HECLA MINING CO/DE/ - Annual Report: 2016 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

Commission file No. 1-8491

HECLA MINING COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

208-769-4100

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☑  No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months, and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes  ☑ No

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large Accelerated Filer  ☒                                                             Accelerated Filer  ☐

Non-Accelerated Filer  ☐                                                                Smaller reporting company  ☐

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting Common Stock held by non-affiliates was $1,942,463,183 as of June 30, 2016. There were 385,066,800 shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of June 30, 2016, and 395,437,026 shares outstanding as of February 20, 2017. 

Documents incorporated by reference herein:

To the extent herein specifically referenced in Part III, the information contained in the Proxy Statement for the 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the registrant, which will be filed with the Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days of the end of the registrant’s 2016 fiscal year, is incorporated herein by reference. See Part III.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Special Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this report (including information incorporated by reference) are “forward-looking statements” and 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 ("Exchange Act"). Our forward-looking statements include our current expectations and projections about future production, results, performance, prospects and opportunities, including reserves and other mineralization. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate” 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 production, results, performance, prospects or opportunities, including reserves and mineralization, 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 Item 1A. Risk Factors and Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Projections and other forward-looking statements included in this report have been prepared based on assumptions, which we believe to be reasonable, but not in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) or any guidelines of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Actual results may vary, perhaps materially. You are strongly cautioned not to place undue reliance on such projections and other 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 disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PART I

Item 1. Business

For information regarding the organization of our business segments and our significant customers, see Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Information set forth in Items 1A and 2 are incorporated by reference into this Item 1.

Introduction

Hecla Mining Company and our subsidiaries have provided precious and base metals to the U.S. and worldwide since 1891 (in this report, “we” or “our” or “us” refers to Hecla Mining Company and our affiliates and subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise). We discover, acquire, develop, and produce silver, gold, lead and zinc.  In doing so, we intend to manage our business activities in a safe, environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner.

We produce lead, zinc and bulk concentrates, which we sell to custom smelters and brokers, and unrefined precipitate and bullion bars (doré) containing gold and silver, which are further refined before sale to precious metals traders.  We are organized and managed in four segments that encompass our operating units: the Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi, and San Sebastian units.

The map below shows the locations of our operating units and our exploration and pre-development projects, as well as our corporate offices located in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Vancouver, British Columbia and Val d'Or, Quebec.

Our current business strategy is to focus our financial and human resources in the following areas:

Below is a summary of net income (loss) for each of the last five years (in thousands):

Our financial results over the last five years have been impacted by:

See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Results of Operations for a summary of average market and realized prices for each of the three years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014.   Our results of operations are significantly impacted by fluctuations in the prices of silver, gold, lead and zinc, which are affected by numerous factors beyond our control.  See Item 1A. Risk Factors – Financial Risks – A substantial or extended decline in metals prices would have a material adverse effect on us for information on a number of the various factors that can impact prices of the metals we produce. Our average realized prices for silver, gold, zinc and lead were higher in 2016 compared to 2015, and were lower in 2015 compared to 2014.  Market metal price trends are a significant factor in our operating and financial performance.  We are unable to predict fluctuations in prices for metals and have limited control over the timing of our concentrate shipments which impacts our realized prices. However, we utilize financially-settled forward contracts for lead and zinc with the objective of managing the exposure to changes in prices of lead and zinc contained in our concentrate shipments between the time of sale and final settlement. In addition, we utilize a similar program for silver and gold with the objective of managing exposure to changes in prices for those metals contained in our concentrate shipments.  See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on our base and precious metal forward contract programs.

A comprehensive discussion of our financial results for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, individual operating unit performance, general corporate expenses and other significant items can be found in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Consolidated Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto.

Products and Segments

Our segments are differentiated by geographic region. We produce zinc, lead and bulk flotation concentrates at our Greens Creek unit and lead and zinc flotation concentrates at our Lucky Friday unit, each of which we sell to custom smelters and brokers on contract. The flotation concentrates produced at our Greens Creek and Lucky Friday units contain payable silver, zinc and lead, and at Greens Creek they also contain payable gold. At Greens Creek, we also produce gravity concentrate containing silver, gold and lead. Unrefined bullion (doré) is produced from the gravity concentrate by a third party processor and sold to a precious metal refiner. We also produce unrefined gold and silver bullion bars (doré) at Casa Berardi and San Sebastian, which are shipped to refiners before sale of the metals to precious metals traders. Payable metals are those included in our products which we are paid for by smelters, brokers and refiners. Our segments as of December 31, 2016 included:

The contributions to our consolidated sales by our operating units in 2016 were 40.3% from Greens Creek, 27.4% from Casa Berardi, 17.6% from San Sebastian, and 14.7% from Lucky Friday. Commercial production commenced at San Sebastian in the fourth quarter of 2015, with the first sales made there in the first quarter of 2016.

