Exploration budget increasing by $1.1 million for additional drilling
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)
today announced it has reached an agreement that will allow it to lease
the Velardeña mill, located near San Sebastian, for an additional 24
months.
“San Sebastian has been a major component of Hecla’s success over the
past year and a half, and we see this continuing into the future,” said
Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO. “We started production with a
two-year mine life, expecting exploration success to extend it further.
It has, and today we see a combination of reserves, resources and
exploration discoveries enabling production through 2020. All of this
has been done with a minimal capital investment by using a contract
miner and leasing a mill. San Sebastian has allowed Hecla to deliver
production growth, cash flow and triple-digit-plus returns.”
The exploration budget at San Sebastian has been increased by $1.1
million for additional drilling and will bring the 2017 exploration
budget at the project to $5.3 million. Goals with this funding include
identifying another sulphide zone at depth, similar to the previously
discovered Hugh Zone, and discovering additional oxide ore. Strong
intersections from a recently discovered zone on the East Francine Vein,
including 0.72 oz/ton gold and 288 oz/ton silver over 4.6 feet, are
summarized in the press release “Hecla Reports Second Quarter Drilling
and Exploration Results” issued today.
ABOUT HECLA
Founded in 1891,Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)
is a leading low-cost U.S. silver producer with operating mines in
Alaska, Idaho and Mexico, and is a growing gold producer with an
operating mine in Quebec, Canada. The Company also has exploration and
pre-development properties in seven world-class silver and gold mining
districts in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and an exploration office and
investments in early-stage silver exploration projects in Canada.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made or information provided in this news release that are
not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities
laws. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,”
“projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “anticipates” and
similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements or forward-looking
information include statements or information regarding estimates of
silver production for 2017 on a consolidated basis and at each of the
Greens Creek, Lucky Friday and San Sebastian mines, annual gold
production for 2017 at Casa Berardi, and second quarter 2017 production.
The material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking
statements or forward-looking information include that the Company’s
plans for development and production will proceed as expected and will
not require revision as a result of risks or uncertainties, whether
known, unknown or unanticipated, to which the Company’s operations are
subject.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected, anticipated, expected or implied. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price volatility,
volatility of metals production and costs, litigation, regulatory and
environmental risks, operating risks, project development risks,
political risks, labor issues, ability to raise financing and
exploration risks and results. Refer to the Company's Form 10K and 10-Q
reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact
expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation and has no
intention of updating forward-looking statements other than as may be
required by law.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170802006482/en/
Hecla Mining Company
Mike Westerlund, 800-HECLA91 (800-432-5291)
Vice
President, Investor Relations
hmc-info@hecla-mining.com
www.hecla-mining.com
Source: Hecla Mining Company