News Details

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) today announced it is filing a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report on the Greens Creek Mine in Alaska and the Casa Berardi Mine in Quebec.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Greens Creek

• Reserves are calculated at price assumption of $14.50 per ounce silver.
• The current Proven and Probable Reserve of 107.1 million silver ounces is the highest since 2008, the year Hecla acquired 100% of the mine.
• The Life of Mine Plan (LOM) extends production to 2030 without including any resources.
• Measured and Indicated Resources are 97.4 million silver ounces.
• Significant exploration potential.
• At approximately current prices and based only on reserves, the mine is expected to generate $802 million of free cash flow over the LOM with an after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $638 million at a 5% discount rate.¹
• Expect about 20% more cash flow in the next five years than the $72 million averaged in the past five years.

Casa Berardi

• Reserves are calculated at price assumption of $1,200 per gold ounce.
• Gold Proven and Probable Reserves increased approximately 28% to 1.91 million ounces.
• Substantial reserve increases occurred in the proposed West Mine Crown Pillar and Principal pits, Casa Berardi’s highest-grade pits.
• The LOM extends production to 2034 without including any resources.
• Measured and Indicated Resources are 1.2 million gold ounces.
• Significant exploration potential.
• At approximately current prices and based only on reserves, the mine is expected to generate $535 million (CAN$712 million) of free cash flow over the LOM with an after-tax NPV of $325 million (CAN$432 million) at a 5% discount rate.²

“The economic engine and two largest mines of Hecla, Greens Creek (50% of Hecla’s revenues) and Casa Berardi (35% of Hecla’s revenues), have made a remarkable achievement in materially increasing reserves in mines that have operated for decades,” said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO. “These Technical Reports highlight the thoughtful work that has gone into documenting the resources, building the mine plans, optimizing each mine’s reserves and providing strong cash flow. The analysis of capital and operating costs shows these mines are very robust, and that a 15% increase in metals prices could mean about 60% higher Life of Mine cash flow based on reserves at conservative assumptions. We have substantial resources, which, when combined with the exploration potential outlined in the report, highlight significant opportunities to further improve and extend the reserve LOM at both mines.”

Additional detail regarding the reserves and resources at Greens Creek and Casa Berardi are contained in Table A accompanying this news release. The Greens Creek and Casa Berardi Mine reserves and resources were reported in the February 14, 2019 news release entitled “Hecla Reports Record Silver, Gold and Lead Reserves.” Both mines were large contributors to record Hecla silver and gold reserves and due to the material increases in reserves, triggered new NI 43-101 Technical Reports.

Footnotes

¹$1,303.70/oz gold, $15.32/oz silver, $0.91/lb lead and $1.30/lb zinc price assumptions for Greens Creek Technical Report.
²$1,300/oz gold and $15.50/oz silver price assumptions for Casa Berardi Technical Report.

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 operating mines in Quebec, Canada and Nevada. The Company also has exploration and pre-development properties in eight world-class silver and gold mining districts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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 about future performance, the timing of mining of high-grade stopes and Net Asset Values. 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.

Cautionary Statements to Investors on Reserves and Resources

Reporting requirements in the United States for disclosure of mineral properties are governed by the SEC and included in the SEC’s Securities Act Industry Guide 7, entitled “Description of Property by Issuers Engaged or to be Engaged in Significant Mining Operations” (Guide 7). Although the SEC has recently issued new rules rescinding Guide 7, the new rules are not binding until January 1, 2021, and at this time the Company still reports in accordance with Guide 7. However, the Company is also a “reporting issuer” under Canadian securities laws, which require estimates of mineral resources and reserves to be prepared in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). NI 43-101 requires all disclosure of estimates of potential mineral resources and reserves to be disclosed in accordance with its requirements. Such Canadian information is included herein to satisfy the Company’s “public disclosure” obligations under Regulation FD of the SEC and to provide U.S. holders with ready access to information publicly available in Canada.