The table below summarizes our production for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014.  Zinc and lead production quantities are presented in short tons (“tons”).

Licenses, Permits and Claims/Concessions

We are required to obtain various licenses and permits to operate our mines and conduct exploration and reclamation activities.  The suspension in production at the Lucky Friday unit during 2012 was pursuant to an order from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. See Item 1A. Risk Factors - Legal, Market and Regulatory Risks - We are required to obtain governmental permits and other approvals in order to conduct mining operations. Further, each of our Rock Creek and Montanore projects can only be developed if we are successful in obtaining the necessary permits. See Item 1A. Risk Factors - Legal, Market and Regulatory Risks - Legal challenges could prevent the Rock Creek or Montanore projects from ever being developed. In addition, our operations and exploration activities at our Casa Berardi and San Sebastian units are conducted pursuant to claims or concessions granted by the host government, and otherwise are subject to claims renewal and minimum work commitment requirements, which are subject to certain political risks associated with foreign operations.  See Item 1A. Risk Factors - Operation, Development, Exploration and Acquisition Risks - Our foreign activities are subject to additional inherent risks.

Physical Assets

Our business is capital intensive and requires ongoing capital investment for the replacement, modernization and expansion of equipment and facilities and to develop new ore reserves.  At December 31, 2016, the book value of our properties, plants, equipment and mineral interests, net of accumulated depreciation, was approximately $2.0 billion.  For more information see Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We maintain insurance policies against property loss and business interruption.  However, such insurance contains exclusions and limitations on coverage, and there can be no assurance that claims would be paid under such insurance policies in connection with a particular event.  See Item 1A. Risk Factors - Operation, Development, Exploration and Acquisition Risks - Our operations may be adversely affected by risks and hazards associated with the mining industry that may not be fully covered by insurance.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016, we employed 1,396 people, and we believe relations with our employees are generally good.

Many of the employees at our Lucky Friday unit are represented by a union. The most recent collective bargaining agreement with workers at our Lucky Friday unit expired on April 30, 2016, and on February 19, 2017, the unionized employees voted against our contract offer. We expect further discussions with the union but it is possible that an agreement will not be reached, in which case we cannot predict what might happen next, including what actions we or the union might take in response to failing to reach an agreement.

Available Information

Hecla Mining Company is a Delaware corporation. Our current holding company structure dates from the incorporation of Hecla Mining Company in 2006 and the renaming of our subsidiary (previously Hecla Mining Company) as Hecla Limited. Our principal executive offices are located at 6500 N. Mineral Drive, Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho 83815-9408. Our telephone number is (208) 769-4100. Our web site address is www.hecla-mining.com. We file our annual, quarterly and current reports and any amendments to these reports with the SEC, copies of which are available on our website or from the SEC free of charge (www.sec.gov or 800-SEC-0330 or the SEC’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549). Charters of our audit, compensation, and corporate governance and directors nominating committees, as well as our Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for Directors, Officers and Employees, are also available on our website. Each of these documents may be periodically revised, so you are encouraged to visit our website for any updated disclosure in them. We will provide copies of these materials to stockholders upon request using the above-listed contact information, directed to the attention of Investor Relations, or via e-mail request sent to hmc-info@hecla-mining.com.

We have included the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) certifications regarding our public disclosure required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this report. Additionally, we filed with the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) the CEO’s certification regarding our compliance with the NYSE’s Corporate Governance Listing Standards (“Listing Standards”) pursuant to Section 303A.12(a) of the Listing Standards, which certification was dated June 1, 2016, and indicated that the CEO was not aware of any violations of the Listing Standards.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risks and uncertainties, together with the other information set forth in this report, should be carefully considered by those who invest in our securities. Any of the following risks could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results and could decrease the value of our common or preferred stock or other outstanding securities.

Financial Risks

A substantial or extended decline in metals prices would have a material adverse effect on us.

Our revenue is derived from the sale of concentrates and doré containing silver, gold, lead and zinc and, as a result, our earnings are directly related to the prices of these metals. Silver, gold, lead and zinc prices fluctuate widely and are affected by numerous factors, including:

These factors are largely beyond our control and are difficult to predict. If the market prices for these metals fall below our production, exploration or development costs for a sustained period of time, we will experience losses and may have to discontinue exploration, development or operations, or incur asset write-downs at one or more of our properties. See Item 1. Business – Introduction for information on the average, high, and low daily closing prices for silver, gold, lead and zinc for the last five years. On February 20, 2017, the closing prices for silver, gold, lead and zinc were $18.06 per ounce, $1,238 per ounce, $1.03 per pound and $1.30 per pound, respectively.

We have had losses that could reoccur in the future.

