THE MiNERAL INDUSTRY OF IDAHO 263 
 
Table 5.—Employment and injury experience in the mineral industries

 Average  Number of Injury rates per 
Year and industry men Man-days Man-hours injuries million man-hours 
 working Days worked worked — 
daily Active (thousands) (thousands) Fatal Nonfatal Frequency Severity 
1966: 
 Metal 2,523 259 355 5,236 10 317 62.45 18,733 Nonmetal and peat 574 237
136 1,161 1 38 38.59 5 893 Sand and graveL.~ 411 169 70 545 — 11 20.18
349 Stone 286 146 42 356 — 7 19.69 1,392 
 Total 3,794 238 902 7,298 11 373 52.62 10,885 
 
1967: P 
 Metal 2,520 237 598 4,782 7 242 52.07 11,638 Nonmetal and peat 710 232 165
1,365 — 22 16.12 352 Sand and graveL~ 190 174 38 264 — 5 18.94
788 Stone 825 120 39 827 — 7 ~1~42 1,441 
 Tot~l '  8,745 223 835 6,737 7 276 42.00 8,432 
P Preliminary. 
1 Data may not add to total shown because of independent rounding. 
Table 6.—Hours and earnings of production workers in mining 
Annual average 1963 1964 1965 1966 P 196.7 
Weekly earnings $110.21 $114.91 $116.22 $122.99 $136.52Hourly earnings $2.79
$2.88 $3.00 $3.18 $3.48Weekly hours 39.5 89.9 38.8 38.7 39.2 
P Preliminary. 
Source: Idaho Employment Security Agency. 
Table 7.—Office of Minerals Exploration contracts active during 1967

Contract 
County and contractor Commodity   Government  Date Total participation, 
 amount   percent 
Custer: 
 Beardsley Gulch Mining Co Silver July 14, 1966.~.. $44,680 75 
Owyhee: 
 Continental Quicksilver, Inc '  Gold and silver Feb. 28, 1966 - - - 61,360
62.5 
 Sidney Mining Co.' do Feb. 28, 1966..~. 40,208 62.5 
1 In recess for all of 1967. 
REVIEW BY MINERAL COMMODITIES 
METALS 
 
 Antimony.—Byproduct antimony from silver ore produced at the Sunshine
mine, near Kellogg, Shoshone County, continued to be the State's only source
of antimony. 
 
 Copper.—Production of copper declined 15 percent from the 1966 total.
Output, largely a byproduct of silver production from Coeur d'Alene region
mines, was adversely affected by the nationwide copper strike which started
in mid-July and resulted in closure of all copper smelters in the Pacific
Northwest. 
 Copper ore was mined at the Blackbird mine (Machinery Center, Inc.), Lemhi
County, but Shoshone County silver and lead-zinc mines supplied nearly 64
percent of the State total. Idaho Mining Co. took over operation of the Blackbird
mine during the summer and began a 2-year development and exploration program
aimed at expanding mine operations and establishing, a treatment plant. Total
production at the Blackbird mine was 60,808 tons of ore containing 2,916,200
pounds of copper, 1,880 ounces of gold, and 3,387 ounces of silver.