Silver production rises while gold production sees a decline
Hecla Mining Company released its preliminary results for silver and gold production in the third quarter and the initial nine months of 2023.
Key Takeaways
- Comparing Year to Date 2023 with YTD 2022:
- Silver production experienced an 8% growth.
- Gold production saw a 14% decrease.
- Production of zinc and lead remained steady.
- Keno Hill reported production of 0.9 million ounces of silver with a third-quarter throughput of 268 tons per day (tpd).
Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO, commented on the silver production, noting a considerable increase compared to last year’s first three quarters. He acknowledged the challenges at Lucky Friday but expressed confidence in meeting the 2023 silver production guidance. He also mentioned the progression at Casa Berardi towards full open pit mining, expected to conclude in 2024, and the plans at Lucky Friday, with silver production projected to reach about 20 million ounces by 2025.
Operational Highlights
- Greens Creek: Produced 2.3 million ounces of silver and 15,010 ounces of gold in Q3. While silver production remained unchanged, gold production declined by 8%. The mine aims to achieve a throughput of 2,600 tpd in Q4 2023.
- Lucky Friday: Reported production of 475 thousand ounces of silver in Q3. Due to a fire incident in August 2023, production was halted, but operations are set to resume with a new secondary egress under development. There is no anticipated significant impact on 2024 production.
- Keno Hill: Progressed towards full production in Q3 with over 700 thousand ounces of silver produced. With most infrastructure set up, it’s expected to ramp up throughput after the commissioning of a new crusher in November.
- Casa Berardi: Produced 24,259 ounces of gold in Q3, marking a 28% increase from the previous quarter. This increase is attributed to operations resuming normally after wildfire-related road closures earlier in the year. Some operational enhancements, including upgrades to the grinding circuit, were also undertaken during the quarter.
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