We have had volatility in our net income (loss) reported in the last five years, as shown in Item 6. Selected Financial Data, including net losses of $87.0 million in 2015 and $25.1 million in 2013. A comparison of operating results over the past three years can be found in Results of Operations in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Many of the factors affecting our operating results are beyond our control, including, but not limited to, the volatility of metals prices; smelter terms; rock and soil conditions; seismic events; availability of hydroelectric power; diesel fuel prices; interest rates; foreign exchange rates; global or regional political or economic policies; inflation; availability and cost of labor; economic developments and crises; governmental regulations; continuity of orebodies; ore grades; recoveries; price speculation by certain investors; and purchases and sales by central banks and other holders and producers of gold and silver in response to these factors. We cannot foresee whether our operations will continue to generate sufficient revenue in order for us to generate net cash from operating activities. There can be no assurance that we will not experience net losses in the future.

Our level of debt could impair our financial health and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our current debt obligations.

As of December 31, 2016, we had total debt of approximately $512.9 million and our total cash and cash equivalents was $169.8 million. We had net income of $69.5 million in 2016, which included $21.8 million incurred for debt service obligations, net of amounts capitalized, which was primarily for interest on our Senior Notes. Our level of debt and our debt service obligations could:

•      limit our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions, including increased competition;

We and/or our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional debt in the future. Although the indenture governing our outstanding Senior Notes contains restrictions on the incurrence of additional debt, these restrictions are subject to a number of significant qualifications and exceptions and, under certain circumstances, the amount of additional debt that could be incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. In addition, we have $100 million in available capacity to be drawn from our revolving credit facility, which is separate and apart from our Senior Notes indenture and also contains limitations on our ability to incur additional debt.

If new debt is added to our and our subsidiaries' existing debt levels, the risks associated with such debt that we currently face would increase. See the risk factors below under the heading “Risks Related to Our Debt.”

An extended decline in metals prices, an increase in operating or capital costs, mine accidents or closures, increasing environmental obligations, or our inability to convert exploration potential to reserves may cause us to record write-downs, which could negatively impact our results of operations.

When events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of our long-lived assets may not be recoverable, we review the recoverability of the carrying value by estimating the future undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset.  Impairment must be recognized when the carrying value of the asset exceeds these cash flows, and recognizing impairment write-downs could negatively impact our results of operations.  Metal price estimates are a key component used in the evaluation of the carrying values of our assets, as the evaluation involves comparing carrying values to the average estimated undiscounted cash flows resulting from operating plans using various metals price scenarios.  Our estimates of undiscounted cash flows for our long-lived assets also include an estimate of the market value of the exploration potential beyond the current operating plans.  We determined there were no events or changes in circumstances indicating the carrying value of our long-lived assets may not be recoverable as of December 31, 2016. However, if the prices of silver, gold, zinc and lead decline for an extended period of time, if we fail to control production or capital costs, if regulatory issues increase costs or decrease production, or if we do not realize the mineable ore reserves or exploration potential at our mining properties, we may be required to recognize asset write-downs in the future. In addition, the perceived market value of the exploration potential of our properties is dependent upon prevailing metals prices as well as our ability to discover economic ore. A decline in metals prices for an extended period of time or our inability to convert exploration potential to reserves could significantly reduce our estimates of the value of the exploration potential at our properties and result in asset write-downs.

Global financial events or developments impacting major industrial or developing countries may have an impact on our business and financial condition in ways that we currently cannot predict.

The 2008 credit crisis and related turmoil in the global financial system and ensuing recession had an impact on our business and financial position, and similar events in the future could also impact us.  The continuation or re-emergence of the financial crisis or recession or reduced economic activity in the United States, China, India and other industrialized or developing countries, or disruption of key sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, may have a significant effect on our results of operations or limit our ability to raise capital through credit and equity markets.  The prices of the metals that we produce are affected by a number of factors, and it is unknown how these factors may be impacted by a global financial event or developments impacting major industrial or developing countries.

Commodity and currency risk management activities could prevent us from realizing possible revenues or lower costs, or expose us to losses.

We periodically enter into risk management activities, such as financially-settled forward sales contracts, to manage the prices received on the metals we produce. Such activities are utilized in an attempt to partially insulate our operating results from changes in prices for those metals. However, such activities may prevent us from realizing possible revenues in the event that the market price of a metal exceeds the price stated in a forward sale contracts. In addition, we may experience losses if a counterparty fails to purchase under a contract when the contract price exceeds the spot price of a commodity.

We utilize financially-settled forward contract programs to manage the exposure to changes in silver, gold, lead and zinc prices contained in our concentrate shipments between the time of sale and final settlement, and also utilize such programs to manage the exposure to changes in the prices of lead and zinc contained in our forecasted future concentrate shipments.

