, used to say that it is the fate of all mines, great or small, that they end in failure. They run out of ore.

No-one familiar with Galena, and we've combed the heights and depths of this camp, believes Galena is mined-out, or even close to being so. And when we are talking about Galena we are talking about a land package that comprises the entire eastern half of the Silver Belt, or "Dry Belt" of the Coeur d'Alene Mining District and includes four, count'm, four, more or less functional surface-breaching shafts – the Caladay (sunk for former Galena owners Callahan, Hecla and Day Mines to a depth of 5,000 feet by Lovon Fausett and to which we have been to the bottom), Galena's two shafts, and the Coeur Shaft.

Each of these bad boys has a hoist of varying horsepower and capacity and equally important, the Coeur and Galena mine each have a concentrator. A little tweak here and there and one could easily be milling 1,500 tons a day of rock. Galena connects to the Coeur underground, which connects through the old Coeur d'Alene Mine through the Consolidated-Silver to the Sunshine Mine. Only a few hundred feet or so of drifting would connect the Sunshine to the Crescent, which is connected via the Yreka-United Tunnel to the Bunker Hill.

Not to put too harsh a point on it, but Coeur d'Alene Mines let Galena get a tad moth-eaten earlier this decade, when silver was heading south of $4 an ounce and both Coeur and Hecla were being threatened with eviction from the NYSE for failing to keep their common stock out of Dollar Store range. It was a damn difficult time to justify, to the 90-day quick-buck investor mentality, any long-term capital commitments to their properties up here. Hecla, with what in retrospect could have been deemed suicidal timing, stepped up to the plate and tossed $11 million into the Lucky Friday in 2003 when scuttlebutt paid equal weight to rumours they'd pull the pin. The investment paid off; by Feb. 6 of this year, they had doubled their silver reserves (that's reserves, not one of those fancy Canadian words) by 8.7 million ounces at a cost of less than $1.70. That reserve calculation is based on $6.20 silver, 30-cent lead and 44-cent zinc. Hecla CEO Phil Baker, who at 44 is just a kid by mining CEO standards, says the Lucky Friday won't close on his watch, and we believe him.

Galena's a bit different story. A year after Hecla stepped up, CDE's Dennis Wheeler fetched up in the camp to announce a major increase in silver production from Galena. Dennis lied. They didn't make the effort. Contrast CDE's non-effort to that which Hecla put forth at the Lucky Friday. Hecla ventured capital and found silver. Dennis expended nothing and came up with, um, nothing. Coeur's 2004 boost in production and attendant per-ounce cost reduction came at the expense of exploration and development, we are told – activities which were resumed last year at great expense to the bottom line. Added to all that was a run of bad luck; great big expensive hunks of machinery decided to lay an egg, including a key component of one of Galena's hoists; the ground turned ratty on a key heading; some of Galena's best contract "gypo" miners, fearing an early demise of the mine, tramped out, to Stillwater, the Lucky Friday or to Sterling's Sunshine Mine rehabilitation project.

Galena's fate is unknown until the 31st of March, but adding to the chaos is the sudden interest of Dennis Wheeler's estranged uncle, former Coeur President and CEO Justin Rice, who has huge faith in Galena's prospects. Justin doesn't have the money to save Galena, but two years ago he founded Silver Royal Apex (a play on the old penny company that owned the option on what is now Coeur's Rochester property in Lovelock, Nevada) and is staking claims on the north side of the Osburn Fault. Justin has huge faith in Galena and in this district, and coming from a mine-finder of his calibre I will take his word for it that, in the right hands, Galena's and the Coeur d'Alene Mining District's futures are secure.

Coeur is getting out of Dodge. By 2011 the Rochester will be a gob-hole. Meanwhile Uncle Justin clutches a fistful of surveys, re-creating Coeur in his own image as Silver Royal Apex. Watch for his IPO or his private placement. Justin will make you rich because he can't help it.

Let's see, what else? Well, little old New Jersey Mining Co. keeps backing into more gold ore than Newmont ever thought possible at the Golden Chest Mine just up the creek from here. They're talking a 1,500-ton-per-day operation and they'll be shipping silver concentrates next quarter from their Silver Strand mine a short hop north and west of here. Sterling is double-shifting its new adit at the Sunshine, round in round out. Canadians are about to take a major exploration position here. China, hungry for smelter feed, is snooping around the Coeur d'Alene District in a huge way for concentrate contracts. Robert Hopper will shortly need Pinkerton guards to secure his zinc and lead extractions from Bunker Hill. Hecla bought 172 million ounces of reserves for 50 cents an ounce at Friday. And your reward for reading this far: a consortium of European investors is about to do a monster mining land deal here. Stay tuned, Alice; life is getting curioser and curioser. The mining district may have been forgotten on the schoolboards in Wallace and Kellogg, but in Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich, it's been discovered. Major infusions of capital are forthcoming.

Wallace, Idaho, 23 February 2006 – If we can get through the end of next month without serious economic havoc (say, the whole planet blowing up, or a full-tilt outbreak of the bird flu pandemic in Arkansas) it might be safe to dig a few of those rat-holed Maple Leafs, Morgan dollars and Krugerrands out of that backyard coffee can and trade them out for Fednotes at your local pawnbroker or coin-dealer.

