chdobull
5 years ago
Full Production MINE- AHEAD !!!
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) today announced that the union workers have voted not to ratify the Tentative Agreement reached by the USW and Hecla negotiating committees. The Company is committed to bringing the mine back to full production and is increasing the hiring of employees and contractors.
βFor much of 2019 we have employed a number of hourly workers who, combined with our salaried workforce, have operated the Lucky Friday on a limited basis,β said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO. βWe will now accelerate hiring and utilizing contractors with the goal of reaching full production by year-end 2020. While we would have preferred ratification of the agreement reached by the two negotiating committees, after three years of negotiating we believe the best interests of the company and community is the Lucky Friday in full operation. The mine has operated for 75 years, and we believe its best days with projected higher grades and more cash flow, are in front of it.β
WHITTENHALLJR
5 years ago
Hecla's silver production has taken a hit since most of the workforce went on strike at the Lucky Friday mine in Idaho in March 2017.
But he remains optimistic about the "game-changing" potential of an Atlas Copco continuous rock miner ordered for Lucky Friday and still on schedule to be delivered next year.
The mine has perhaps another three decades of reserve life if it can get its costs in order.
tlas opco obile iner could be ucky riday game changer
Atlas Copco Mobile Miner could be Lucky Friday 'game changer'
"We're expecting to see this tunnel boring technology on site by the end of 2019, and then we'll test it and if it works we'll eliminate the drill and blast for stopes, [and] we would only drill and blast for development," Baker said.
"[The mobile miner] is specifically ideal for the Lucky Friday because we have a half-mile long [and] roughly a mile vertical, perpendicular vein and it doesn't deviate much left or right. So it's a straight shot and in this perfect set-up β¦ if we're able to have [the continuous miner] working at the face for seven hours of a 24-hour day, we will produce as much ore as we produce today with drilling and blasting.
"If we're able to work it for 11 hours we will completely top out all of the infrastructure that we have.
"So this has the potential to be a huge game changer for the Lucky Friday."
The new production unit could be used at other sites, "but won't be as good an application as it would there [at Lucky Friday]," he said.