Hecla nearly doubles exploration budget

Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), the largest silver producer in the U.S. and Canada, plans to almost double investments this year on exploration and pre-development activities. The stock surged.

Idaho-based Hecla will spend $55 million on projects in Nevada and producing assets including Alaska’s Greens Creek, Keno Hill in the Yukon Territory and Idaho’s Lucky Friday with the goal of replacing or exceeding annual reserve depletion, according to a statement issued Friday.

“Looking ahead, we’re signaling our confidence in future reserve replacement by nearly doubling our exploration budget in 2026 compared to the prior year,” CEO Rob Krcmarov said in the statement.

Hecla invested $25.2 million on exploration last year, 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.

Expansion opportunities

Hecla shares jumped 8.2% to $22.60 in New York trading Friday, taking the company’s market capitalization to about $15.3 billion. the stock has gained about 20% so far this year.

Drilling at both Greens Creek and Keno Hill continues to define and expand mineralization near resource boundaries, converting inferred resources and identifying additional reserve extension opportunities, the company said. Hecla 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.”

Estimated reserves stood at about 231 million silver oz. and about 2 million oz. gold at year-end, the company said. Hecla has implemented “refined technical standards” across its reserve modeling, strengthening “the quality and credibility” of the estimates, Krcmarov said.

Hecla produced 17 million oz. of silver last year, half of which came from Greens Creek, the largest U.S. silver mine. Lucky Friday also contributed a record 5.3 million oz.