Pictured, back row, left to right: Blair Street, Steve Podoll, Justin Thorp, Matt Zietlow, Shelly Rose
Front row, left to right: Leon Merkel, Ben Evans (not pictured: Brett Sheeder)
It’s one thing to talk about taking care of the environment; it’s another thing entirely to invest the time, energy and resources into making it a reality. Coeur Wharf is a gold mine that started in Lead in 1982, and, like other mining operations in the U.S., abides by a strict set of environmental regulations. But, as Coeur Wharf’s HR and Community Relations Manager, Shelly Rose, explained, it’s more than these regulations that the team at Coeur Wharf answers to. “We strive not just to be compliant, but to do the right thing. We call it responsible mining, and we mean that.”
This idea of environmental excellence isn’t just an abstract concept, either. It’s something that the more than 250 employees at this mine can proudly point to. “We’ve got well over 100 monitoring points for surface water, ground water and air,” said Matt Zietlow, Environmental Manager at Coeur Wharf. “We also do vibration monitoring, weed control — all of the things that one would expect, but a lot of people don’t realize the scale at which we’re doing it.”
Matt went on to say that some of the land reclaimed by Coeur Wharf has been returned practically to its original state, and that deer, elk and other animals frequent these pristine sections of wilderness. Matt pointed to Terry Peak as another vivid example of Coeur Wharf’s commitment to preserving the beauty and health of the Black Hills — some of the slopes of this ski resort are restored sections of the mine.
“It’s important that we remember that these critical rare earth metals have to be mined somewhere, so let’s do it in a way that does the least amount of harm to the environment,” Shelly said. “We’ve shown that at Coeur Wharf, with our responsible mining practices, we can do just that.”
10928 Wharf Road
Lead, SD 57754