But in the middle of a paradigm shift, things move very rapidly, so don’t go reaching for the shovel just yet. Barely had we begun digesting this United Arab Emirates port deal and the terrible bombing of that mosque and near-certain civil war in Iraq when Capitol Hill Blue’s Doug Thompson yesterday unearthed a Secret Service account that Dick Cheney was drunk as a skunk when he shot his lawyer-buddy on that South Texas quail hunt weekend before last. Being liquored-up when you’re handling a gun is never a good idea, but when you’re hunting in that condition it’s a felony in Texas. Doug’s stories usually show up a week or two later in Time or Newsweek, officially vetted by the MSM. Our faithful correspondent Fred Reed grabbed a jug of cheap red wine (Padre Kino) and slunk off to a corner in Mexico to try to make some sense of it all. The wine didn’t help. He wonders if psilocybin might level the playing-field of White House insanity, put things in perspective.

Forget digesting or recovering from a day of cheap red; we were beginning to stagger like a first-round boxer after a right hook from Ali when word arrived from Chris Laird that the Yen-carry trade was about to unwind. Being unsophisticated silver slugs from Wallace, Idaho, we didn’t know there was such a thing as a Yen-carry trade, but it’s been working like this. The Bank of Japan has been charging zero interest on loans for the past 10 years to try to revive the economy. So guys were going to Japan, borrowing Yen for no interest, converting those Yen to dollars, and lending them to us by buying U.S. Treasury notes paying 3 percent interest, or wholesale home mortgages paying a little more. Nice mark-up, if you can get it. Except that the party is about to end, because three quarters of economic growth in Japan will cause its central bank to start raising the borrowing rate.

Writes Laird: “The BOJ literally acts like a central bank of the world through the Yen carry trade, supplying liquidity that finds its way into markets everywhere. The phenomena is a decade old now for the latest manifestation. The last time this level of penetration of the Yen carry trade was reached was just prior to the LTCM collapse. Back then, when the Yen unexpectedly strengthened 20% it caused a massive move out of Borrowed Yen on the Cheap, and caused massive market sell offs world wide, and was a direct cause of the LTCM collapse, where the US FED had to act immediately to bail out banks and illiquid brokerages and financial entities with blank checks to forestall that crisis.”

We started to run from all this chaos like Fed governors abandoning a sinking ship – the second one to do so recently, with 8 years still left in his term, Roger Ferguson, bailed this week – when Libertarian Paul Gallagher and a European think tank, LEAP E2020, simultaneously and without having chatted with each other first, warned of economic calamity within the next bloody month or two.

March, the Europeans noted, is going to be one nasty month. LEAP E2020 “now estimates to over 80 percent the probability that the week of March 20-26, 2006 will be the beginning of the most significant political crisis the world has known since the Fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, together with an economic and financial crisis of a scope comparable with that of 1929.” Why? Because the Iran Oil Bourse will open on the 20th, and the U.S. Fed three days later will quit reporting the M-3 figures, which most accurately reflect the actual amount of dollars floating around there at any given moment. Toss in an “intervention” by the Bush-Blair axis or by Israelis in the Iran nuke mess and the think tank’s estimate of calamity goes to 100 percent.

Hot damn! Meantime, the dollar-denominated value of that coffee can out in the back yard slides along sides, “correcting” from recent “highs.” As David Morgan noted back on 12th December, these “highs,” in terms of 1980 Fednotes, are still half-priced. And if all the foregoing is too weird to sort out even with the help of Dago Red or psychedelic mushrooms, maybe it’s time to dig another hole, and fill up another can with metal and silver stock. There could be as little as four weeks left.

[for eight internet references, see David's original article]

[January 2006]    Since the time of the ancients, silver has been regarded as a quality medicinal product. Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine,”used silver for wounds and to help fend off diseases. In 69 BC, silver nitrate was described in the contemporary pharmacopoeia. During the Napoleonic Wars, the armies of Tsar Alexander lined their water caskets with silver to purify the water for drinking. This practice by the Imperial Russian army was continued through World War I and by some units in the Soviet army in World War II. Silver fell into a period of disuse in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. But interest began to pique again in the 1970s with the emergence of several research studies that clearly showed the efficacy of silver. Over time, research continued on the silver formula that would prove most effective on wounds and in helping the body protect itself against disease.

SILVER HAS LONG BEEN LAUDED for its superior antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. It has been used for centuries on wounds and against disease. And it is used today in both hospitals and homes for cuts, burns, viral and bacterial infections, and colds, as well as for conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and bladder disorders.

Technology today can produce smaller quantities of silver that are vastly more potent than was ever historically possible.

ARE ALL SILVER PRODUCTS THE SAME?

Dr. Eric Rentz is a renowned expert in silver hydrosol preparations. He has had an active medical practice since 1985. He is board certified by the American Osteopathic Association in neuromuscular skeletal medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine and he holds a master of arts degree in organic chemistry. According to Dr. Rentz, when choosing a silver preparation, a silver hydrosol is the only standard for absolute purity.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOOSING A SILVER PREPARATION

So, how can you tell if a silver product is of good quality? The quality of a silver preparation can be difficult to assess with the naked eye. Nevertheless, there are several ways that a consumer can determine which silver product is the best. Here’s what to look for.

