Hecla Mining Company (Hecla) and Alexco Resource Corp. (Alexco) announced today completion of the Alexco acquisition.
โWith the worldโs increasing demand for silver for clean energy, Hecla is helping meet that demand as the worldโs fastest growing established silver miner,โ said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Heclaโs President & CEO. โSince 2010, Hecla has increased silver production by more than 25 percent. With the additional production from Alexcoโs Keno Hill, and the continued production growth from Greens Creek and Lucky Friday, we expect Hecla to produce 17-20 million ounces per year in the next few years, which is 30 to 55 percent more than 2021. Heclaโs silver production is in the United States where it already produces 40 percent of all the silver mined and, with Keno Hill, Hecla is on the path of being Canadaโs largest silver producer as well.โ
โThe Keno Hill property is in a premier mining jurisdiction where the First Nation of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun and Yukon governments are supportive of mining. Like our other operations where we have had decades of mining and have become an integral part of the communities, we look forward to doing the same in the Yukon,โ Baker added.
Baker said, “Keno Hill currently has an almost decade-long high-grade reserve life, which we expect to extend as we drill on identified resources. With the fully operational mill and development that is in place we donโt anticipate a large capital program to bring the mine into production. Over the coming months Hecla plans to invest in development, infrastructure, and equipment so there are adequate mining faces and good working conditions to bring Keno Hill to full and consistent production by the end of 2023.โ
As part of the acquisition, Hecla issued 17,992,875million shares of its common stock to Alexco shareholders for a total consideration of approximately USD 69million based on a share exchange ratio of 0.116 of a Hecla share for each Alexco common share. Concurrent with the acquisition, the silver streaming interest at Alexcoโs Keno Hill property held by Wheaton Precious Metals Corp was terminated in exchange for USD135 million of Hecla common stock, in the form of 34,800,989 million shares of Hecla common stock based on the 5-day VWAP of USD 3.88per share. As part of the transaction, Hecla provided Alexco with a USD30 million secured loan facility, of which USD 25 million was drawn when the transaction closed.
