Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL) has reported strong preliminary production results for the third quarter of 2022. As such, the company has increased its silver and gold production guidance for the fiscal year.
Silver production reached 3.6 million ounces for the quarter, on track to exceed the original production guidance. The major contributor was the Greens Creek mine in Alaska, which operated at a record throughput of 2,500 t/d – a 10% increase over the prior quarter – and produced 2% more silver at 2.5 million ounces. The remaining silver production came from the Lucky Friday mine in Idaho, which saw a slight drop in production (100,000 oz.) from the last quarter.
Gold production totalled 44,747 ounces, in line with the second quarter of 2022. Production from the Greens Creek mine decreased by 8% to 11,412 ounces due to lower grades. The Casa Berardi mine in Quebec churned out 33,335 ounces, which was consistent with the prior quarter’s output, as the mill operated at a new record monthly throughput of 4,856 t/d in September.
“Hecla reported another strong quarter of operational performance from all three mines as Greens Creek achieved record throughput for the quarter, Lucky Friday’s quarterly production continued to exceed 1 million ounces and the mine has already produced around 90% of last year’s annual production, and Casa Berardi delivered consistent production with the mill continuing the record throughput rates,” CEO Phillips Baker Jr. said in a news release.
“We also completed the acquisition of Alexco and are advancing Keno Hill development for consistent mill production in 2023,” he added. To date, approximately 20% of total planned preproduction development at Keno Hill is complete.
Hecla is raising its fiscal 2022 production guidance to 13.6-14.1 million ounces for silver and 169,000-180,000 ounces for gold.
Shares in Hecla Mining Company rose 3.4% by 11:00 a.m. ET following the revised guidance, giving the largest US silver producer a market value of $2.4 billion.
