Second highest silver reserve and largest gold resource in company history

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) today reported exploration results and year end reserves. The exploration program has resulted in the second highest silver reserves and the largest gold resource in Hecla’s history. Drilling results include very high-grade and wide intercepts.

“Hecla’s silver reserves are the second highest in our 133-year history at 238 million silver ounces and only 1% less than last year’s all-time highest reserve, and gold resource is the highest in our history,” said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO. “The 2023 exploration program successfully expanded our reserves at Keno Hill and Lucky Friday and expanded mineralization at Greens Creek.”

Baker continued, “Keno Hill’s 2023 exploration provided an 11% increase in reserves, now 45% higher since the acquisition, and does not reflect much of the drilling reported this quarter, so we expect the reserve to grow. Drilling has intersected wider zones and higher grades – such as 54 ounces per ton silver over 39 feet – than are currently in the reserve model and has encountered high-grade mineralization more than 1,000 feet deeper than any previous drilling; both are changing the potential size of the deposit. At Greens Creek, Hecla's exploration efforts spanning 37 years consistently yield remarkable results in both grade and width across the four key metals: silver, gold, zinc, and lead, and we still have many potential targets to drill. It’s almost as if we get a jump in reserves every few years that further extends mine life.”

Baker concluded, “With the recent acquisition of ATAC and its massive 700 square mile land package, we now have 20 district-sized properties with excellent exploration potential to explore and grow our resource base, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Hecla produces almost half of silver in the U.S., and we expect to be Canada’s largest silver producer in 2024. With half a million ounces of silver required to produce 1 gigawatt of solar, Hecla is playing a key role in mining the silver the world needs.”

EXPLORATION HIGHLIGHTS

Select drill highlights from the company’s exploration programs include the following drill holes, additional drill holes and details are included later in this release.

KENO HILL

Footwall Vein: 54.0 oz/ton silver, 4.8% lead, and 2.5% zinc over 39.5 feet
Includes: 77.1 oz/ton silver, 8.1% lead, and 3.2% zinc over 11.4 feet; and
Includes: 122.1 oz/ton silver, 8.0% lead, and 6.5% zinc over 8.9 feet
Footwall Vein: 58.6 oz/ton silver, 3.6% lead, and 4.3% zinc over 10.1 feet
Main Vein: 32.7 oz/ton silver, 1.7% lead, and 1.7% zinc over 15.2 feet
Includes: 78.9 oz/ton silver, 3.9% lead, and 2.3% zinc over 5.8 feet
Main Vein: 32.4 oz/ton silver, 8.3% lead, and 4.1% zinc over 9.2 feet
Includes: 114.9 oz/ton silver, 41.5% lead, and 8.4% zinc over 1.5 feet
GREENS CREEK

West Zone

63.4 oz/ton silver, 0.64 oz/ton gold, 8.3% zinc, and 4.3% lead over 26.04 feet
28.3 oz/ton silver, 0.08 oz/ton gold, 8.3% zinc, and 4.7% lead over 12.8 feet
35.2 oz/ton silver, 0.08 oz/ton gold, 10.0% zinc, and 6.3% lead over 27.3 feet
Upper Plate Zone

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and
Hecla Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

Second highest revenues, silver reserves and production; Expecting silver production growth

For The Period Ended: December 31, 2023

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) ("Hecla" or the "Company") today announced fourth quarter 2023 financial and operating results.

HIGHLIGHTS

Silver reserves of 238 million ounces, silver production of 14.3 million ounces, and total sales of $720.2 million, all are the second highest in Company history.
Lucky Friday restarted production on January 9th, with first insurance proceeds received in February.
Hecla received a U.S. patent for the Underhand Closed Bench ("UCB") mining method.
Greens Creek achieved record throughput and generated $157.3 million in cash flow from operations and free cash flow of $121.6 million.2
Casa Berardi began the transition to surface only mining with results exceeding expectations.
Keno Hill began silver production in the second half of the year, focusing on improving safety and environmental performance while completing major infrastructure projects.
Completed Technical Report Summary for Keno Hill and Casa Berardi demonstrating the value of the assets.
All-Injury Frequency Rate ("AIFR") of 1.45, lower than the national average, Greens Creek and Lucky Friday recorded their lowest AIFR of 0.29 and 0.66, respectively.
"Hecla reported the second largest silver reserves, largest gold resource, and second highest silver production and revenues in our history despite the Lucky Friday losing five months of production due to a fire," said Phillips S. Baker Jr, President and CEO. "Greens Creek delivered another year of strong and consistent performance as we increased throughput. Casa Berardi exceeded our expectations for tons and cost per ton from operating our own surface fleet, and this strong performance is reflected in the updated technical report. At Keno Hill, we slowed the ramp-up of the mine due to the safety and environmental performance; however, with the silver grade over twice the grade of our other mines, it still contributed significantly to our silver production and, as the technical report shows, it will contribute even more in the future."

Baker continued, "Because of the suspension of production at Lucky Friday due to the fire and continued investment in ramp-up at Keno Hill, we have drawn on our revolving credit facility which we expect to pay down in 2024 with all four mines in operation and anticipated receipt of approximately $50 million of insurance proceeds. With Lucky Friday back in production and Keno Hill's continued ramp-up, we expect silver production to increase by 15-20% this year, and 30% by 2026, making Hecla one of the world’s fastest growing silver companies."

Baker concluded, "2023 was also a significant year in the energy transition as 75% of the world’s new renewable electric power generation capacity was solar, requiring 500,000 ounces per gigawatt of new installed capacity, which equates to as much as 190 million ounces of silver in solar demand. China alone installed as much solar as the entire world did in 2022, and significant new solar facilities are now planned for the United States. As the demand for silver in solar continues to rise, Hecla, the largest silver producer in the U.S., and soon Canada, is well positioned to leverage higher expected silver prices driven by increasing demand."

FINANCIAL OVERVIEW. see & read more on
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