The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi push Hecla's metals output higher North of 60 Mining News – July 15, 2022
Hecla's Greens Creek underground mine in Southeast Alaska produced 2.4 million oz of silver, 12,413 oz of gold, along with zinc and lead during the second quarter of 2022.
High-grade silver ore cut during drilling at Alexco's Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon.
Hecla Mining Company July 12 reported that its Greens Creek Mine in Southeast Alaska produced 2.4 million ounces of silver and 12,413 oz of gold during the second quarter of 2022.
The second quarter silver output at the underground operation near Juneau, Alaska, is roughly 8% lower than the 2.6 million oz produced during the same period of 2021 and roughly equivalent to the first quarter of this year. The second quarter gold production, however, is only around 3% lower than Q2 2021 and 9% higher than Q1 2022 due to higher gold grades.
The Greens Creek mill averaged 2,303 tons per day during the second quarter 2022, which is down 3% from the 2,366 tpd during Q2 2021 and down 2% from Q1 2022.
Greens Creek accounted for approximately 67% of the 3.6 million oz of silver and 27% of the 45,718 oz of gold produced by Hecla during the second quarter.
Lucky Friday tops 1M oz silver
Most of the balance of silver came from the company's iconic Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho, which produced 1.2 million oz of the precious metal during the second quarter, a sharp increase over the 888,000 oz produced during Q1 of this year.
Hecla attributes the higher silver output to a 25% increase in throughput and 9% higher grades. The higher throughput was achieved upon improved equipment availability and the commissioning of new underground equipment, which is better suited for the mining method now being employed at the Idaho Mine.
The Lucky Friday mill operated at a record average throughput rate of 1,071 tpd for the quarter. The mill averaged 1,140 tpd in June, indicating continued improvements going into the second half of 2022.
"Lucky Friday's silver production surpassed the 1-million-ounce mark for the quarter, totaling 1.2 million ounces, a 38% increase over the previous quarter as we see the benefits to throughput resulting from the continuous improvement of the UCB mining method, and increasing grades," said Hecla Mining President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr.
More Casa Berardi gold
Hecla's Casa Berardi Mine in Quebec produced 33,306 oz of gold during the second quarter, a 10% increase over the 30,240 oz in the prior quarter. The increase in production was the result of higher throughput, recoveries, and grades.
The Casa Berardi mill operated at an average of 4,413 tpd during Q1 compared to an average of 4,291 tpd in the prior quarter.
In addition to silver and gold, Hecla's Greens Creek and Lucky Friday Mines produced 16,766 tons of zinc and 13,331 of lead. While these base metals are not separated per operation, Greens Creek tends to be more enriched with zinc and Lucky Friday is weighted more toward lead.
Keno Hill acquisition
In addition to strong performance at its current operations, Hecla announced earlier this month that it is acquiring Alexco Resource Corp., owner of the Keno Hill Silver District project in Canada's Yukon.
"In addition to being the largest silver producer in the United States, with completion of necessary development at Keno Hill, Hecla has the potential to become the largest silver producer in Canada," said Baker.
Further details of the Alexco acquisition can be read at Hecla to acquire Keno Hill silver mine in the July 8, 2022 edition of North of 60 Mining News.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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