Sterling
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SPOKANE, Wash. — A Dallas-based company has bid $24 millionfor Sterling Mining Co., which controls the Sunshine Mine near Kellogg,Idaho.
Silver Opportunity Partners LLC beat out two Canadian competitors forSterling's stock and assets. The sale must be approved by U.S.Bankruptcy Court Judge Terry Myers. A hearing is set for May 3.
"This is really good news for the Silver Valley," said FordElsaesser, Sterling's attorney. "There's a reasonable certainty that allcreditors will be paid in full. And presumably at some point, the minewill reopen."
In northern Idaho's Shoshone County, about 15 percent of the workforce was unemployed last month.
Sterling filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just over a year ago. Itsmost valuable asset is the Sunshine Mine's lease and an option to buythe underground silver mine.
Creditors will be paid from the sale of Sterling's stock and assets.Elsaesser said stockholders might also get payment for their shares.
The Sunshine Mine once employed more than 200 people in aresource-dependent economy and produced more than 260 million ounces ofsilver over 125 years.