Shafter
A year-long spike in silver prices—rising from $30.81 per ounce last January to $94.80 on Tuesday—is providing momentum for an Australian company to surge ahead with reopening the mine in Shafter.
In October, James Bay Minerals—an Australian company with holdings in the United States and Canada—announced that it would be acquiring the silver mine at Shafter. The company announced in a press release that it had “firm commitments” from investors to finance the project to the tune of $18 million. The company then rebranded itself as Black Bear Minerals.
Recently, trucks and personnel have been seen working at the mine site, which still has heavy equipment and processing facilities left by its former owner, Aurcana, which acquired the mine in 2008 before closing it in 2013 after silver prices plunged to less than $20/ounce.
Black Bear Minerals posted public notices in Big Bend Sentinel, noting it had applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a renewal of a water quality permit for water discharge, indicating it is moving forward with its project.
Shafter has been a hub for mineral extraction since 1883. During the mine’s heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it produced 2.3 million tons of ore containing 35.2 million ounces of silver.