A ‘sustainable’ shift at the Great Falls refinery could come with costs to locals

A ‘sustainable’ shift at the Great Falls refinery could come with costs to locals

Black Eagle is an industry town. The community sprang up to support the nearby copper smelter, operated for the longest time by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Banners along the main drag still depict the massive smokestack that defined the industrial skyline for decades until its demolition in 1981.The copper smelter is long gone, shuttered just before the stack fell. Fewer than 1,000 people live in the community today. But residents of Bla…