Economic shockwaves of Questa mine shutdown far-reaching

When Chevron announced it was closing its Questa mine last week, 300 people got word they would stop getting a paycheck in August. The economic thump to miners and other mine employees is clear. But the shutdown of the Questa mine will no doubt reverberate through Taos County’s entire economy in the months and years to come. If there’s any good news, it’s that the mine’s relative inactivity since layoffs in 2009 will likely buffer what would have otherwise been an even bigger loss. Data from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis show the average mine worker in Taos County earned, on average, $29,300 a year in 2012. That was down from $51,438 in 2008 when the mine was really cranking and employed about 360 people. By multiplying the number of laid-off mine employees by the average local salary in that industry, the shutdown of the mine could loosely mean the end of $9 million in paychecks each year. That’s $9 million less spending power in grocery stores, the real estate market and at car dealerships. “I’m sure it will impact us,” said Esther Hall, store manager at the Questa Center Super Market...more