Mar. 15, 2010
Boyce Moodie III is a fourth generation miner.
"Frances Berium Moodie is the one who started it all," he says of his great-grandfather who began building one of the county's first mines, "The Klondike" back in 1895.
"He put more men on the payroll than he should have- but he knew they needed work," he said of his great-grandfather's later legacy.
During The Great Depression, Frances Moodie helped dozens of families stay afloat, "He employed 300 people there at one time."
Several years ago, using his great grandfather's maps, Moodie discovered a fluorspar mine.
Hastie Mining of Cave-in-Rock, Illinois is investing three million dollars to open the mine. A previous mine shut down in 1992 because of cheap fluorspar imported from China. When it does open it will be the only one in operation in North America and will create at least 40 jobs.
When the mine opens, Moodie predicts that will change and the popular lunch spot will once again be busy.
"We need it, we need it bad," Hackney said.
There is so much fluorspar, those close to the project predict the mining will last at least two decades.
