Mine closed during inquiry

TROY, Mont. – Good jobs are hard to find in Montana’s scenic but economically depressed northwestern corner.

So Mike Ivins didn’t hesitate when the Troy Mine reopened in late 2004. He hired on as a mechanic, giving up a road construction job that required frequent travel and time away from his family in Libby, Mont.

But the job ended in tragedy Monday, when the 55-year-old father of four grown children was killed in an underground accident. Officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration are still investigating the rockfall that buried the 1-ton flatbed pickup that Ivins was driving. His cause of death has not been determined.

Underground operations at the silver-copper mine have ceased until the investigation is complete, said officials at Revett Minerals, the Spokane Valley firm that is the mine’s majority owner.

A flag at the Troy Mine flew at half-staff Tuesday. Somber employees remembered Ivins as a dependable and good natured co-worker, who relished the chance to go home each night. He and his wife lived on rural acreage at the edge of Libby, near her parents and siblings.

“That’s why basically all of us are there,” said Darryl Moss, Ivins’ immediate supervisor. “It’s a decent job, and it gets you home every night.”

Ivins spent about two decades working in sawmills in Lincoln County – first for Champion International, then for Stimson Lumber Co. When he lost his sawmill job, Ivins went to work for Pumco Inc., a road construction firm based in Lolo, Mont.

Ivins spent about seven years at Pumco, driving 200 miles to Libby to be home on the weekends. Chad Pumnea, Pumco’s road crew supervisor, roomed with Ivins during business travels and hunted elk with him. Ivins was a versatile employee, adept at many tasks, and his co-workers were sorry to see him leave, Pumnea said.

“But how can you blame a guy for going home?” he said. “I talked to him this spring and he said he missed working on the road, but he never said anything about not feeling comfortable” in the mine.

About 180 people work at the Troy Mine, which has some of the most sought-after jobs in rural Lincoln County. The county is home to streamside meadows filled with deer, stunning views of the Cabinet Mountains and one of Montana’s highest unemployment rates. The mine’s average wage is $54,000 – about twice Lincoln County’s average annual wage.

The mine has absorbed many of the workers who lost jobs in the timber industry, said Johnette Watkins, manager of the state’s Job Service Office in Libby. “Good wages and benefits are always what people are looking for,” she said.

Ivins spent nearly three years at the mine as an underground mechanic, repairing drills, trucks and loaders. His death marks the 20th fatality for the hard-rock mining industry in the United States this year.

Revett officials expressed condolences to Ivins’ family, and said they are fully cooperating with MSHA officials. MSHA employees from Helena and Salt Lake City have visited the mine. A third team, comprised of technical experts, is scheduled to visit the mine today.

Revett officials have worked hard to foster a culture of safety at the mine, said Carson Rife, vice president of operations. Mine employees earn bonuses for meeting safety goals as well as mineral production goals. The Troy Mine had just celebrated a year without any lost-time accidents, Rife said.

The rockfall, which occurred at 10:30 a.m. Mountain Time, was sudden and unexpected, Rife said. Ivins was doing routine maintenance work in an area of the mine about 600 feet underground. Contrary to early reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Ivins’ pickup was not carrying explosives, said Doug Miller, the Troy Mine’s general manager.

Ivins’ funeral arrangements are pending at Nelson and Vial Funeral Home in Libby.

A woman who answered the phone at the Ivins’ residence said that family members had no comment at this time.