Hecla Mining Company ((HL) today announced its preliminary silver and gold production for the fourth quarter and full year 2023.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Silver production of 14.3 million ounces exceeded 2022 production of 14.2 million ounces, despite the temporary shutdown at the Lucky Friday mine since August 2023
- As expected, annual gold production decreased 14% as Casa Berardi transitions to an open pit mine; Greens Creek gold production increased 26%
- Commenced restart at the Lucky Friday; ramp-up to full production and receipt of insurance payments expected to commence in the first quarter of 2024
- Keno Hill produced 1.5 million ounces, with the Bermingham deposit achieving the highest mined tonnage in December; initiated a safety action plan to build a strong operational foundation at the mine
“Hecla faced multiple challenges in 2023 with the fire at the Lucky Friday mine and improving the safety culture at Keno Hill, but despite these challenges, silver production exceeded last year as Greens Creek delivered another strong year, Lucky Friday’s production through July with our patented UCB method produced more silver than the mine typically produced in a full year with the old mining method, and the roughly half year of production at Keno Hill shows its potential to be a meaningful producer,” said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO. “As planned, we began the transition of Casa Berardi’s production to surface mining, which lowered production but increased margins.”
Baker continued, “We look forward to a strong year in 2024 as we execute our growth strategy to deliver up to 20 million ounces of silver production by 2025. With silver’s critical role in energy transition and its application in solar electricity generation, Hecla will play an important role in producing silver as the world’s fastest-growing established silver producer and the dominant producer of silver in the U.S. and soon Canada.”
