Part I - Financial Information

Item 1. Financial Statements

Hecla Mining Company and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Unaudited)

(Dollars and shares in thousands, except for per-share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

Hecla Mining Company and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

Hecla Mining Company and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

(In thousands, except shares)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

Hecla Mining Company and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity (Unaudited)

(Dollars are in thousands, except for share and per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the interim condensed consolidated financial statements.

Note 1.    Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Hecla Mining Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Hecla,” “the Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us,” except where the context requires otherwise) have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and do not include all information and disclosures required annually by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Therefore, this information should be read in conjunction with Hecla Mining Company’s consolidated financial statements and notes contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (“2021 Form 10-K”). The consolidated December 31, 2021 balance sheet data was derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The information furnished herein reflects all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods reported. All such adjustments are, in the opinion of management, of a normal recurring nature. Operating results for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2022.

The 2019 novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) was characterized as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. We continue to take precautionary measures to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, including implementing operational plans and practices. As long as they are required, the operational practices implemented could continue to have an adverse impact on our operating results due to deferred production and revenues or additional costs. We incurred $0.1 million and $0.4 million in COVID-19 mitigation costs during the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $1.4 million and $3.0 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. We continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation and guidance from federal, state, local and foreign governments and public health authorities and may take additional actions based on their recommendations. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business and financial results will also depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and the success of the current vaccination programs and the related impact on prices, demand, creditworthiness and other market conditions and governmental reactions, all of which are highly uncertain.

Note 2.    Business Segments and Sales of Products

We discover, acquire and develop mines and other mineral interests and produce and market (i) concentrates, containing silver, gold, lead and zinc, (ii) carbon material containing silver and gold, and (iii) doré containing silver and gold. We are currently organized and managed in four segments: Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi and Nevada Operations.

General corporate activities not associated with operating mines and their various exploration activities, as well as discontinued operations and idle properties, are presented as “other.”  Interest expense, interest income and income and mining taxes are considered general corporate items, and are not allocated to our segments.

The following tables present information about our reportable segments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

The following table presents identifiable assets by reportable segment as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 (in thousands):

Sales by metal for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (in thousands):

Sales included net gains of $11.3 million and $6.6 million for the second quarter and first half of 2022, respectively, on financially-settled forward contracts for silver, gold, lead and zinc contained in our sales. Sales included net losses of $3.3 million and $0.5 million for the second quarter and first half of 2021, respectively, on such contracts. See Note 8 for more information.

Note 3.   Income and Mining Taxes

Major components of our income and mining tax benefit (provision) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows (in thousands):

The income and mining tax benefit (provision) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 varies from the amounts that would have resulted from applying the statutory tax rates to pre-tax income due primarily to the impact of taxation in foreign jurisdictions and non-recognition of net operating losses and foreign exchange gains and losses in certain jurisdictions.

For the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022, we used the annual effective tax rate method to calculate the tax provision, a change from the discrete method used for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2021, due to reversal of valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2021. Valuation allowances on Nevada, Mexico and certain Canadian net operating losses were treated as discrete adjustments to the annual effective tax rate method calculation, partially causing the increase in the income tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, as compared to the three and six months ended June 30, 2021.

Note 4.   Employee Benefit Plans

We sponsor defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all U.S. employees.  Net periodic pension cost for the plans consisted of the following for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

For the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, the service cost component of net periodic pension cost is included in the same line items of our condensed consolidated financial statements as other employee compensation costs. The net expense related to all other components of net periodic pension cost of $1.4 million and $2.7 million, respectively, for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022, and $0.2 million and $0.3 million for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2021, respectively, is included in other (expense) income on our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

During May 2022, we contributed $5.6 million in shares of our common stock to two of our defined benefit plans. In January 2021, we contributed $16.8 million in shares of our common stock to our supplemental executive retirement plan. We do not expect to be required to make additional contributions to our defined benefit pension plans in 2022, but may elect to do so.

Note 5.    (Loss) Income Per Common Share

We calculate basic (loss) income per common share on the basis of the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Diluted income per share is calculated using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period plus the effect of potential dilutive common shares during the period using the treasury stock and if-converted methods.

Potential dilutive shares of common stock include outstanding unvested restricted stock awards, stock units, warrants and convertible preferred stock for periods in which we have reported net income. For periods in which we report net losses, potential dilutive shares of common stock are excluded, as their conversion and exercise would be anti-dilutive.

