May 23, 1985
Board votes to keep Redford school open
Members of the Board of Trustees of the Marfa Independent School District voted at their regular meeting last week to continue the operation of the Redford Elementary School for the 1985-86 school year.
Contracts were extended to Gloria Acosta, Darlene Estes and Frank Jimenez for assignment to the Redford school. Local criteria Teacher Career Ladder, mandated by H.B. 72 last summer for implementation this year, was adopted.
“This supplements the state guidelines to the extent, a teacher must have been evaluated in Marfa ISD for the 1983-84 school year and received no less than 4 and 5 ratings on a 5-point scale for the complete evaluation,” Supt. Carl Robinson said.
The program provides a minimum of $1,500 and maximum of $2,000 above contract to be paid to each eligible teacher.
May 12, 1983
Gold Fields suspends Shafter project
A feasibility study by Gold Fields Operating Co.-Shafter of its Shafter silver mine project has led to a company decision to suspend the project for now.
The study concluded the mine “is unlikely to yield a reasonable rate of return” of any additional money spent “because of the silver prices outlook,” according to a Gold Fields press release made available Tuesday by project director Bill Williams of Marfa.
The overall evaluation of the project included internal and independent market studies. These indicated that additional “funds invested in the near term”‘ would not result in sufficient profit. In addition to the feasibility study, an intensive exploration drilling program in and around the old Presidio mine has just been completed.
The old, 900-foot-deep mine is located west of the new ore body, with which it “will ultimately link up,” Williams said. The completed drilling program and overall activities to date Gold Fields-Shafter conclude the company’s exploration activities “for the present time,” the press release says. However, periodic reviews will be made based on changing market conditions, according to the release. The Shafter operation will be making additional personnel cutbacks as a result of the company’s decision, Williams said, who has eight employees at present. “By no means is this project washed up,” he said. “It’s just that the timing isn’t right.” The project will be suspended until the outlook is more favorable. Williams noted that a lot of silver mines have reopened recently, but that the bulk of their construction budgets had already been spent whereas at Shafter there is “quite a lot of money still to be spent. “‘No one wants to see this mine built more than me,” he said. “But I have to think with my head, not my heart.”
Although silver prices have been gradually rising, they are doing so on a “‘speculative basis” and are “‘very uncertain,” he said. “They’re going up on the expectation of a recovery.”
Tuesday’s price was $12.80 an ounce. In funding construction of a mine, “You’re talking about an average price for the entire life of the beast, not periodic little surges,” he said. “It costs a lot of money just to hold a plant sitting there whether it’s working or not working.”