• Clarity. Dr. Rentz advises his patients to take a close look at the product. The silver particles must be very small in order for them to be utilized by the body most effectively. “If you cannot see through the suspension or preparation, that means the silver particles are too big to be effective,” he adds.
• Particle Size. A quality silver product should have a very small particle size in order to be most effective. The smaller the size of the particle, the larger the surface area and the greater its effectiveness. According to Dr.Rentz, “Ideally, you should look for a silver hydrosol preparation with silver particles that are under five nanometers in size, because these can be most easily handled by the liver.”
• Ionization. When silver is used as a raw material in a silver preparation it is energy neutral.This means that it will not react well with other substances, such as viruses, fungi and bacteria. In order for a silver hydrosol preparation to be effective, it must contain ions of silver, thus the charged particles of silver that react with bacteria, viruses, fungi and other toxins in the body.
• Concentration. Less is more when it comes to the efficacy of a silver hydrosol preparation. Many products boast high silver concentrations, but this does not necessarily increase their efficacy, and it may in fact make them less desirable. The Environmental Protection Agency has established a daily reference dose for silver in drinking water at 350 micrograms and a critical dose at 1,400 micrograms. Sovereign Silver contains a safe low concentration of 10 ppm of silver (one teaspoon equals 50 micrograms), whereas a product that boasts a silver concentration of 250 ppm or more could easily lead to toxicity.

REFERENCES
Feng, Q.L., et al. “A mechanistic study of the antibacterial effect of silver ions on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.” Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, 2000;52(4)662-8.

What a colossal year for the Association! We opened up a retail store inside the office and on-line at silverminers.org/store.html. It has a modest yet unique inventory of mining related articles such as hats, shirts, coffee cups, and maps. It is also well on its way to being the only store in the nation to blatantly explore the alternative silver markets. We offer 1/3 oz, 1/2 oz, 1 oz and 5 oz .999 fine silver "Sterlings” for sale. We also carry X-Static products, which contain .999 silver threads woven into the fiber! These products are useful on several levels: they are anti-bacterial, anti-odor, anti-static, & thermodynamic. Imagine wearing only one shirt while hunting, camping or working out for a week straight, and still smell “fresh as a daisy!" They are a great base layer as well as outer wear. Colloidal silver is available in a variety of amounts, and “Super Silver” will be on hand soon.

In addition to the unique retail store, the office also sports educational materials on its walls that were donated by local mining companies. Using these materials, we can present a clear picture of how mining is done and the inherent respect the miners and their families deserve. We have pamphlets that remind people of the ordinary things in their lives that contain silver: radios, TV's, computers, batteries, bicycles and much more.

The Silver Valley Mining Association sponsored the third annual Silver Summit 2005 in September. This year's Summit far surpassed prior Summits in many ways. There were more attendees, more mining companies, more speakers, shareholders breakfasts, raffles, and vendors. Every attendee received a 10 Sterlings .999 fine 1 oz round to keep or spend at vendor booths, local restaurants, Summit raffles and elsewhere. The Silver Summit 2006 will be held at the Coeur d'Alene Best Western on September 21 through 23. Mark your calendars now so you can get the time off from work! You can't register yet, but here's the site, when the time is right: http://silverminers.org/cgi-bin/clicktracker/click.cgi?id=5 .

The Association has also gone out into the community and actively participated in many events including an Easter egg hunt with 10 Sterlings rounds in some eggs. A 10 Sterlings round was given to each graduating high school senior in the Silver Valley. We assisted in the May 2nd Miners' Memorial ceremony, donated funds for a valley fireworks display, gave rounds to all team members winning their category at Silver Hoops 3 on 3, and heavily supported the Mine Rescue and Mining Competitions. Between September 12 and October 18, we were the Silver Valley's sole distributor for Hurricane Katrina T-shirts. They sold for $10, of which $7 went to the American Red Cross. We were able to contribute over $ 1,100 to hurricane relief as a result! The Association donated food to the Silver Valley Christian Center for Thanksgiving. We pledged money, and then challenged thirty mining-related companies to meet our pledge for the Dave Smith Memorial Fund radio-a-thon to feed the less fortunate. This brought in over $1,000... or over $2,000 with Dave Smith matching our total! And finally, on January 4, 2006, we sent an electronic greeting card with a heavily timbered mountain slope and the message "May God Speed Your Recovery" to the lone Sago Mine disaster survivor Randal McCloy, Jr. We felt that it was important to let Randal and his family know that because of the Sunshine Mine Disaster in 1972, the people of the Silver Valley understand what he and his community are going through, and that there are a lot more people who love him than he may realize! Get well soon, Randal!

Thank you for making this all possible!
Jann Higdem

Nine years ago, Bill McNally was a senior marketing manager at a Wisconsin hospital when a nasty infection struck a large group of patients. Because of the bacteria's resistance to standard antibiotics, the medical staff was desperate to find a cure for the outbreak, and the options were limited. "There's little we can do," one nurse lamented at an emergency meeting, "short of painting the walls with silver."

Within a few days, the infection abated. But, McNally says, the nurse's joking reference to silver — long known for its antibacterial properties — "stuck in my mind, and I was never able to shake it." His fascination was more than just academic. McNally's father co-owned Sauquoit Industries, a top U.S. textile firm that specialized in silver-coated fibers for clean room carpeting and for fabric that shields government computers from electromagnetic waves.

McNally figured that silver might hold the potential for another killer app. "If we could weave silver fiber into clothing," he says, "we could give people a high level of protection against infections." And since silver conducts heat far more efficiently than natural fibers, McNally thought a silver-tinged fabric might be ideal for winterwear or for keeping athletes cool. But when he pitched the idea to Sauquoit and proposed to launch a new silver-clothing unit, the company's principals voted him down. They didn't see the same medical and consumer potential, McNally says: They thought I was crazy."

