Greens Creek sets 3-year silver record

Hecla Mining Company July 18 reported that its Greens Creek Mine produced 2.37 million ounces of silver during the second quarter of 2019, a 19 percent increase over the same period of 2018. This marks the highest silver production at the Southeast Alaska operation in three years.

Greens Creek also churned out 13,256 oz of gold during the quarter ending June 30, which is down 3 percent compared to a year ago.

The Idaho-based miner said higher ore grades due to mining sequencing is the primary reason for the higher silver production at Greens Creek during this year's second quarter.

The mill processed an average of 2,301 tons of ore per day during the second quarter, which is consistent with the 2,298 tons per day fed through the mill during the first three months of this year.

Greens Creek also produces appreciable amounts of byproduct zinc and lead. The exact amounts of these base metals produced at the mine near Juneau will be published in Hecla's third quarter financial report, expected next month.

Combined, Hecla's five operating mines – Greens Creek, Lucky Friday (Idaho), Casa Berardi (Quebec), San Sebastian (Mexico) and newly acquired Nevada Operations – produced 3.02 million oz of silver, 58,390 oz gold, 26.63 million pounds of zinc and 11.03 million lb of lead during the first quarter.

"Our strong silver production reflects the continued outperformance of Greens Creek, which had higher grades and recoveries during the quarter as expected," said Hecla Mining President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr. "San Sebastian is continuing to perform as expected as we continue the bulk sample test of the sulfide material. We expect gold production to be higher at both Casa Berardi and in Nevada in the second half of the year, particularly the fourth quarter."

–SHANE LASLEY

CORRECTION: The quarter reported was corrected to second quarter of 2019.