Bunker Hill reinstates lease for historic mine

A month after defaulting on US$400,000 in lease payments for the past-producing Bunker Hill zinc-lead-silver mine property and Superfund site in the Silver Valley of Idaho, Bunker Hill Mining (CSE: BNKR) has struck a deal with the mine owner to reinstate the lease at a much lower cost. The mine owner — Placer Mining Corp. — has agreed to slash the monthly lease payments owed by Bunker Hill Mining 70% from the previous US$200,000 to US$60,000, for the next 12 months. The concessions can be extended over another six months if Bunker Hill Mining “achieves certain agreed goals on its work program at the mine,” the company stated. The reduction in payments “will be made up for by adding the accumulated reduction to the purchase price of the mine, should the company choose to exercise its purchase option,” Bunker Hill said in a press release on Nov. 13. (Bunker Hill Mining and Placer Mining Corp. signed a two-year mining lease agreement with a “buy” option in August 2017, and the lease became effective in December 2017.) In addition, Bunker Hill Mining said it is in talks with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on possible concessions regarding its payment obligations to the federal regulatory body. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.