Canadian Company Plans to Mine in N. Idaho

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A Canadian mining company plans to renew its lease on state endowment land in northern Idaho in hopes of eventually mining clay, quartz and feldspar. The Lewiston Tribune reports I-Minerals Inc. plans to continue exploratory drilling near Bovill this summer and eventually hopes to raise $60 million to develop the mine.

The leases had expired, but company president Tom Conway says he's optimistic about getting the proposed operation up and running soon. As many as 100 people could eventually be employed, Conway says, before cautioning that such an infusion of jobs likely won't occur before 2015, the earliest he thinks full-scale mining could occur. Conway insists the project won't leave behind a pit, only hills similar to ones at the site now — only a bit smaller.