The following table represents net (loss) income per common share – basic and diluted (in thousands, except income (loss) per share): 

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, all outstanding restricted stock units, warrants and deferred shares were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share, as our reported net losses for those periods would cause their conversion and exercise to have no effect on the calculation of loss per share. For the three months ended June 30, 2021, the calculation of diluted income per common share included (i) 2,960,950 restricted stock units, (ii) 1,635,675 warrants to purchase one share of common stock and (iii) 2,134,009 deferred shares of common stock that were dilutive. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, the calculation of diluted income per common share included (i) 2,923,515 restricted stock units, (ii) 1,591,935 warrants to purchase one share of common stock and (iii) 2,134,009 deferred shares that were dilutive.

Note 6.    Stockholders’ Equity

Stock-based Compensation Plans

The Company has stock incentive plans for executives, directors and eligible employees. Stock awards include performance shares, restricted stock and stock options. Stock-based compensation expense for restricted stock unit and performance-based grants (collectively "incentive compensation") to employees and shares issued to non-employee directors totaled $1.3 million and $2.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, and $2.8 million and $3.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. At June 30, 2022, there was $9.1 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation cost which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average remaining vesting period of 2.4 years.

The following table summarizes the grants awarded during the six months ended June 30, 2022:

In connection with the vesting of incentive compensation, employees have in the past, at their election and when permitted by us, chosen to satisfy their minimum tax withholding obligations through net share settlement, pursuant to which the Company withholds the number of shares necessary to satisfy such withholding obligations and pays the obligations in cash.  As a result, in the first six months of 2022 we withheld 737,258 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million, or approximately $4.99 per share. In the first six months of 2021 we withheld 574,251 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million, or approximately $7.88 per share.

Common Stock Dividends

On May 5, 2022, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.00625 per share of common stock, consisting of $0.00375 per share for the minimum dividend component of our common stock dividend policy and $0.0025 per share for the silver-linked dividend component of the policy, for a total dividend of $3.4 million paid in June 2022. The realized silver price of $24.68 in the first quarter of 2022 satisfied the criterion for the silver-linked dividend component of our common stock dividend policy.

Note 7.    Debt, Credit Facility and Leases

Our debt as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 consisted of our 7.25% Senior Notes due February 15, 2028 (“Senior Notes”) and our Series 2020-A Senior Notes due July 9, 2025 (the “IQ Notes”). The following tables summarize our long-term debt balances, excluding interest, as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 (in thousands):

The following table summarizes the scheduled annual future payments, including interest, for our Senior Notes, IQ Notes, and finance and operating leases as of June 30, 2022 (in thousands). The amounts for the IQ Notes are stated in U.S. dollars (“USD”) based on the USD/Canadian dollar (“CAD”) exchange rate as of June 30, 2022.

Credit Facility

In July 2018, we entered into a $250 million senior secured revolving credit facility which has a term ending on February 7, 2023. As of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, no amounts were outstanding under the facility.

We are also able to obtain letters of credit under the facility, and for any such letters we are required to pay a participation fee of between 2.25% and 4.00% of the amount of the letters of credit based on our total leverage ratio, as well as a fronting fee to each issuing bank of 0.20% annually on the average daily dollar amount of any outstanding letters of credit. There were $14.9 million in letters of credit outstanding as of June 30, 2022. Letters of credit that are outstanding reduce availability under the revolving credit facility. See Note 12 regarding the termination of this Credit Facility and entry into a new facility.

We believe we were in compliance with all covenants under the credit agreement as of June 30, 2022. 

Note 8.    Derivative Instruments

General

Our current risk management policy provides that up to 75% of five years foreign currency, lead and zinc metals price and silver and gold price exposure may be covered under a derivatives program with certain other limitations. The silver and gold price program can only establish a floor (puts). We are currently do not have a silver and gold program. Our program also utilizes derivatives to manage price risk exposure created from when revenue is recognized from a shipment of concentrate until final settlement.

These instruments expose us to (i) credit risk in the form of non-performance by counterparties for contracts in which the contract price exceeds the spot price of the hedged commodity or foreign currency and (ii) price risk to the extent that the spot price exceeds the contract price for quantities of our production and/or forecasted costs covered under contract positions.

