North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Hecla Mining Co. July 16 said its Greens Creek Mine produced 1,856,125 million ounces of silver during the second quarter, a 10 percent increase over the 1,689,183 oz. recovered from the Southeast Alaska operation during the same period of 2014.

Hecla attributes this higher silver production to improved recoveries and grade, partially offset by slightly lower tonnage.

Silver recoveries increased 8 percent, or 5.6 percentage points, to 75.4 percent compared to 2014 due to modifications to the flotation circuit.

"Higher grades and recoveries at Greens Creek during the quarter continued to improve the mine's already strong performance," said Hecla President and CEO Phillips Baker, Jr.

"For a mine producing over seven million ounces of silver a year, an 8 percent increase in silver recovery is a significant value driver, especially when coupled with the higher grades.

We expect these recoveries and grades to continue at Greens Creek through the remainder of the year." As a result, Hecla now expects Greens Creek to produce 7.7 to 8 million ounces of silver in 2015, significantly higher than the 7.3 million oz. forecast at the beginning of the year.

While silver production was up, gold production at Greens Creek was down 8 percent to 13,753 oz. during the second quarter.

Hecla attributes this reduction to lower tonnage and grade partially offset by recoveries that increased due to the same plant improvements that increased silver recoveries.

The Greens Creek mill operated at an average of 2,194 tons per day in the second quarter.

Company-wide, silver production decreased two percent to 2.48 million oz in the second quarter, compared to the same period of 2014; gold production increased three percent to 44,692 oz for the same periods.

As a result of higher silver production at Greens Creek, Hecla now forecasts company-wide silver production to climb to 11 million oz, a bump up from the 10.5 million oz previously predicted.

Hecla had roughly US$190 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.

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