Hecla nearly doubles exploration budget

Staff Writer | February 13, 2026 | 9:01 am Exploration Canada USA Gold Silver

Hecla Mining to speed up growth by expanding into Latin America

Greens Creek, in southeast Alaska, is one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost primary silver mines. (Image courtesy of Hecla Mining.)

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL), the largest silver producer in the US and Canada, plans to almost double its investments from last year on exploration and pre-development activities.

In a press release issued on Friday, the Idaho-based miner said it will spend $55 million on its projects in Nevada and producing assets including Greens Creek (Alaska), Keno Hill (Yukon Territory) and Lucky Friday (Idaho), with the goal of replacing or exceeding annual reserve depletion.

At the end of 2025, the company had an estimated reserve of 231 million silver ounces and about 2 million ounces in gold reserves. President and CEO Rob Krcmarov said the company has implemented “refined technical standards” across its reserve modeling, strengthening “the quality and credibility” of the estimates.“

Last year, Hecla invested a total of $25.2 million on exploration, plus $2.5 million on pre-development activities, focused on discovery drilling at the Midas project in Nevada and resource expansion at its producing assets.

in 2025, the company produced 17 million oz. of silver, half of which came from Greens Creek, the largest US silver mine. Lucky Friday also contributed a record 5.3 million oz.

Expansion opportunities

“Looking ahead, we’re signaling our confidence in future reserve replacement by nearly doubling our exploration budget in 2026 compared to the prior year,” he stated in the press release.

At both Greens Creek and Keno Hill, drilling continues to define and expand mineralization near resource boundaries, converting Inferred resources and identifying additional reserve extension opportunities, the company said. It also sees expansion potential at the Lucky Friday mine, which has been in production for over 80 years.

In Nevada, Hecla said it has identified “compelling high-grade discovery targets” at Midas, which hosts a historic mine that previously produced 27 million oz. of silver and 2.2 million oz. of gold. The company also holds several other projects in the state that it says offer “near-term production potential and district-scale discovery opportunities.”

Hecla Mining jumped by as much as 9% to $22.65 in New York on the announcement, taking its market capitalization to $15.2 billion.