Undeterred, McNally persuaded Sauquoit to sell him the the rights to its silver-fiber technology for $1 million. He launched Noble Fiber Technologies in 1997 and a year later was licensing his own technology, dubbed X-Static, to makers of antibacterial socks for infection-prone diabetics in Japan. When sales took off, McNally realized the socks had become a hit with ordinary consumers too. Why? No matter how long they were worn, they didn't get smelly.

Next McNally, an eight-year Marine Corps veteran, pitched X-Static to the Pentagon, and by 2004 every U.S. soldier was wearing X-Static socks, T-shirts, and gloves. When consumer-apparel manufacturers fell in line, McNally's privately held company — now called called Noble Biomaterials — took off. Today the firm has more than 300 licensing partners, including Adidas, Polartec, and Puma. Stars like Anna Kournikova sport "X-Static Inside" T-shirts, and 61 track-and-field teams wore uniforms with X-Static's silver-coated nylon in last year's Summer Olympics.

More important, the company is on track to hit $50 million in sales in 2005. Noble has been profitable from the start, McNally says, with average annual revenue growth of 50 percent. Numbers like that once might have given McNally's father a twinge of regret — but now there's nothing but family and corporate pride: As the result of a merger in early 2005, 132-year-old Sauquoit became part of Noble Biomaterials.

Note: X-Static clothing is featured at the SVMA Store.

Shoshone News-Press, October 14, 2005

Danny Wallace came from the Center of the Earth to the Center of the Universe.

Wallace, who currently lives in London, traveled nearly 5000 miles virtually on a whim. Wallace can see Greenwich, Great Britain, from the windows of his apartment, he said. The imaginary line indicating zero degrees longitude passes through Greenwich, which consequently designates Greenwich as the Center of the Earth.

"I was thinking to myself that if the universe is constantly expanding," Wallace said, "then you'll never actually get there."

This mentality spurred an interest in Wallace and he explored the internet and came upon the Center of the Universe [at wallace-id.com]. The irony is that the Center of the Universe just happened to be a town called Wallace.

"The story is brilliant," he said. "It's this little town in Idaho with such a rare imagination."

... Wallace is a published author and has been making comedic documentaries, books and television shows about his escapades for the last five years. His experience in Wallace, Idaho, will be adapted into a book, he said [Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe, available March 2, 2006]. ...

Notes: Center of the Universe mugs, caps and T-shirts are featured at the SVMA Store. More about this British cult figure may be found at dannywallace.com. For the reason why Wallace, Idaho, claims to be the Center of the Universe, see David Bond's Silver Summit 2004 reprise.

This year's Silver Summit, held Sept. 22-24 in Wallace and Post Falls, set yet another attendance record, attracting some 640 people and 30 companies from all points of the globe to mingle, renew acquaintances and catch up on the latest news pertaining to all things silver.

Silver Summit has become recognized as the world's premier gathering on silver, whether it be for investors, miners, hard-money advocates and, this year, the exciting new field of silver as medicine and health aid.

Conferees had an opportunity to tour surface and underground workings of the fabulous Coeur d'Alene Mining District, to gather in Wallace to rededicate the Center of the Universe, and to listen to live "heavy precious metal music" performed by composer Steve Dore and Richard "The Mogambo Guru" Daughty on piano and fiddle.

Silver mining's leading primary producers were represented in full, including Hecla, Pan-American Silver, Coeur d'Alene Mines, Silver Wheaton and Silver Standard. Also at the podium were Scotiabank economist Patricia Mohr, newsletter writers David Morgan and Jason Hommel, Liberty Coin Program founder Bernard Von Notthaus, and medical researcher Dr. Eric Rentz. University of Idaho School of Mines dean emeritus Dr. Earl Bennett kicked off the three-day event with a description of Coeur d'Alene District geology.

Silver Summit began in 2003 as a way to showcase Silver Valley mining companies, but a year later had grown into a truly world-class event. As it enters its 4th year, Silver Summit 2006 will feature enhanced information about silver's use in industrial, monetary and public health applications, and greater accessibility to both attendees and exhibitors.

Shoshone News-Press, August 26, 2005

KELLOGG -- It's not everyday someone gets their face minted onto a coin.

Bob Hopper, the owner of the New Bunker Hill Mining Company, has his likeness etched onto a new coin minted in 2005 at the Northwest Territorial Mint in Washington. The coin was commissioned by Sterling Mining Company.

"It's a bit overwhelming," Hopper said. "I was surprised to see it today."

Hopper was given the coin during the joint chamber luncheon of the Historic Silver Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Wallace Chamber of Commerce Thursday afternoon at the Kellogg Elks Lodge.

The coins, designed by Jerry Lessard, is 64 millimeters in diameter. The coin is 5 [Troy] ounces of triple-9 silver. On one side of the coin [is "100 Sterlings"] and on the other side is an image of Hopper standing in front of the Kellogg Tunnel at the entrance to Bunker Hill Mine."

... The image was created from photos taken by Shauna Hillman, the owner of Indelible Tidbits in Wallace. The coin was made to honor Hopper as the owner of the New Bunker Hill Mining Company. Forty coins were minted and are currently available at Indelible Tidbits and at the Silver Valley Mining Association in Wallace. The coins sell for $100 or incased proofs cost $125. ...

