Hecla Mining Reports Record Silver Output in Q1

Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) released preliminary Q1 2016 silver and gold production results, commenting that it achieved record silver output of 4,642,703 — that’s up 61 percent from the year-ago period. Meanwhile, gold production clocked in at 55,688, up 37 percent.
Other Q1 highlights are as follows:

• Record silver equivalent production of 12,033,955 ounces, a 37% increase.²
• Lead production increased 12% and zinc production increased 7.9%.
• 2016 production and cost expectations will be reviewed in conjunction with the first quarter financial results on May 5, 2016.

Phillips S. Baker, Jr., president and CEO of Hecla, commented:

For the first quarter of 2016, our 125^th year of operations, we produced a record 4.6 million ounces of silver and 12 million silver equivalent ounces. We believe the first quarter silver equivalent production will be the highest for the year, due to grades that were higher than those expected for the remainder of the year. Our strategy of growing production through the downturn in prices is now allowing us to reap a larger benefit from the recent higher prices.

Click here to read the full Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) press release.