Foreign Currency

Our wholly-owned subsidiary owning the Casa Berardi operation is a USD-functional entity which routinely incurs expenses denominated in CAD.  Such expenses expose us to exchange rate fluctuations between the USD and CAD.  We have a program to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the USD and CAD for this subsidiary's future operating costs denominated in CAD.  The program utilizes forward contracts to buy CAD, and each contract is designated as a cash flow hedge.  As of June 30, 2022, we have 161 forward contracts outstanding to buy a total of CAD$321.8 million having a notional amount of USD$247.9 million.  The CAD contracts are related to forecasted cash operating costs at Casa Berardi to be incurred from 2021 through 2024 and have CAD-to-USD exchange rates ranging between 1.2702 and 1.3333.  

As of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we recorded the following balances for the fair value of the contracts (in millions):

Net unrealized gains of approximately $2.0 million related to the effective portion of the hedges were included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of June 30, 2022.  Unrealized gains and losses will be transferred from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to current earnings as the underlying operating expenses are recognized.  We estimate approximately 0.8 million in net unrealized gains included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of June 30, 2022, will be reclassified to current earnings in the next twelve months.  Net realized gains of approximately $0.8 million and $1.8 million on contracts related to underlying expenses which have been recognized were transferred from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and included in cost of sales and other direct production costs for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively.  No net unrealized gains or losses related to ineffectiveness of the hedges were included in current earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Net gains of approximately $0.3 million and $0.7 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, related to contracts not designated as hedges were included in fair value adjustments, net on our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.

Metals Prices

We are currently using financially-settled forward contracts to manage the exposure to:

The following tables summarize the quantities of metals committed under forward sales contracts at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021:

Effective November 1, 2021, we designated the contracts for lead and zinc contained in our forecasted future shipments as hedges for accounting purposes, with gains and losses deferred to accumulated other comprehensive loss until the hedged product ships. Prior to November 1, 2021, these contracts had not been designated as hedges for hedge accounting and were therefore marked-to-market through earnings each period. The forward contracts for silver and gold contained in our concentrate shipments have not been designated as hedges and are marked-to-market through earnings each period. 

We recorded the following balances for the fair value of the forward contracts as of June 30, 2022 and forward and put option contracts as of December 31, 2021 (in millions):

Net unrealized gains of approximately $15.6 million related to the effective portion of the contracts designated as hedges were included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of June 30, 2022. Unrealized gains and losses will be transferred from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to current earnings as the underlying sales are recognized. We estimate approximately $6.0 million in net unrealized gains included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as of June 30, 2022 would be reclassified to current earnings in the next twelve months. We recognized a net gain of $11.3 million, including a $4.2 million loss transferred from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), during the three months ended June 30, 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, we recognized a net gain of $6.6 million, including a $3.8 million loss transferred from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). These losses were recognized on the contracts utilized to manage exposure to prices of metals in our concentrate shipments, which is included in sales.  The net losses and gains recognized on the contracts offset gains and losses related to price adjustments on our provisional concentrate sales due to changes to silver, gold, lead and zinc prices between the time of sale and final settlement.

We recognized net losses of  $17.3 million and $16.8 million during the second quarter and first half of  2021, respectively, on the contracts utilized to manage exposure to prices for forecasted future sales, which were not designated as hedges. The net losses on these contracts are included as a separate line item under other income (expense), as they relate to forecasted future sales, as opposed to sales that have already taken place but are subject to final pricing as discussed in the preceding paragraph. 

Credit-risk-related Contingent Features

Certain of our derivative contracts contain cross default provisions which provide that a default under our revolving credit agreement would cause a default under the derivative contract. As of June 30, 2022, we have not posted any collateral related to these contracts. The fair value of derivatives in a net liability position related to these agreements was $12.2 million as of June 30, 2022, which includes accrued interest but excludes any adjustment for nonperformance risk. If we were in breach of any of these provisions at June 30, 2022, we could have been required to settle our obligations under the agreements at their termination value of $12.2 million.

Note 9.    Fair Value Measurement

Fair value adjustments, net is comprised of the following:

Accounting guidance has established a hierarchy for inputs used to measure assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. The three levels included in the hierarchy are:

Level 1: quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

Level 2: significant other observable inputs; and

Level 3: significant unobservable inputs.

The table below sets forth our assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis and the fair value calculation input hierarchy level that we have determined applies to each asset and liability category (in thousands).  

Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of money market funds and are valued at cost, which approximates fair value, and a small portion consists of municipal bonds having maturities of less than 90 days, which are recorded at fair value.