In 2016, we also initiated financially-settled forward contract programs to manage exposure to fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar ("USD") and Canadian dollar ("CAD") and Mexican peso ("MXN") and the impact on our future operating costs denominated in CAD and MXN. However, such activities may prevent us from realizing possible lower costs on a USD-basis in the event that the USD strengthens relative to the CAD or MXN compared to the exchange rates stated in the forward contracts.

See Note 10 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on these forward contract programs.

Our profitability could be affected by the prices of other commodities.

Our profitability is sensitive to the costs of commodities such as fuel (in particular as used at Greens Creek to generate electricity when hydropower is unavailable), steel, and cement. While the recent prices for such commodities have been stable or in decline, prices have been historically volatile and material increases in commodity costs could have a significant effect on our results of operations.

Our accounting and other estimates may be imprecise.

Preparing financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts and related disclosure of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses at the date of the consolidated financial statements and reporting periods. The more significant areas requiring the use of management assumptions and estimates relate to:

Future estimates and actual results may differ materially from these estimates as a result of using different assumptions or conditions. For additional information, see Critical Accounting Estimates in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, and the risk factors set forth below: “Our costs of development of new orebodies and other capital costs may be higher and provide less return than we estimated,” “Our ore reserve estimates may be imprecise,” “Our environmental obligations may exceed the provisions we have made,” and “We are currently involved in ongoing legal disputes that may materially adversely affect us.”

Our ability to recognize the benefits of deferred tax assets is dependent on future cash flows and taxable income.

We recognize the expected future tax benefit from deferred tax assets when the tax benefit is considered to be more likely than not of being realized.  Otherwise, a valuation allowance is applied against deferred tax assets, reducing the value of such assets.  Assessing the recoverability of deferred tax assets requires management to make significant estimates related to expectations of future taxable income.  Estimates of future taxable income are based on forecasted income from operations and the application of existing tax laws in each jurisdiction.  Metal price and production estimates are key components used in the determination of our ability to realize the expected future benefit of our deferred tax assets. To the extent that future taxable income differs significantly from estimates as a result of a decline in metals prices or other factors, our ability to realize the deferred tax assets could be impacted.  Additionally, significant future issuances of common stock or common stock equivalents, or changes in the direct or indirect ownership of our common stock or common stock equivalents, could limit our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards pursuant to Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Future changes in tax law or changes in ownership structure could limit our ability to utilize our recorded tax assets.  We currently do not have deferred tax valuation allowances for certain amounts related to U.S. and foreign net operating loss carryforwards, and our deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2016 were $151.7 million, net of $99.6 million in valuation allowances.   During 2016, the valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets decreased by approximately $16.2 million. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of our deferred tax assets.

Returns for investments in pension plans and pension plan funding requirements are uncertain.

We maintain defined benefit pension plans for most U.S. employees, which provide for defined benefit payments after retirement for most U.S. employees. Canadian employees participate in Canada's public retirement system, and are not eligible to participate in the defined benefit pension plans that we maintain for U.S. employees. The ability of the pension plans maintained for U.S. employees to provide the specified benefits depends on our funding of the plans and returns on investments made by the plans. Returns, if any, on investments are subject to fluctuations based on investment choices and market conditions. A sustained period of low returns or losses on investments could require us to fund the pension plans to a greater extent than anticipated.  See Note 8 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on our pension plans.

Risks Relating to Our Debt

The terms of our debt impose restrictions on our operations.

The indenture governing our Senior Notes includes a number of significant restrictive covenants. These covenants could adversely affect us by limiting our ability to plan for or react to market conditions or to meet our capital needs. These covenants, among other things:

In addition, utilization of our revolving credit facility would require us to comply with various covenants. A breach of any of these covenants could result in an event of default under the agreement governing our revolving credit facility that, if not cured or waived, could give the holders of the defaulted debt the right to terminate commitments to lend and cause all amounts outstanding with respect to the debt to be due and payable immediately. Acceleration of any of our debt could result in cross-defaults under our other debt instruments, including the indenture governing our Senior Notes. Our assets and cash flow may be insufficient to repay borrowings fully under all of our outstanding debt instruments if any of our debt instruments are accelerated upon an event of default, which could force us into bankruptcy or liquidation. In such an event, we may be unable to repay our debt obligations. In addition, in some instances, this would create an event of default under the indenture governing our Senior Notes.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt and meet our other ongoing liquidity needs and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our debt, which may be unsuccessful.

Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our debt obligations and to fund our planned capital expenditures and other ongoing liquidity needs depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. There can be no assurance that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that borrowings will be available to us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our debt or to fund our other liquidity needs. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our debt on or before maturity. We may be unable to refinance any of our debt on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

In addition, we conduct substantially all of our operations through our subsidiaries, certain of which are not guarantors of our debt. Accordingly, repayment of our debt is dependent on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise. Unless they are guarantors of our debt, our subsidiaries do not have any obligation to pay amounts due on our debt or to make funds available for that purpose. Our subsidiaries may not be able to, or may not be permitted to, make distributions to enable us to make payments in respect of our debt. Each subsidiary is a distinct legal entity and, under certain circumstances, legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. While the credit agreement governing our revolving credit facility and the indenture governing our Senior Notes limit the ability of our subsidiaries to incur consensual restrictions on their ability to pay dividends or make other intercompany payments to us, these limitations are subject to qualifications and exceptions. In the event that we do not receive distributions from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to make required principal and interest payments on our debt.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our debt. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. The terms of existing or future debt instruments and the indenture governing our Senior Notes may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. Further, these alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, any failure to make payments of interest and principal on our outstanding debt on a timely basis would likely result in a reduction of our credit rating, which could harm our ability to incur additional debt.

Our variable rate debt subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under our revolving credit facility would be at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate debt would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our debt, would correspondingly decrease. Assuming all revolving loans were fully drawn, each one percentage point change in interest rates would result in a $1.0 million change in annual cash interest expense on our credit facility.

Our Senior Notes and the guarantees thereof are effectively subordinated to any of our and our guarantors' secured debt to the extent of the value of the collateral securing that debt.

The Senior Notes and the guarantees thereof are not secured by any of our assets or the assets of our subsidiaries. The indenture governing the Senior Notes permits us to incur secured debt up to specified limits. As a result, the Senior Notes and the guarantees are effectively subordinated to our and our guarantors' future secured debt with respect to the collateral that secures such debt, including any borrowings under our revolving credit facility. Upon a default in payment on, or the acceleration of, any of our secured debt, or in the event of bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or other insolvency proceedings involving us or a guarantor, the proceeds from the sale of collateral securing any secured debt will be available to pay obligations on the Senior Notes only after such secured debt has been paid in full. As a result, the holders of the Senior Notes may receive less, ratably, than the holders of secured debt in the event of a bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or other insolvency proceeding involving us or a guarantor.

Our current credit facility allows us to draw up to $100 million on a revolving basis, all of which would be secured debt.

Our Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to all liabilities of our non-guarantor subsidiaries.

The Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to the debt and other liabilities of our subsidiaries that do not guarantee the Senior Notes, which include all of our non-domestic subsidiaries and certain other subsidiaries. These non-guarantor subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities and have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to pay any amounts due pursuant to the Senior Notes, or to make any funds available therefor, whether by dividends, loans, distributions or other payments. Any right that we or the guarantors have to receive any assets of any of the non-guarantor subsidiaries upon the liquidation or reorganization of those subsidiaries, and the consequent rights of holders of Senior Notes to realize proceeds from the sale of any of those subsidiaries' assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of those subsidiaries' creditors, including trade creditors and holders of any preferred equity interests of those subsidiaries. Accordingly, in the event of a bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization of any of our non-guarantor subsidiaries, these non-guarantor subsidiaries will pay the holders of their debts, holders of any preferred equity interests and their trade creditors before they will be able to distribute any of their assets to us or any guarantor. Unless they are guarantors of the Senior Notes or our other debt, our subsidiaries do not have any obligation to pay amounts due on the Senior Notes or our other debt or to make funds available for that purpose.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, our non-guarantor subsidiaries represented 45% of our sales of metals and 43% of our operating expenses. As of December 31, 2016, our non-guarantor subsidiaries represented 36% of our total assets and 20% of our total liabilities, including trade payables, deferred tax liabilities and royalty obligations but excluding intercompany liabilities.

Key terms of the Senior Notes will be suspended if the Senior Notes achieve investment grade ratings and no default or event of default has occurred and is continuing.

Many of the covenants in the indenture governing the Senior Notes will be suspended if the Senior Notes are rated investment grade by Standard & Poor's and Moody's, provided at such time no default or event of default has occurred and is continuing, including those covenants that restrict, among other things, our ability to pay dividends, incur debt and to enter into certain other transactions. There can be no assurance that the Senior Notes will ever be rated investment grade. However, suspension of these covenants would allow us to engage in certain transactions that would not be permitted while these covenants were in force, and the effects of any such transactions will be permitted to remain in place even if the Senior Notes are subsequently downgraded below investment grade.

We may be unable to repurchase Senior Notes and any outstanding loans under our revolving credit facility could be accelerated in the event of a change of control as required by the indenture.

Upon the occurrence of certain change of control events specified in the indenture governing the Senior Notes, holders of the Senior Notes will have the right to require us to repurchase all of the Senior Notes at a repurchase price equal to 101% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of repurchase. Any change of control also would constitute a default under our revolving credit facility. Therefore, upon the occurrence of a change of control, the lenders under our revolving credit facility would have the right to accelerate any outstanding loans and, if so accelerated, we would be required to repay all of our outstanding obligations under such facility. We may not be able to pay the Senior Note holders the required price for their notes at that time because we may not have available funds to pay the repurchase price. In addition, the terms of other existing or future debt may prevent us from paying the Senior Note holders. There can be no assurance that we would be able to repay such other debt or obtain consents from the holders of such other debt to repurchase the Senior Notes. Any requirement to offer to purchase any Senior Notes may result in us having to refinance our outstanding debt, which we may not be able to do. In addition, even if we were able to refinance our outstanding debt, such financing may be on terms unfavorable to us.