Web Note: The Sterlings Coin Program promotes the Silver Valley and the silver industry by circulating silver currency. Many local merchants accept these 99.9% pure silver coins at face value:

• 5 Sterlings = $5.00
  • 2004 mint = 0.33 Troy ounce
• 10 Sterlings = $10.00
  • 2004 mint = 1.0 Troy ounce
  • 2005 mint = 0.5 Troy ounce
• 20 Sterlings = = $20.00
  • 2005 mint = 1.0 Troy ounce

The following is an excerpt from the upcoming Drill and Pick bi-annual SVMA publication.

It is with great pleasure that the Silver Valley Mining Association (SVMA) introduces readers of the Drill and Pick to the newly formed Idaho non-profit company, Natural Resources Education Outreach (NREO). The creation of this company brings to culmination one of the most important goals envisioned by the original members and organizers of the SVMA. That goal being one of assisting teachers to become better prepared to teach about natural resources more effectively to their students. Today's students are not being taught to appreciate responsible management, or even the many roles that "harvested" natural resources play in our lives.

On April 14, 2005, the SVMA sponsored an educational seminar at the Brooks Hotel in Wallace that featured the directors of two natural resources education progams, one in Vancouver, British Columbia, and one in Phoenix, Arizona. ...

The seminar was attended by a very fine representative audience of regional mining companies and local K-12 school administrators and teachers. All participants exhibited a great deal of interest and enthusiasm for developing a "teacher driven" organization that would be able to assist teachers developing and teaching natural resources programs. Immediately following the seminar, JoAnn Corley volunteered, and was accepted by the SVMA, to spearhead the development of the type of program all seminar participants wanted to see brought to life here in the the Silver Valley. ...

Since the formation of NREO, a series of organizational meetings have been held to select board members, teacher advisors and community advisors, and to build a framework for the operation of the teacher education classes. ...

After a considerable amount of work and discussion, the days of August 9-11, 2005, were chosen as the time for our first accredited teacher classes. To date, 23 area teachers have signed up to participate in the class. The program includes in-class instruction, in-class labs and field trips.

NREO, an Idaho non-profit corporation is entirely dependent on donations from businesses and individuals for its existence. Hopefully you will agree that this is a program whose time has come, and one that is worthy of community support. In addition, as the program grows, it will have a need for volunteers and fresh ideas. Please come out and support this program.

NREO can be reached by writing to

PO Box 904
Wallace, ID 83873

208-659-1439
208-783-0407, or
208-556-1621.

Visitors to the Silver Valley Mining Asssociation office are in for a truly different experience. While they can still get the latest quotes on local silver-related mining stocks, or check out the precious metal prices courtesy of Jerome Bunde, across the street at the Penaluna Stock Exchange, we now have a lot more to offer. Visitors may now buy great new t-shirts, sweatshirts, denim shirts, spiffy new ball caps, or coffee cups with local mining company logos on them. Naturally we also have the famous Center of the Universe t-shirts as well.

The Silver Valley Mining Association in Wallace, Idaho, is THE place to go! Are you in the market for a readable, authoritative book about U.S. silver stocks? We have David Bond's new book, The Silver Pennies, An Investors Guide to U.S. Silver Stocks. The book has comprehensive background information about the companies behind the various stocks, and a forward by David Morgan. The SVMA store also carries various other mining books, and of course, a tangible end product: Sterling fine-silver rounds. A complete listing of available merchandise will soon appear on a separate page with ordering information.

So come sit in our easy chair and watch mining and Silver Valley movies while enjoying a cup of fresh coffee and a mélange of munchies, or just talk silver and mining with the local oldtimers. SVMA'S Executive Director, Jann Higdem, is always happy to talk with you about local mines and ways to help the community. Stop by, say hello to Jann and go shopping.

Join the SVMA today and join the Silver Revolution. SILVER ROCKS! Remember, "If it ain't Farmed, its got to be MINED" (bumper stickers available)!

On May 2, 2005, at 11:00 AM, hundreds of somber citizens converged at the Miners' Memorial site near Big Creek, Idaho in the Silver Valley, to commemorate the 33^rd anniversary of the devastating 1972 Sunshine Mine Fire Disaster. Schools dismissed their students to attend. Businesses closed their doors to attend. People left their homes to attend.

Beneath the miner statue were bleachers, but the choir this time was 91 lonely hardhats, each with the name of a fallen miner on a card. A 92^nd hat sat alone on the railing circling the miner and between the wreaths of flowers. It represented a salute to each miner worldwide who has ever given their life to the industry.

There were prayers and songs delivered. Peggy Johnson-White spoke emotionally about the day her father did not come home and the pain that she had felt. There were no grief counselors, so most internalized their feelings. She recognized the many Mine Rescue workers who brought out the miners and the courage this took to do. She spoke of the families left destroyed, but surviving, somehow, and the community as a whole that helped whenever and where ever needed. She was well received and seemed to have said what many were thinking.

Gregg Olsen also spoke. He is the author of the recently published book "The Deep Dark," which is an elaborate work that somehow made a single story of the many he was told by those he interviewed who were involved. He caringly shared some of the heroic stories of the fallen miners on that fateful day. It was a day just like any other, but "life can change with a short breath," Ms. white warned the children.

The valedictorians and salutarians from the three area high schools took turns reading off the 91 names. They finally finished, bringing home the magnitude of the disaster and unleashing... tears. Hugs. Togetherness. Love.