Current and non-current restricted cash balances consist primarily of certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury securities, and other deposits and are valued at cost, which approximates fair value.

Our non-current available for sale securities consist of marketable equity securities of companies in the mining industry which are valued using quoted market prices for each security.

Trade accounts receivable from provisional concentrate sales are subject to final pricing and valued using quoted prices based on forward curves for the particular metals.  The embedded derivative contained in our concentrate sales is adjusted to fair market value through earnings each period prior to final settlement.

We use financially-settled forward contracts to manage exposure to changes in the exchange rate between USD and CAD, and the impact on CAD-denominated operating costs incurred at our Casa Berardi unit (see Note 8 for more information). The fair value of each contract represents the present value of the difference between the forward exchange rate for the contract settlement period as of the measurement date and the contract settlement exchange rate.

We use financially-settled forward contracts to manage the exposure to changes in prices of silver, gold, zinc and lead contained in our concentrate shipments that have not reached final settlement.  We also use financially-settled forward contracts to manage the exposure to changes in prices of silver, gold, zinc and lead contained in our forecasted future sales (see Note 8 for more information).  The fair value of each forward contract represents the present value of the difference between the forward metal price for the contract settlement period as of the measurement date and the contract settlement metal price.

At June 30, 2022, our Senior Notes and IQ Notes were recorded at their carrying value of $469.9 million and $37.9 million, respectively, net of unamortized initial purchaser discount/premium and issuance costs. The estimated fair values of our Senior Notes and IQ Notes were $453.3 million and $35.8 million, respectively, at June 30, 2022. Quoted market prices, which we consider to be Level 1 inputs, are utilized to estimate fair values of the Senior Notes. Unobservable inputs which we consider to be Level 3, including an assumed current annual yield of 8.2%, are utilized to estimate the fair value of the IQ Notes. See Note 7 for more information.

Note 10.    Commitments, Contingencies and Obligations

General

We follow GAAP guidance in determining our accruals and disclosures with respect to loss contingencies, and evaluate such accruals and contingencies for each reporting period. Accordingly, estimated losses from loss contingencies are accrued by a charge to income when information available prior to issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability could be incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. If a loss contingency is not probable or reasonably estimable, disclosure of the loss contingency is made in the financial statements when it is at least reasonably possible that a material loss could be incurred.

Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, McKinley County and San Mateo Creek Basin, New Mexico

In August 2012, Hecla Limited and the EPA entered into a Settlement Agreement and Administrative Order on Consent for Removal Action (“Consent Order”) regarding the Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, McKinley County, New Mexico. Mining at the Johnny M Mine was conducted for a limited period of time by a predecessor of Hecla Limited, and the EPA had previously asserted that Hecla Limited may be responsible under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) for environmental remediation and past costs incurred by the EPA at the site. Under the Consent Order, Hecla Limited agreed to pay (i) $1.1 million to the EPA for its past response costs at the site and (ii) any future response costs at the site under the Consent Order, in exchange for a covenant not to sue by the EPA. In December 2014, Hecla Limited submitted to the EPA the Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (“EE/CA”) for the site which recommended on-site disposal of mine-related material. In January 2021, the parties began negotiating a new consent order to design and implement the on-site disposal response action recommended in the EE/CA. Based on the foregoing, we believe it is probable that Hecla Limited will incur a liability for the CERCLA removal action and we increased our accrual by $2.9 million to $9.0 million in the first quarter of 2021, primarily representing estimated costs to begin design and implementation of the remedy. It is possible that Hecla Limited’s liability will be more than $9.0 million, and any increase in liability could have a material adverse effect on Hecla Limited’s or our results of operations or financial position.

The Johnny M Mine is in an area known as the San Mateo Creek Basin (“SMCB”), which is an approximately 321 square mile area in New Mexico that contains numerous legacy uranium mines and mills. In addition to Johnny M, Hecla Limited’s predecessor was involved at other mining sites within the SMCB. The EPA appears to have deferred consideration of listing the SMCB site on CERCLA’s National Priorities List (“Superfund”) by removing the site from its emphasis list, and is working with various potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) at the site in order to study and potentially address perceived groundwater issues within the SMCB. The EE/CA discussed above relates primarily to contaminated rock and soil at the Johnny M site, not groundwater and not elsewhere within the SMCB site. It is possible that Hecla Limited’s liability at the Johnny M Site, and for any other mine site within the SMCB at which Hecla Limited’s predecessor may have operated, will be greater than our current accrual of $9.0 million due to the increased scope of required remediation.