Holders of the Senior Notes may not be able to determine when a change of control giving rise to their right to have the Senior Notes repurchased has occurred following a sale of "substantially all" of our assets.

The definition of change of control in the indenture governing the Senior Notes includes a phrase relating to the sale of "all or substantially all" of our assets. There is no precise established definition of the phrase "substantially all" under applicable law. Accordingly, the ability of a holder of Senior Notes to require us to repurchase its notes as a result of a sale of less than all our assets to another person may be uncertain.

Federal and state fraudulent transfer laws may permit a court to void the Senior Notes or any of the guarantees thereof, and if that occurs, holders of the Senior Notes may not receive any payments.

Federal and state fraudulent transfer and conveyance statutes may apply to the issuance of the Senior Notes and the incurrence of any guarantees of the Senior Notes. Under federal bankruptcy law and comparable provisions of state fraudulent transfer or conveyance laws, which may vary from state to state, the Senior Notes or any guarantees thereof could be voided as a fraudulent transfer or conveyance if we or any existing or future subsidiary guarantors, as applicable, (a) issued the Senior Notes or incurred such guarantee with the intent of hindering, delaying or defrauding creditors or (b) received less than reasonably equivalent value or fair consideration in return for either issuing the Senior Notes or incurring the guarantee and, in the case of (b) only, one of the following is also true at the time thereof:

As a general matter, value is given for a transfer or an obligation if, in exchange for the transfer or obligation, property is transferred or a valid antecedent debt is satisfied. A court would likely find that any subsidiary guarantor did not receive reasonably equivalent value or fair consideration for its guarantee to the extent such subsidiary guarantor did not obtain a reasonably equivalent benefit from the issuance of the Senior Notes.

We cannot be certain as to the standards a court would use to determine whether or not we or any subsidiary guarantor were insolvent at the relevant time or, regardless of the standard that a court uses, whether the Senior Notes or any guarantees would be subordinated to our or any subsidiary guarantor's other debt. In general, however, a court would deem an entity insolvent if:

The subsidiary guarantees contain a "savings clause" intended to limit the subsidiary guarantor's liability to the maximum amount that it could incur without causing the incurrence of obligations under its subsidiary guarantee to be a fraudulent transfer. This provision may not be effective to protect any subsidiary guarantees from being avoided under fraudulent transfer law. Furthermore, in Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of TOUSA, Inc. v Citicorp North America, Inc., the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida held that a savings clause similar to the savings clause used in the indenture was unenforceable. As a result, the subsidiary guarantees were found to be fraudulent conveyances. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed the liability findings of the Bankruptcy Court without ruling directly on the enforceability of savings clauses generally. If the TOUSA decision were followed by other courts, the risk that the guarantees would be deemed fraudulent conveyances would be significantly increased.

To the extent that any subsidiary guarantee is avoided, then, as to that subsidiary, the guaranty would not be enforceable.

If a court were to find that the issuance of the Senior Notes or the incurrence of any guarantee was a fraudulent transfer or conveyance, the court could void the payment obligations under the Senior Notes or such guarantee, could subordinate the Senior Notes or such guarantee to presently existing and future debt of ours or of the related subsidiary guarantor or could require the holders of the Senior Notes to repay any amounts received with respect to such guarantee. In the event of a finding that a fraudulent transfer or conveyance occurred, holders of the Senior Notes may not receive any repayment. Further, the avoidance of the Senior Notes could result in an event of default with respect to our and our subsidiaries' other debt that could result in acceleration of that debt.

Finally, as a court of equity, the bankruptcy court may subordinate the claims in respect of the Senior Notes to other claims against us under the principle of equitable subordination if the court determines that (1) the holders of the Senior Notes engaged in some type of inequitable conduct, (2) the inequitable conduct resulted in injury to our other creditors or conferred an unfair advantage upon the holders of Senior Notes and (3) equitable subordination is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks associated with an investment in our Senior Notes.

Credit rating agencies rate our debt securities on factors that include our results of operations, actions that we take, their view of the general outlook for our industry and their view of the general outlook for the economy. Actions taken by the rating agencies can include maintaining, upgrading, or downgrading the current rating or placing us on a watch list for possible future downgrading. At February 20, 2017, our Senior Notes were rated “B-" with a positive outlook by Standard and Poor’s, and were rated “B3" with a stable outlook by Moody’s Investors Service. In February 2016, Standard and Poor's lowered their rating of our Senior Notes from a previous "B" rating. In January 2016, Moody's indicated that they had placed us, along with other mining companies, on review for downgrade. Downgrading the credit rating of our debt securities or placing us on a watch list for possible future downgrading would likely increase our cost of financing, limit our access to the capital markets and have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities, including our Senior Notes. We cannot be assured that our credit ratings will not be downgraded in the future.