At the end of the ceremony, surviving family members were offered the cards of their loved ones. A public luncheon at the Kellogg Idaho Elks Lodge followed the ceremony.

On May 2, 2006, at 11:00 AM, hundreds of somber citizens will again convene on the Miners' Memorial site near Big Creek. "It's one day, one hour, to come and remember the past."

• David Bond's new book entitled "The Silver Pennies, an Investor's Guide to U.S. Silver Stocks" was released and is available to the public for a conservative $19.95. This book is a must-read for anyone who is a silver buff.
  
  
• The office, located just a half a block from the probabilistic Center of the Universe, began selling T-shirts that commemorate the September 25, 2004, official dedication of this unlikely geographical location. These shirts bear a strong resemblance to the actual monument itself.
  
  
• Jann Higdem was appointed the new Executive Director of the organization. She has done extensive volunteer community service work for the SVMA since its inception as well as other organizations. Jann is married to Brian Higdem, the maintenance director for Sterling Mining Company's Sunshine Mine Division, and officer of Kimberly Gold Mines, Inc., as well. On their honeymoon, they were visited by BLM as they were mucking underground in one of the KGM claims in the Payette National Forest. Later she became the camp cook, feeding up to 15 hungry men 3 squares a day. Mining is now her life, as was proved when she quit a 10 year government job in Washington and now commutes 160 miles/day to work in the Silver Capital of the World. AKA: Heaven.
  
  
• On April 14, 2005, the SVMA sponsored a mining education forum. We brought in Larry McBiles from Arizona and Maureen Lipkewich from Canada as guest speakers, or facilitators, to brainstorm with members of the local mining community and several K-12 teachers who might be interested in putting mining awareness back into the schools. It went very well. From that meeting a group has formed, calling itself the Natural Resource Education Outreach. It is seeking non-profit status and is wasting no time getting down to business. NREO's first brainstorming session with all Silver Valley teachers invited is slated for May 11, 2005. Teachers will later decide themselves how/what to teach the children about not just mining, but additionally all of the natural resources. This is an excellent opportunity for appropriate education to transpire regarding all of the areas natural resources. SVMA wishes only the best for this organization!
  
  
• We purchased 144 silver bullion rounds from Sterling Mining Company and donated one to every Silver Valley high school senior graduating this year. They each have a $10 value. This is the second time in as many years that we have given silver rounds to graduating seniors.

Gold is more expensive, but silver may be more valuable to your health. Because of the metal’s antibacterial properties, both Curad and Band-Aid are coming out with a new line of silver-infused bandages.

Silver has been used for thousands of years as a healing and preventive health product. Treating wounds with silver was common from the 1800s to the mid-1900s, when the use of antibiotics took precedence in the medical field. However, silver is still utilized in many medical circumstances. Newborn infants’ eyes are treated with silver to prevent infection. Hospitals use a silver treatment to dress scars and wounds, especially wounds that resist healing. Catheters are lined with silver to prevent infection and water is purified with silver. Now, silver is coming to the at-home health care market.

Silver is incorporated into the wound pad of the new bandages, which come in a variety of sizes. They can be used to treat cuts, scrapes, and burns. No antibacterial spray or ointment (such as Neosporin) should be used with these bandages, because it may hamper the silver’s healing properties.

Although scientists and health professionals have warned about the rise of “supergerms,” microbes that have become resistant to antibiotic treatments, bacteria seems unable to build up a resistance to silver. Silver interferes with the bacteria in at least three ways: by interacting with the cell membrane, binding to the DNA of cells, and blocking the metabolism of the bacteria. It reduces the growth of hundreds of different types of bacteria, including some that do not normally react to pharmaceutical antibacterial agents. Because silver blocks the growth and spread of germs through multiple mechanisms, it is hard for bacteria to build up resistance.

Unlike some other metals, silver is not poisonous to the body — only to harmful microbes. It is also not addictive, and is very difficult to overdose on.

In addition to hundreds of years of practical use, recent scientific studies on humans and animals have shown that wounds treated with silver heal at a faster rate than those treated without silver.

If you do have a slow-healing wound, however, don’t just rub a piece of silver jewelry over the area. Different forms of the metal serve different purposes, and non-sterile silver may bring new bacteria to a wound.

[See Links for more information about medicinal silver.]

SILVER VALLEY -- Donations are being sought to help purchase more crates of bandages impregnated with silver to send to Indonesia to help victims of the catastrophic tsunami.

The effort originated with local mining professionals who saw the dramatic healing effect of Curad Silver bandages, which use natural antibacterial silver in the pad. Kicking off the effort, Curad donated 20 cases of bandages to the Bunker Hill Mine to be sent overseas.

"They're just a superior product," said Lex Smith of the Sterling Mining Company.

In addition to the cases of bandages donated by Curad, further monetary contributions are being solicited from the community to purchase more bandages to send with the other cases.

 ...  Smith attended a conference in October in China where the overwhelming medicinal value of silver was discussed at length. Silver is known to stimulate cells for quick healing, he said.

Although the local effort to help tsunami victims was started through pure altruism, Smith added that silver bandages are a product that will only help the local economy.

"This is the Silver Valley," he said. "Anything that is good for silver is good for the Silver Valley."  ... 

[See Links for more information about medicinal silver.]

