KELLOGG - It seems the silver industry may be booming again in North Idaho's Silver Valley.

What the reopening means

Sterling Mining Company reopened the Sunshine Mine near Kellogg Wednesday. It produced over 365 million ounces of silver in its more than 100 year history.

The mine shut down in 2001, but new owner Sterling Mining reopened it after finding that a mere 15 percent of the potential silver had been pulled from the mountain.

Sterling hired about 120 miners to work the mine, and they expect to hire about 80 more, and officials think it will be a big boost to the economy.

"It's putting jobs back out there, and putting food on the table - I hope to retire from here," miner Joe Guarpippe said.

The Silver Valley has a long mining history - and a long history of mining pollution. Sterling officials and Idaho Governor Butch Otter say new technology and new government regulations have made mining pollution a thing of the past.

The mine was also the site of a 1972 fire that killed 91 mine workers deep inside the mine shaft. Eighty-one others were evacuated immediately -- and two men spent seven days inside the shaft before being rescued.

Work begins at mine