Operation, Development, Exploration and Acquisition Risks

Mining accidents or other adverse events at an operation could decrease our anticipated production.

Production may be reduced below our historical or estimated levels as a result of mining accidents; unfavorable ground or shaft conditions; work stoppages or slow-downs; lower than expected ore grades; unexpected regulatory actions; if the metallurgical characteristics of ore are less economic than anticipated; or because our equipment or facilities fail to operate properly or as expected. Our mines are subject to risks relating to ground instability, including, but not limited to, pit wall failure, crown pillar collapse or stope failure. Both the Lucky Friday and Casa Berardi mines have a history of ground instability and related incidents. The occurrence of an event such as those described above could result in loss of life or temporary or permanent cessation of operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Other closures or impacts on operations or production may occur at any of our mines at any time, whether related to accidents, changes in conditions, changes to regulatory policy, or as precautionary measures.

Our operations may be adversely affected by risks and hazards associated with the mining industry that may not be fully covered by insurance.

Our business is capital intensive, requiring ongoing investment for the replacement, modernization or expansion of equipment and facilities. Our mining and milling operations are subject to risks of process upsets and equipment malfunctions. Equipment and supplies may from time to time be unavailable on a timely basis. Our business is subject to a number of other risks and hazards including:

Such risks could result in:

We maintain insurance to protect against losses that may result from some of these risks, such as property loss and business interruption, in amounts we believe to be reasonably consistent with our historical experience, industry practice and circumstances surrounding each identified risk. Such insurance, however, contains exclusions and limitations on coverage, particularly with respect to environmental liability and political risk. There can be no assurance that claims would be paid under such insurance policies in connection with a particular event. Insurance specific to environmental risks is generally either unavailable or, we believe, too expensive for us, and we therefore do not maintain environmental insurance. Occurrence of events for which we are not insured may have an adverse effect on our business.

Our costs of development of new orebodies and other capital costs may be higher and provide less return than we estimated.

Capitalized development projects may cost more and provide less return than we estimate. If we are unable to realize a return on these investments, we may incur a related asset write-down that could adversely affect our financial results or condition.

Our ability to sustain or increase our current level of metals production partly depends on our ability to develop new orebodies and/or expand existing mining operations. Before we can begin a development project, we must first determine whether it is economically feasible to do so. This determination is based on estimates of several factors, including:

Many of these estimates are based on geological and other interpretive data, which may be imprecise. As a result, actual operating and capital costs and returns from a development project may differ substantially from our estimates, and, as such, it may not be economically feasible to continue with a development project.

Our ore reserve estimates may be imprecise.

Our ore reserve figures and costs are primarily estimates and are not guarantees that we will recover the indicated quantities of these metals. You are strongly cautioned not to place undue reliance on estimates of reserves (or mineralized material or other resource estimates). Reserves are estimates made by our professional technical personnel, and no assurance can be given that the estimated amount of metal or the indicated level of recovery of these metals will be realized. Reserve estimation is an interpretive process based upon available data and various assumptions. Our reserve estimates may change based on actual production experience. Further, reserves are valued based on estimates of costs and metals prices, which may not be consistent among our properties or across the industry. The economic value of ore reserves may be adversely affected by:

Short-term operating factors relating to our ore reserves, such as the need to sequentially develop orebodies and the processing of new or different ore grades, may adversely affect our cash flow.

If the prices of metals that we produce decline substantially below the levels used to calculate reserves for an extended period, we could experience:

Efforts to expand the finite lives of our mines may not be successful or could result in significant demands on our liquidity, which could hinder our growth and decrease the value of our stock.

One of the risks we face is that mines are depleting assets. Thus, in order to maintain or increase production we must continually replace depleted ore reserves by locating and developing additional ore. Our ability to expand or replace ore reserves primarily depends on the success of our exploration programs. Mineral exploration, particularly for silver and gold, is highly speculative and expensive. It involves many risks and is often non-productive. Even if we believe we have found a valuable mineral deposit, it may be several years before production from that deposit is possible. During that time, it may become no longer feasible to produce those minerals for economic, regulatory, political or other reasons. As a result of high costs and other uncertainties, we may not be able to expand or replace our existing ore reserves as they are depleted, which would adversely affect our business and financial position in the future.

Our joint development and operating arrangements may not be successful.

