COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2003--Hecla Mining
Company (NYSE:HL) today announced the results of its updated reserve
calculations.
Hecla has significant gold and silver reserves and resources at
its operating properties, as well as at several advanced exploration
projects.
As of January 1, 2003, Hecla's proven and probable reserves stood
at 769,205 ounces of gold and more than 40 million ounces of silver.
The reserves are calculated at a price of $300 per ounce of gold and
$4.75 per ounce of silver. These reserves are at currently operating
underground gold and silver mines.
However, according to Hecla's President and Chief Operating
Officer, Phillips S. Baker, Jr., this is not the whole picture for
Hecla. "All of Hecla's reserves are at underground mines where proving
reserves are expensive and often unnecessary. For example, the Lucky
Friday silver mine in northern Idaho has been operating for more than
40 years, yet rarely have we seen more than three years' worth of
proven and probable reserves at the mine. As you will see in the
attached tables, Hecla's mineralized material and other resources make
up a huge part of our future mining capabilities," said Baker. Most of
the gold and silver included in these categories can be mined at low
cost. In addition, there is good potential to increase Hecla's proven
and probable reserves during 2003, based on the planned exploration
program.
Proven and probable gold reserves have stayed roughly the same as
last year's calculation, essentially replacing Hecla's mined
production of 240,000 ounces of gold during the year. Ounces were
taken out of the proven and probable category in the silver segment at
Lucky Friday, primarily because a development decision has not yet
been made to access the next lower level of the mine. However, tonnage
in the mineralized material and other resources categories at all
properties has increased significantly.
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ESTIMATED ORE RESERVES
Proven and
Probable
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Silver Lead Zinc
Mine -
(Hecla interest in %) Tons (oz/ton)(oz/ton) (%) (%)
------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky Friday Unit - - - - -
Greens Creek (29.73%) 2,095,703 0.13 14.9 4.2 11.4
San Sebastian 369,556 0.24 23.7 - -
La Camorra 453,224 0.91 - - -
------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL
------------------------------------------------------------
Proven and
Probable
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Silver Lead Zinc
Mine - (Hecla interest in %) (ounces) (ounces) (tons) (tons)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky Friday Unit - - - -
Greens Creek (29.73%) 268,603 31,252,609 88,574 238,029
San Sebastian 88,269 8,761,109 - -
La Camorra 412,332 - - -
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 769,205 40,013,718 88,574 238,029
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Mineralized Material (5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Silver Lead Zinc
Mine - (Hecla interest in %) Tons (oz/ton)(oz/ton) (%) (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
San Sebastian
Don Sergio (1) 147,286 0.43 2.5 - -
San Sebastian (1) 17,798 0.14 11.7 - -
La Camorra
Canaima (2) 547,172 0.38 - - -
Lucky Friday (3) 1,082,010 - 13.2 8.5 1.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T
(1) In situ Francine vein and Don Sergio vein, diluted to assumed
mining width and adjusted for expected mining recovery.
(2) In situ resources, Lower and Middle veins, diluted and
factored for mining recovery (90%).
(3) In situ resources considered to be mineable with current mine
plan, Gold Hunter 30, 80, and 110 veins, and Lucky Friday Vein;
adjusted for dilution and mining recovery.
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*T
Other Resources (5)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold Silver Lead Zinc
Mine - (Hecla interest in %) Tons (oz/ton)(oz/ton) (%) (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky Friday (1) 5,351,440 - 11.8 6.1 2.5
Greens Creek (29.73%) (2) 810,237 0.13 17.0 4.9 11.3
La Camorra
Block B (3) 430,259 0.62 - - -
La Camorra (4) 211,428 0.56 - - -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T
(1) All identified resources above cutoff, Measured, Indicated and
Inferred, diluted to assumed mining width, but not adjusted for mining
recovery.
(2) Inferred resources, Central West, SW, NWW, '9A', and 200S
orebodies, factored for dilution and mining recovery.
(3) Inferred in situ diluted resource, not factored for mining
recovery.
(4) Inferred resource, diluted (15%) and factored (95%) for mining
recovery.
(5) Securities and Exchange Commission guidelines do not allow the
company to complete the calculation of tons multiplied by grade to
equal contained ounces in the "mineralized material" and "other
resources" categories.
Hecla's exploration expenditures in 2002 were approximately $5.8
million, with about half of that occurring in the fourth quarter.
Baker said, "Hecla has had excellent exploration results from our
projects in Mexico near the San Sebastian mine, at Canaima, which is
near the La Camorra gold mine in Venezuela and at Block B, also in
Venezuela. Because of our large suite of exciting targets, we will be
significantly increasing our exploration expenditures during 2004 with
the focus of identifying more resources and moving more ounces into
the proven and probable category."
Hecla released an update on recent exploration results on February
10, 2003. It can be accessed at Hecla's website under "news releases"
at www.hecla-mining.com.
Other Matters
Hecla today announced that in the interest of conserving cash for
exploration, development and acquisition opportunities, its board of
directors has elected to defer the January 1, 2003, quarterly payment
of dividends to the holders of Hecla Series B Cumulative Convertible
Preferred Stock.
Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, mines
and processes silver and gold in the United States, Venezuela and
Mexico. A 112-year-old company, Hecla has long been well known in the
mining world and financial markets as a quality silver and gold
producer. Hecla's common and preferred shares are traded on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbols HL and HL-PrB.
Statements made which are not historical facts, such as
anticipated payments, litigation outcome, production, sales of assets,
exploration results and plans, costs, prices or sales performance are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and involve a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or implied.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals
price volatility, volatility of metals production, exploration risks
and results, project development risks and ability to raise financing.
Refer to the company's Form 10-Q and 10-K reports for a more detailed
discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The
company undertakes no obligation and has no intention of updating
forward-looking statements.
Cautionary Note to Investors - The United States Securities and
Exchange Commission permits mining companies, in their filings with
the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can
economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in
this news release, such as "resource," "other resources" and "inferred
resources," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from
including in our filing with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to
consider closely the disclosure in our Form S-1, File No. 333-100395.
You can review and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC's
website at sec.gov.
--30--MRO/se*
CONTACT: Hecla Mining Company
Vicki J. Veltkamp, 208/769-4144
hecla-mining.com
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