Hecla Mining Co. (HL) will pay $263.4 million plus interest to
settle a lawsuit that charged the company's silver mining
operations with polluting Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Basin, the
Department of Justice said Monday.
The settlement stems from a suit originally brought in 1991 by
the area's Coeur d'Alene tribe. The federal government joined the
suit in 1996, and the state of Idaho on Monday joined as a party to
the settlement.
The latest settlement will help pay for cleanup work already
performed since the early 1980s on the Environmental Protection
Agency-designated Superfund site.
The lawsuit alleged Hecla released millions of tons of mining
wastes, including lead and arsenic, into the Coeur d'Alene River
and its tributaries.
The company wasn't immediately available for comment.
A predecessor of mining company Asarco Inc., another major
defendant in the suit, settled its case in 2008 as part of its
emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
Hecla Shares were recently off 8 cents to $7.30 Monday. The
stock is up 37% over the past 12 months.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com