In July 2018, the EPA informed Hecla Limited that it and several other PRPs may be liable for cleanup of the SMCB site or for costs incurred by the EPA in cleaning up the site. The EPA stated it has incurred approximately $9.6 million in response costs to date. On May 2, 2022, Hecla Limited received a letter from an attorney representing a PRP notifying Hecla Limited that three PRPs will seek cost recovery and contribution from Hecla Limited under CERCLA for certain investigatory work performed by the PRPs at the SMCB site. Hecla Limited cannot with reasonable certainty estimate the amount or range of liability, if any, relating to this matter because of, among other reasons, the lack of information concerning the site, including the relative contributions of contamination by the various PRPs.

Carpenter Snow Creek and Barker-Hughesville Sites in Montana

In July 2010, the EPA made a formal request to Hecla for information regarding the Carpenter Snow Creek Superfund site located in Cascade County, Montana. The Carpenter Snow Creek site is located in a historic mining district, and in the early 1980s Hecla Limited leased 6 mining claims and performed limited exploration activities at the site. Hecla Limited terminated the mining lease in 1988.

In June 2011, the EPA informed Hecla Limited that it believes Hecla Limited, and several other PRPs, may be liable for cleanup of the site or for costs incurred by the EPA in cleaning up the site. The EPA stated in the letter that it has incurred approximately $4.5 million in response costs and estimated that total remediation costs may exceed $100 million. Hecla Limited cannot with reasonable certainty estimate the amount or range of liability, if any, relating to this matter because of, among other reasons, the lack of information concerning the site, including the relative contributions of contamination by various other PRPs.

In February 2017, the EPA made a formal request to Hecla for information regarding the Barker-Hughesville Mining District Superfund site located in Judith Basin and Cascade Counties, Montana. Hecla Limited submitted a response in April 2017. The Barker-Hughesville site is located in a historic mining district, and between approximately June and December 1983, Hecla Limited was party to an agreement with another mining company under which limited exploration activities occurred at or near the site.

In August 2018, the EPA informed Hecla Limited that it and several other PRPs may be liable for cleanup of the site or for costs incurred by the EPA in cleaning up the site. The EPA did not include an amount of its alleged response costs to date. Hecla Limited cannot with reasonable certainty estimate the amount or range of liability, if any, relating to this matter because of, among other reasons, the lack of information concerning past or anticipated future costs at the site and the relative contributions of contamination by various other PRPs.

Greens Creek and Lucky Friday Environmental Issues

On June 30, 2022, our Greens Creek mine received a Notice of Violation ( “NOV”) from the EPA alleging that the mine treated, stored, and disposed of certain hazardous waste without a permit in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), relating to the alleged presence of lead outside the concentrate storage building and the alleged improper reuse/recycling of certain materials produced from the on-site laboratories. The NOV contained two other less significant alleged violations. We disagree with several of EPA’s allegations on a factual and legal basis.

Currently, the EPA has not initiated any formal enforcement proceeding against our Greens Creek subsidiary. In civil judicial cases, EPA can seek statutory penalties up to $81,540 per day per violation and, in administrative settlements, EPA can seek administrative penalties up to $47,423 per day per violation plus the economic benefit of noncompliance. EPA typically pursues administrative penalties and assesses lower penalties on a per day basis. At this time, we cannot reasonably assess the amount of penalties EPA may seek, or predict the terms of any potential settlement with the EPA.

On July 12, 2022, our Lucky Friday mine received a NOV from the EPA alleging violations of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) between 2018 and 2021 relating primarily to concentration levels of zinc and lead in the mine’s permitted water discharges.  Currently, the EPA has not initiated any formal enforcement proceeding against our Lucky Friday subsidiary.  In civil judicial cases, EPA can seek statutory penalties up to $59,973 per day per violation and, in administrative actions, EPA can seek administrative penalties up to $23,989 per day per violation with a maximum administrative penalty of $299,989 for all alleged violations.  EPA typically pursues administrative penalties.  At this time, we cannot reasonably assess the amount of penalties EPA may seek, or predict the terms of any potential settlement with the EPA.

