Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) today announced preliminary
silver and gold production results1 for the fourth quarter and full
year 2015 that exceeded the Company’s expectations. The results are
due to strong performance from all three mines. In addition, the
newly developed San Sebastian Mine in Mexico commenced commercial
production late in the fourth quarter.
2015 HIGHLIGHTS
- Silver production of 11.6 million
ounces, a Company record and exceeding guidance of 10.5-11 million
ounces.
- Gold production of 189,162 ounces,
exceeding guidance of 185,000 ounces.
- 37.5 million silver equivalent ounces
of production, a 9% increase over 2014 and 63% increase over 2013
levels, exceeding guidance of 35 million ounces.2
- San Sebastian began producing silver
and gold late in the fourth quarter.
“Despite a difficult metals market, Hecla’s production continues
to grow, setting the 2nd consecutive annual silver production
record,” said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO.
“All three mines exceeded guidance and San Sebastian has begun
production. We are continuing to see results from our strategy of
investing in production growth, causing our silver equivalent
production to be the most in our 125-year history. This growth,
along with cost controls and focused investment, puts Hecla in a
good position now and when metals prices rebound.”
Greens Creek
Greens Creek’s annual silver production of 8.5 million ounces
was the highest since 2007 when the annual tonnage was 11% lower
and the grade was 13% higher (Hecla acquired 100% of the mine in
2008), and exceeded 2014 production by more than 600,000 ounces.
Greens Creek’s fourth quarter production of 2.6 million ounces of
silver was 4.4% higher than the fourth quarter 2014 production of
2.5 million ounces, and production of 17,198 ounces of gold was
12.5% higher than the fourth quarter 2014 production of 15,289
ounces. The mill operated at an average of 2,231 tons per day (tpd)
in 2015.
(1) See cautionary statement regarding preliminary statements at
the end of this release.
(2) Silver equivalent calculation based on average actual price
for each metal in the respective year. Guidance calculation based
on the following prices: $17.25 for Ag, $1,225 for Au, $0.90 for
Pb, and $1.00 for Zn.
Lucky Friday
Lucky Friday posted a strong increase in silver production over
the fourth quarter as the new ventilation system enabled normal
operations to resume. Lucky Friday’s fourth quarter production of
985,698 ounces of silver was 32.2% higher than the fourth quarter
2014 production of 745,766 ounces. Annual production of 3.0 million
ounces of silver was 6.5% lower than the prior year. The mill
operated at an average of 815 tpd in 2015.
Casa Berardi
Casa Berardi’s fourth quarter production of 42,282 ounces of
gold was 7.4% higher than the fourth quarter 2014 production of
39,385 ounces, and represented the highest quarterly production
since Hecla acquired the mine on June 1, 2013. Annual gold
production was 127,891, a 0.3% reduction over the prior year. The
mill operated at an average of 2,313 tpd in 2015.
San Sebastian
San Sebastian began processing ore on December 10, and produced
its first doré on December 22. The mine produced 75,552 ounces of
silver and 705 ounces of gold at year end.
Fourth
Quarter Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31, 2015 December 31, 2014
December 31, 2015
December 31, 2014
PRODUCTION
Increase
Increase Silver
3,638,184 oz. 3,213,096 oz.
13.2% 11,585,477
oz. 11,090,506 oz.
4.5% Gold 60,185
oz. 54,674 oz.
10.1% 189,162 oz. 186,998 oz.
1.2% Lead 11,439 tons 9,788 tons
16.9% 39,965 tons 40,256 tons
(0.7)%
Zinc 19,036 tons 17,219 tons
10.6% 70,073
tons 67,970 tons
3.1% Greens Creek
2,568,025 silver oz. 2,459,092 silver oz.
4.4%
8,452,153 silver oz. 7,826,341 silver oz.
8.0%
Greens Creek 17,198 gold oz. 15,289 gold oz.
12.5% 60,566 gold oz. 58,754 gold oz.
3.1%
Lucky Friday 985,698 silver oz. 745,766 silver
oz.
32.2% 3,028,134 silver oz. 3,239,151 silver oz.
(6.5)% Casa Berardi 42,282 gold oz.
39,385 gold oz.
7.4% 127,891 gold oz. 128,244 gold
oz.
(0.3)% San Sebastian 75,552 silver
oz.1 --
75,552 silver oz.1 --
(1) San Sebastian produced its first doré on December 22,
2015.
Hecla expects to report fourth quarter and 2015 financial
results and expectations for 2016 on February 23, 2016.
MANAGEMENT CHANGE
Robert Brown has been appointed as Vice President - Corporate
Development, following the retirement of Don Poirier.
“We want to thank Don for his significant contributions to Hecla
over the last eight years. Don leaves a much stronger Hecla as a
result of transformative acquisitions that have helped us weather
the current price environment and provided exploration and
operating potential that should give shareholders significant value
well into the future. We wish him well in his retirement,” said
Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO. “In this
environment we see opportunities for corporate and asset
transactions, so we welcome Rob to the team.”
Prior to being appointed Vice President - Corporate Development,
Robert Brown, a geologist with an MBA, served as an advisor to
Hecla since March 2015. His more than 20 years of corporate
development and analyst roles have been with Barrick Gold, Fortuna
Silver and Yorkton Securities.
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 six 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 Preliminary Results
All measures of the Company’s fourth quarter and 2015 operating
results contained in this news release, including cash on hand, are
preliminary and reflect the Company’s expected fourth quarter and
2015 results as of the date of this news release. Actual reported
fourth quarter and full year 2015 results are subject to
management’s final review as well as review by the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm and may vary
significantly from those expectations because of a number of
factors, including, without limitation, additional or revised
information and changes in accounting standards or policies or in
how those standards are applied.
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 annual silver production for
2015 on a consolidated basis and at each of the Greens Creek, Lucky
Friday and San Sebastian mines, annual gold production for 2015 at
Casa Berardi and fourth quarter 2015 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 10-K 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.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160112005394/en/
Hecla Mining CompanyInvestor RelationsMike Westerlund,
800-HECLA91
(800-432-5291)hmc-info@hecla-mining.comwww.hecla-mining.com
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