BOISE, Idaho, Jan 17, 2005 (The Spokesman-Review - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- If one North Idaho lawmaker has his druthers, Idaho residents will be able to pay state taxes with gold and silver.

"A lot of people are putting gold and silver in their portfolios right now," said Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries. "It makes sense to broaden the uses of them."

With the weakening dollar, Harwood is one of a number of state legislators around the country working on similar gold and silver legislation. He and others want to base currency on "sound money," or money that has intrinsic value. The dollar, on the other hand, is a federal note based on debt, he said.

Gold and silver, however, aren't currently legal tender in Idaho, according to Dan John, tax policy manager for the Idaho State Tax Commission. "You would have to determine what is the value, how do you get rid of it; there are a myriad of issues that would be have to be discussed," John said.

Harwood said he's interested in presenting his bill to Idaho lawmakers to see what their reaction is to the proposal. "It probably won't go anywhere, but I want to put it in the public consciousness as a possibility," the third-term representative said.

So far, he has not talked to other legislators about the bill. But at least one North Idaho legislator is skeptical. "I would have to look at the proposal before I can say anything, but it doesn't sound promising," said Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Wallace, who is in the same district as Harwood. "I've never heard of anything like that ever."

The basis for Harwood's interest in the possible bill comes from a similar plan in the New Hampshire General Court that has been proposed over the past two years. Several lawmakers there -- in a Legislature with 400 representatives and 24 senators, the largest in the country -- introduced a set of bills that would allow gold and silver to be used for transactions between the state and individuals or businesses.

One bill, in 2003, proposed the state of New Hampshire mint and bring into circulation $50 million worth of gold and silver coinage.

Pamela Walsh, a spokesperson for newly appointed New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, said, "There are a number of pretty crazy legislators in this state. You can't take all of the bills they propose seriously."

But former New Hampshire Rep. Henry McElroy, one of three original legislators who came up with that state's plans, said the intent of the proposals is to "stabilize the state's economy and, ultimately, the nation's economy by getting other states to adopt similar measures."

Safety issues around counterfeiting are another reason for the proposal, McElroy added. "Gold and silver are much harder to manipulate than paper money," he said. "Can they be manipulated? Yes, but it is much harder. They are sound money."

But New Hampshire, according to McElroy, hasn't made a decision on the bill -- discussion will continue later this year -- and neither has any other state. McElroy said lawmakers in other states, including Virginia and Alaska, also are interested.

In the words of Harwood, however, "New Hampshire is known as being always out there, for doing things differently."

So, why should the Idaho Legislature consider a comparable action?

Harwood, whose district includes the Silver Valley, thinks it might stimulate the area's economy. When asked in what form that stimulation could come, he said, "Well, I am not sure, but every little bit helps."

Added Harwood: "And gold and silver have become a popular thing to invest in."

The Silver Valley Mining Association has contributed to many of our local charities and events during 2004.

• The Wallace Business Community Association (WBCA) was given "10 Sterlings" fine silver rounds that were given away at their Walk Wallace Holiday Open House.
• The Northern Pacific Depot Foundation was helped by our sponsorship of Depot Days 2004.
• The Shoshone County Assessors Convention was provided with "10 Sterlings" fine silver rounds.
• The 2004 Coeur d'Alene District Mining Competition was sponsored in part by the SVMA.
• SVMA sponsored the parking lot social event at the 2004 High Mountain ATV Festival.
• All Silver Valley Graduating Seniors were given "10 Sterlings" fine silver rounds.
• "10 Sterlings" fine silver rounds were given out at the Midwinter Convention of the Wallace Elks.
• We provided food vouchers to the needy in our community as part of Thanksgiving in the Valley.

Changsha, China – I am going to one-up the broken social contract Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand, and every other Hollywood genius save James Woods made four years ago, that if George W. Bush were elected in 2000, they would leave the country. (Bloody shame they didn’t.) I’m going them one better this year: If either George W. Bush OR John Kerry wins the presidency next Tuesday, I am going to flee this country like the planetary plague it has become and apply to Beijing for political asylum.

After all, China is accepting political refugees from North Korea – took 300 of them in just last week – and North Korea is just a U.S. wannabe, a big, mean country with a currency the planet rejects but plenty of mean peacekeeper cops to send anywhere on a moment’s notice.

China.    What can you say about such a huge, messy, smelly, yeasty mass of hope and ambition? I took tea last Sunday in the home of a Beijing family. Not on the agenda, this, just a flyer, a lark. My hosts are damned proud of their accomplishments. They have by hard work and sacrifice and a lot of sleepless nights achieved the American Dream. They own their own 800-square-foot pad in Century Towers and drive a late-model German car. They have become members of the Middle Class. They are not afraid to gripe about the cops or to inveigh against their own politics. The indium-fired LCD on the front of their VCR flashes the perennial 8:00 time signal because their 15-year-old, who is out hanging out with her rebellious artist friends this afternoon, hasn’t bothered to explain the remote to them.

I am lucky. Feng – she goes by the dreadfully American name of Vivian to her foreign acquaintances – augments her living at the Beijing Foreign Studies University by translating during mining conventions around the planet. She speaks mining, and has been to more American cities than I have. She has photos of herself with Paul O’Neill, erstwhile U.S. Treasury Secretary, now of Alcoa, and the president of Iceland. She’s chums, by virtue of her interpreting skills, with the honchos of Inco and Phelps Dodge. She speaks mining, and knows what I mean when I say it’s time to muck a thing out. She is one of just 20 simultaneous English-Chinese translators residing in this city of 14 million. Her English, wrought of a Chinese-British education, is flawless. Learning the nuanced slang of hard-rock mining will do that for you.