Litigation Related to Klondex Acquisition

On May 24, 2019, a purported Hecla stockholder filed a putative class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Hecla and certain of our executive officers, one of whom is also a director. The complaint, purportedly brought on behalf of all purchasers of Hecla common stock from March 19, 2018 through and including May 8, 2019, asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder and seeks, among other things, damages and costs and expenses. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Hecla, under the authority and control of the individual defendants, made certain material false and misleading statements and omitted certain material information regarding Hecla’s Nevada Operations. The complaint alleges that these misstatements and omissions artificially inflated the market price of Hecla common stock during the class period, thus purportedly harming investors. Filings with the court regarding our motion to dismiss the lawsuit were completed in the first quarter of 2021. We cannot predict the outcome of this lawsuit or estimate damages if plaintiffs were to prevail. We believe that these claims are without merit and intend to defend them vigorously.

Related to this class action lawsuit, Hecla has been named as a nominal defendant in a shareholder derivative lawsuit which also names as defendants certain current and past (i) members of Hecla’s board of directors and (ii) officers of Hecla. The case was filed on May 4, 2022 in the Delaware Chancery Court. In general terms, the suit alleges breaches of fiduciary duties by the individual defendants, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment, and seeks damages, purportedly on behalf of Hecla.

Debt

See Note 7 for information on the commitments related to our debt arrangements as of June 30, 2022.

Other Commitments

Our contractual obligations as of June 30, 2022 included open purchase orders and commitments of approximately $8.1 million, $19.1 million, $1.3 million and $3.4 million for various capital and non-capital items at Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi and Nevada Operations, respectively. We also have total commitments of approximately $15.9 million relating to scheduled payments on finance leases, including interest, primarily for equipment at our Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi and Nevada Operations units, and total commitments of approximately $14.2 million relating to payments on operating leases (see Note 7 for more information). As part of our ongoing business and operations, we are required to provide surety bonds, bank letters of credit, and restricted deposits for various purposes, including financial support for environmental reclamation obligations and workers compensation programs. As of June 30, 2022, we had surety bonds totaling $181.8 million and letters of credit totaling $14.9 million in place as financial support for future reclamation and closure costs, self-insurance, and employee benefit plans. The obligations associated with these instruments are generally related to performance requirements that we address through ongoing operations. As the requirements are met, the beneficiary of the associated instruments cancels or returns the instrument to the issuing entity. Certain of these instruments are associated with operating sites with long-lived assets and will remain outstanding until closure of the sites. We believe we are in compliance with all applicable bonding requirements and will be able to satisfy future bonding requirements as they arise.

Other Contingencies

We also have certain other contingencies resulting from litigation, claims, EPA investigations, and other commitments and are subject to a variety of environmental and safety laws and regulations incident to the ordinary course of business. We currently have no basis to conclude that any or all of such contingencies will materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, in the future, there may be changes to these contingencies, or additional contingencies may occur, any of which might result in an accrual or a change in current accruals recorded by us, and there can be no assurance that their ultimate disposition will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Note 11.    Developments in Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Updates Adopted

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB") issued ASU No. 2020-06 Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. The update is to address issues identified as a result of the complexity associated with applying generally accepted accounting principles to certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years and with early adoption permitted. We adopted the update as of January 1, 2022, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers, which requires entities to recognize and measure contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination in accordance with ASC 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The update will generally result in an entity recognizing contract assets and contract liabilities at amounts consistent with those recorded by the acquiree immediately before the acquisition date rather than at fair value. The update is effective on a prospective basis for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. We adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2022, which did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or disclosures.

Accounting Standards Updates to Become Effective in Future Periods

In 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") announced that after 2021 it would no longer compel banks to submit the rates required to calculate the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR"), which have been widely used as reference rates for various securities and financial contracts, including loans, debt and derivatives. This announcement indicated that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis would not be guaranteed after 2021. Subsequently in March 2021, the FCA announced some USD LIBOR tenors (overnight, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 12 month) will continue to be published until June 30, 2023. Regulators in the U.S. and other jurisdictions have been working to replace these rates with alternative reference interest rates that are supported by transactions in liquid and observable markets, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). Currently, our credit facility and certain of our derivative instruments reference LIBOR-based rates. Our credit facility contains provisions specifying alternative interest rate calculations to be employed when LIBOR ceases to be available as a benchmark and we have adhered to the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol, which will govern our derivatives upon the final cessation of USD LIBOR. ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, as amended, helps limit the accounting impact from contract modifications, including hedging relationships, due to the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference rates that are completed by December 31, 2022. We do not expect a significant impact to our financial results, financial position or cash flows from the transition from LIBOR to alternative reference interest rates, but we will continue to monitor the impact of this transition until it is completed.

