Friendly bid comes barely a month after the Vancouver-based company rejected a hostile offer from fellow Canadian miner Alamos God.
Put volume was particularly heavy on Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) during the course of Thursday's session, with approximately 22,000 of these bearishly oriented options crossing the tape.
A northern Idaho silver mine that was shut down after a series of accidents last year, including the deaths of two miners, will start rehiring in July and should have a full workforce by the end of the year, Hecla Mining Co. Chief Executive Officer Phil Baker said.
Hecla Mining reported the largest resource calculation in company history today with 148 million ounces of silver reserves and 281 million ounces of resources. The silver numbers represented a 4% increase in reserves and a 13% bump in resources. Hecla also noted a 33% increase in gold resources to 597,600 ounces, while lead and zinc increased a respective 21% and 26%.
Some shareholders have sued Hecla Mining Co. for stock losses they endured after the federal government shut down the Lucky Friday Mine for safety violations.
US mine safety authorities on Wednesday ordered Hecla to shut down the silver shaft at its Lucky Friday mine for the rest of the year following a rockburst in December and a string of accidents, two of them fatal, at the Idhaho mine during 2011.
Seven miners have been pulled from Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday mine after a collapse Wednesday evening. Media reports say that six of the workers were treated at the scene while a seventh was treated at hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) has acquired the remaining 30% interest in the San Juan Silver project in Colorado's Creede silver-producing district, for $33.8 million in stock.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) ranks first with a gain of 10.73%; First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) ranks second with a gain of 9.41%; and Coeur d'Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) ranks third with a gain of 8.85%.
Production was halted temporarily at Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday silver mine due to an accident involving two contractors who were constructing an underground rock bin. The company said the accident occurred Thursday during construction of the #4 Shaft at the mine in northern Idaho.
Hecla Mining CEO Phil Baker Tuesday predicted the higher the gold price goes, the more small investor interest in silver will increase.
Reuters Africa reported that lower silver production hurt Q2 profits for Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL).
Bloomberg News reports that Hecla Mining, the biggest silver producer in the United States, has agreed to pay $263 million to settle one of the country's biggest Superfund lawsuits:
Hecla’s payment, including interest, will be made to the federal government, the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe and the state of Idaho, resolving claims stemming from waste discharged from its mining operations, the U.S. Justice Department said today in an e-mailed statement.
After more than nine days of holding out hope that trapped miner Larry “Pete” Marek was alive after a mine collapse, Hecla Mining Company said it believed Marek was dead and changed the rescue mission for Marek into a recovery mission at the Lucky Friday Mine early Easter Sunday morning.
In a press release, Hecla stated “we are heartbroken to report that we now believe that Larry was under the fall of ground when it occurred and is deceased.”
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