Reporting requirements in the United States for disclosure of mineral properties under Guide 7 and the requirements in Canada under NI 43-101 standards are substantially different. This document contains a summary of certain estimates of the Company, not only of proven and probable reserves within the meaning of Guide 7, but also of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates estimated in accordance with the definitional standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in NI 43-101. Under Guide 7, the term “reserve” means that part of a mineral deposit that can be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination. The term “economically”, as used in the definition of reserve, means that profitable extraction or production has been established or analytically demonstrated to be viable and justifiable under reasonable investment and market assumptions. The term “legally”, as used in the definition of reserve, does not imply that all permits needed for mining and processing have been obtained or that other legal issues have been completely resolved. However, for a reserve to exist, Hecla must have a justifiable expectation, based on applicable laws and regulations, that issuance of permits or resolution of legal issues necessary for mining and processing at a particular deposit will be accomplished in the ordinary course and in a timeframe consistent with Hecla's current mine plans. The terms “measured resources”, “indicated resources”, and “inferred resources” are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with NI 43-101. These terms are not defined under Guide 7 and are not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC in the United States, except where required to be disclosed by foreign law. The term “resource” does not equate to the term “reserve”. Under Guide 7, the material described herein as “indicated resources” and “measured resources” would be characterized as “mineralized material” and is permitted to be disclosed in tonnage and grade only, not ounces. The category of “inferred resources” is not recognized by Guide 7. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in such categories will ever be converted into proven or probable reserves. “Resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of such a “resource” will ever be upgraded to a higher category or will ever be economically extracted. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a “resource” exists or is economically or legally mineable. Investors are also especially cautioned that the mere fact that such resources may be referred to in ounces of silver and/or gold, rather than in tons of mineralization and grades of silver and/or gold estimated per ton, is not an indication that such material will ever result in mined ore which is processed into commercial silver or gold.

Qualified Person (QP) Pursuant to Canadian National Instrument 43-101

Dean McDonald, PhD. P.Geo., Senior Vice President – Exploration of Hecla Mining Company, who serves as a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information concerning Hecla’s mineral projects in this news release. Information regarding data verification, surveys and investigations, quality assurance program and quality control measures and a summary of sample, analytical or testing procedures for the Greens Creek Mine are contained in a technical report prepared for Hecla titled “Technical Report for the Greens Creek Mine, Juneau, Alaska, USA” effective date December 31, 2018, and for the Casa Berardi Mine are contained in a technical report prepared for Hecla titled “Technical Report for the Casa Berardi Mine, Northwestern Quebec, Canada” effective date December 31, 2018 (the “Casa Berardi Technical Report”), and for the Lucky Friday Mine are contained in a technical report prepared for Hecla titled “Technical Report on the Lucky Friday Mine Shoshone County, Idaho, USA” effective date April 2, 2014, and for the San Sebastian Mine are contained in a technical report prepared for Hecla titled “Technical Report for the San Sebastian Ag-Au Property, Durango, Mexico” effective date September 8, 2015. Information regarding data verification, surveys and investigations, quality assurance program and quality control measures and a summary of sample, analytical or testing procedures for the Fire Creek Mine are contained in a technical report prepared for Klondex Mines titled “Technical Report for the Fire Creek Project, Lander County, Nevada”, dated March 31, 2018; the Hollister Mine dated May 31, 2017, amended August 9, 2017; and the Midas Mine dated August 31, 2014, amended April 2, 2015. Also included in these technical reports is a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral reserves and resources and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates may be affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant factors. Copies of these technical reports are available under Hecla's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Dr. McDonald reviewed and verified information regarding drill sampling, data verification of all digitally-collected data, drill surveys and specific gravity determinations relating to the Casa Berardi mine. The review encompassed quality assurance programs and quality control measures including analytical or testing practice, chain-of-custody procedures, sample storage procedures and included independent sample collection and analysis. This review found the information and procedures meet industry standards and are adequate for Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimation and mine planning purposes.

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For further information, please contact:
Mike Westerlund
Vice President – Investor Relations
800-HECLA91 (800-432-5291)
Investor Relations
Email: hmc-info@hecla-mining.com
Website: www.hecla-mining.com

Source: Hecla Mining Company