For just the third time in 20 years, the Department of Environmental Quality is going into the auction business.

On Thursday at the Beal Mountain Mine southwest of Fairmont in Silver Bow County, the DEQ will auction off what it estimates to be around $1.5 million worth of used mining equipment, buildings, tools and other items from the shuttered mine.

DEQ has owned the equipment since 2001, when it was acquired in a bankruptcy proceeding with Beal Mountain Mining, Inc. and Pegasus Gold Corp. The department says the proceeds from the auction will go toward mine reclamation costs.

Auctions aren't rare for the state in general. The Department of Administration regularly holds state surplus property auctions at the facility near the fairgrounds. But this is only the third time in 20 years that DEQ has undertaken an auction sale.

The sale list includes metal buildings, air compressors, pumps, piping, motors, generators, tanks, office equipment, ATVs, snowmobiles and a pickup truck.

The mine operated from 1988 into the late 1990s, and 14 million tons of ore were mined.

The DEQ says lots of the stuff is still functional. To get there, take the Fairmont exit off of I-90 and start looking for signs on the left.

Market Movers: A decision hasn't been finalized, but judging from the handful of forms I've seen, most Helenans like the idea of moving the Farmers Market onto the Walking Mall.

Downtown businesses have circulated petition-style questionaires asking whether the market should be moved. Some folks say the Walking Mall would be too cold and doesn't offer grass to play/relax on, but the majority have checked "good idea."

E-mail your Open for Business ideas to john.harrington@helenair.com.