Lucky Friday silver production booming

COEUR d'ALENE - Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur d'Alene, said Monday that silver production at Lucky Friday reached 821,000 ounces in the second quarter.

That is up from 217,000 in the second quarter last year, for an increase of 278 percent, the company reported. Lucky Friday re-opened in February 2013, and has now reached full production levels.

Overall, the company produced 2.5 million ounces of silver in the second quarter.

"During the second quarter, production grew for all our metals over the prior year period as we realized the benefits of the Casa Berardi acquisition and a fully operational Lucky Friday," said Phillips S. Baker Jr., Hecla's president and CEO. Casa Berardi is a gold mine located in Quebec, Canada.

"The combination of growing production and higher metals prices with approximately $222 million in cash at quarter-end, inclusive of warrant proceeds, puts Hecla in a strong position entering the third quarter," Baker said.

The Lucky Friday, near Mullan, produced 700,000 ounces of silver in the first quarter. That was up from 120,000 ounces in the first quarter of 2013.

Also at Lucky Friday, the No. 4 Shaft growth project is more than 68 percent complete, with a completion target date in the third quarter of 2016, at a cost of $215 million. The No. 4 Shaft has now been excavated to the 7,300-foot level.