It is the seventh and penultimate day I will spend in this place. I have done the touristy stuff in Beijing, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, blah-blah-blah, then hauled myself aboard an Air China Boeing jet for the destination city of Changsha for five days of conferences and visits the common subject of which is silver. (Odd, I flew a French-built Airbus in Northwest Orient Airlines livery to get to China but once inside, flew on a Seattle-built Air China Boeing 737).

Silver.    From a friend in Moscow last April I have gotten the idea that the ideal business card for a journalist visiting abroad would be a one-ounce round of triple-nine, name and URL engraved. Not something somebody leaves in an ashtray. I made 100 of them, costing about $12 apiece. These are a huge hit on the opening night. I try to explain to my hosts, which include the Silver Institute and Antaike Metals, that these are just round business cards – not gifts requiring reciprocation. But the gifts begin to flow, and in an act of one-upmanship, I am presented a triple-nine silver round in return – but one that has been to Outer Space.

What a family we are assembling for our silver revolution. Patricia Mohr of Scotiabank is there. So is Marino Pieterse, a Dutchman who writes the gold newsletter in Europe at goldresearchcentre.com, and Don Franz, publisher of a the very slick Photofinishing News out of Bonita Springs who had the perspicacity to open a Chinese bureau four years ago in Guangzhou and now publishes in the two languages. (Don’s China operations chief, “Edith” Liu, has become my new best friend in China. She is so afraid I will open an emergency exit door on the airplane mid-flight or fall through the toilet at a truck stop that she assigns herself to my every attention. There is great advantage to appearing pathetic.) Yanfu Cao, director of the Xingguang smelter district in Yongxing in Hunan’s center, speaks no English, but he can run a smelter. The fires are banked down in respect of his visiting tourists and he speaks no English, but he speaks – with help from Veronica and Edith – perfect mining. He has never heard of the Silver Valley of northern Idaho, or of Hecla or Coeur, but he’d sure like to know anybody with concentrates for sale. ”Where you getting your cons from?” I ask him. “Anywhere we can,” he replies. So would Gao Lin of Antaike, so would Jimmy Kowk (every party has a Jimmy and this Jimmy was ours – the bulging briefcase man from hell) of Ra-Chem in Kwai Chun.

I took a side-trip to a new metallurgical industrial park they’re building four hours south of Changsha in a wide spot in the road called Chenzou. It looked like a new Wal-Mart under construction. This is a town that celebrates metallurgy, for cryin’ out loud, and they’ve built a new freeway to it. The size of the Hunan Chenzhou Shizhuyan Nonferrous Metals Technology Industrial Park is as staggering as its name.

Almost as staggering as this fact: there’s not a lawyer amongst the upper echelon of the Chinese government. To a man and woman, they are engineers. Engineers running a country, engineers from China’s best university? Still want odds?

Upon returning to Wallace, I pulled up a jug of Dewar’s with my Wallace friend and neighbor, Michael Green, who is a seasoned Asia traveler and a close confidant. What’s next and how do you share this experience without pissing people off and losing your audience? I asked him.

Well, he replied, You don’t. They won’t get it and it will hurt your feelings if you try. Just show them four of your best pictures and make up a good story about each one, even if it’s a lie, then drop it.

Michael is probably right.    Unlike the European bankers, the Chinese have never crossed us, never tried to hurt or invade us, never endeavoured to steal from us. The only times America crossed swords with China was at her borders, at Korea and Viet Nam.

Look at a map of the world. Korea occupies China’s northern border; Viet Nam her south. If some Asian horde intervened in a civil war in Mexico, and started hustling B-52s within inches of the Rio Grande, maybe we’d get a bit testy, too. Do you know why Chinese immigrants came here to build our railroads for starvation wages? Because the Europeans, our friends, the British and French, were slaughtering them by the bucket-load and they had nowhere else to turn. (The Japanese took over this European duty in the 1930s, making Hitler look like a piker.) Do your history. Do the math. And don’t you tell me we were kind to them – my own researches took me to a place not far outside Vancouver, Washington, where we herded 60 Chinese people into a boxcar and lit it on fire. To protect us from infectious diseases, of course, but also because otherwise the railroad would have had to pay them their wages.

What I can tell you for sure is this: China needs silver, gold, lead, zinc, copper and nickel. Not because they’re trying to corner the world market. It’s because their parents want to make a better life for their kids, and so they need stuff. They need metals, as any growing society does, and we can either do business with them or fail our own children by just watching them.

The opportunities for second-tier companies like Hecla, Coeur, Sterling, Crystallex, Apex, Bunker Hill, Silver Standard – concentrate-providers the Chinese would like to know – are astounding. There is business to be done and it will be done if these companies will talk to China.

The sun is rising on China. They are powerful, they are kind and friendly if you let them be, and they have no mean ambitions. They just want to go to work, to make love with their spouses when they get home, take care of their kids, drive a decent car, get through life with dignity.

Kinda like we used to be.    It was good to visit America. Such a damned shame to have to come back to the States. But we have a common language, and it is mining, and it can bridge the Pacific. The lawyers have had their day. Let’s give the engineers a chance.

David Bond
Oct 28, 2004

Throughout history, the demand for commodities has been constantly increasing.