Note 12.    Subsequent Events

On July 5, 2022, we and Alexco Resource Corp. ("Alexco") a Canadian publicly traded company, announced a definitive agreement for one of our subsidiaries to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Alexco that Hecla does not already own. Each outstanding common share of Alexco will be exchanged for 0.116 of a share of our common stock implying consideration of US$0.47 per Alexco common share. In addition, we will (i) provide interim financing to provide working capital and support the continued advancement of the development and exploration at Alexco's, Keno Hill mine, of which $20 million was advanced on July 19, 2022 and (ii) subscribe for additional common shares bringing Hecla's ownership stake to 9.9%, which also closed on July 19, 2022.

The Company has also entered into an agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corporation to terminate its silver streaming interest at Alexco’s Keno Hill property in exchange for US$135 million of Company common stock, conditional upon the completion of the Alexco acquisition.

On July 21, 2022, we entered into a Credit Agreement (“New Credit Agreement”) with the various financial institutions (the “Lenders”), Bank of Montreal and Bank of America, N.A. as letters of credit issuers, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders and as swingline lender, to replace our Prior Credit Agreement, see Note 7 for additional information on this credit agreement. The New Credit Agreement is a $150 million senior secured revolving facility, with an option to be increased in an aggregate amount not to exceed $75 million. The revolving loans under the New Credit Agreement will have a maturity date of July 21, 2026. Proceeds of the revolving loans under the New Credit Agreement may be used to refinance the Prior Credit Agreement and for general corporate purposes. The interest rate on outstanding loans under the New Credit Agreement is, at the option of the Borrowers, one month, three months or six months Term SOFR plus (x) 0.10% for an interest period of one-month’s duration, (y) 0.15% for an interest period of three-month’s duration and (z) 0.25% for an interest period of six-month’s duration plus the Applicable Margin or Base Rate (which is the highest of (i) the Bank of America prime rate, (ii) the Federal Funds rate plus .50% and (iii) Term SOFR plus 1.00%, subject to the interest rate floors) plus the Applicable Margin. The “Applicable Margin” means (a) for the first fiscal quarter ending after the closing date, in the case of Term SOFR loans, 2.25% per annum, and, in the case of Base Rate loans, 1.25% per annum, and (b) thereafter, between 2.00% and 3.50% for Term SOFR loans or between 1.00% and 2.50% for Base Rate loans depending on our total leverage ratio. We are also required to pay quarterly in arrears a commitment fee of between 0.45000% to 0.78750%, depending on our total leverage ratio, of the actual daily amount by which the Aggregate Revolving Commitments exceed the sum of the Outstanding Amount of Revolving Loan and the Outstanding Amount of L/C Obligations. We are also required to pay a participation fee for letters of credit issued under the New Credit Agreement in an amount between 2.00% and 3.50% based on our total leverage ratio, as well as a fronting fee to each issuing bank at an agreed upon rate per annum on the average daily dollar amount of our letter of credit exposure.

Hecla Mining Company and certain of its subsidiaries are the borrowers under the New Credit Agreement, while certain of its other subsidiaries are guarantors of the borrowers’ obligations under the New Credit Agreement. As further security, the credit facility is collateralized by a mortgage on the Greens Creek mine, the equity interests of subsidiaries that own the Greens Creek mine or are part of the Greens Creek Joint Venture and our subsidiary Hecla Admiralty Company (the “Greens Creek Group”), and by all of the Green Creek Group’s rights and interests in the Greens Creek Joint Venture Agreement, and in all assets of the joint venture and of any member of the Greens Creek Group.

In connection with entry into the New Credit Agreement, the Company’s Prior credit agreement was terminated on July 21, 2022.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this Form 10-Q, including in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided for under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Our forward-looking statements include our current expectations and projections about future results, performance, results of litigation, prospects and opportunities, including reserves and other mineralization. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “feel,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast” and similar expressions.  These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and are expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis.  However, our forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements.

These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. – Risk Factors in our 2021 Form 10-K and in Part II, Item 1.A. - Risk Factors in this Form 10-Q. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.  All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Hecla Mining Company or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.  Except as required by federal securities laws, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.