We have entered into joint venture arrangements in order to share the risks and costs of developing and operating properties. In a typical joint venture arrangement, the partners own proportionate shares of the assets, are entitled to indemnification from each other and are only responsible for any future liabilities in proportion to their interest in the joint venture. If a party fails to perform its obligations under a joint venture agreement, we could incur liabilities and losses in excess of our pro-rata share of the joint venture.  We make investments in exploration and development projects that may have to be written off in the event we do not proceed to a commercially viable mining operation. See Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Our ability to market our metals production may be affected by disruptions or closures of smelters and/or refining facilities.

We sell our metallic concentrates to smelters and brokers. Our doré bars are sent to refiners for further processing before being sold to metal traders. If smelters or refiners are unavailable or unwilling to accept our products, or we are otherwise unable to sell our products to customers, our operations could be adversely affected.  See Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on the distribution of our sales and our significant customers.

Our business depends on finding skilled miners and maintaining good relations with our employees.

We are dependent upon the ability and experience of our executive officers, managers, employees and other personnel, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain such employees. We compete with other companies both in and outside the mining industry in recruiting and retaining qualified employees knowledgeable about the mining business. From time to time, we have encountered, and may in the future encounter, difficulty recruiting skilled mining personnel at acceptable wage and benefit levels in a competitive labor market, and may be required to utilize contractors, which can be more costly. Temporary or extended lay-offs due to mine closures may exacerbate such issues and result in vacancies or the need to hire less skilled or efficient employees. The loss of these persons or our inability to attract and retain additional highly skilled employees could have an adverse effect on our business and future operations.

We may experience labor disputes, work stoppages or other disruptions in production that could adversely affect our business and results of operations. The Lucky Friday mine is our only operation where some of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement, and the most recent agreement expired on April 30, 2016. On February 19, 2017, the unionized employees voted against out contract offer. We expect further discussions with the union but it is possible that an agreement will not be reached, in which case we cannot predict what might happen next, including what actions we or the union might take in response to failing to reach an agreement. If we do not successfully negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with our union workers, we may incur prolonged strikes and other work stoppages at our mining operations, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if we enter into a new labor agreement with any union that significantly increases our labor costs relative to our competitors, our ability to compete may be materially and adversely affected.

Our information technology systems may be vulnerable to disruption which could place our systems at risk from data loss, operational failure, or compromise of confidential information.

We rely on various information technology systems, and on third party developers and contractors, in connection with operations, including production, equipment operation and financial support systems. While we regularly obtain and develop solutions to monitor the security of our systems, they remain vulnerable to disruption, damage or failure from a variety of sources, including errors by employees or contractors, computer viruses, cyber-attacks including phishing, ransomware, and similar malware, misappropriation of data by outside parties, and various other threats. Techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to or sabotage our systems are under continuous and rapid evolution, and we may be unable to detect efforts to disrupt our data and systems in advance. Breaches and unauthorized access carry the potential to cause losses of production, operational delays, equipment failure that could cause other risks to be realized, inaccurate recordkeeping, or disclosure of confidential information, any of which could result in financial losses and regulatory or legal exposure, and could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, financial condition or results of operations.

Our foreign activities are subject to additional inherent risks.

We currently have foreign operations in Mexico and Canada, and we expect to continue to conduct operations there and possibly other international locations in the future. Because we conduct operations internationally, we are subject to political, legal and economic risks such as:

The occurrence of any one or combination of these events, many of which are beyond our control, could materially adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Our operations and properties in Quebec, Canada expose us to additional political risks.

Our presence in Quebec, Canada, and more specifically our properties there, may be of particular interest or sensitivity to one or more interest groups, including aboriginal groups (which are generally referred to as "First Nations"). We have mineral projects in Quebec that may be in areas with a First Nations presence. It is our practice to work closely with and consult with First Nations in areas in which our projects are located or which could be impacted by our activities. However, there is no assurance that relationships with such groups will be positive. Accordingly, it is possible that our production, exploration or development activities on these properties could be interrupted or otherwise adversely affected in the future by political uncertainty, native land claims entitlements, expropriations of property, changes in applicable law, governmental policies and policies of relevant interest groups, including those of First Nations. Any changes in law or relations or shifts in political conditions may be beyond our control and may adversely affect our business and operations and if significant, may result in the impairment or loss of mineral concessions or other mineral rights, or may make it impossible to continue our mineral production, exploration or development activities in the applicable area, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial conditions and results of operations.

We may be subject to a number of unanticipated risks related to inadequate infrastructure.

Mining, processing, development and exploration activities depend on adequate infrastructure. Reliable roads, bridges, power sources, internet access and water supply are important to our operations, and their availability and condition affect capital and operating costs. Unusual or infrequent weather phenomena, sabotage, other interference in the maintenance or provision of such infrastructure, or government intervention, could adversely affect our mining operations.

Competition from other mining companies may harm our business.

We compete with other mining companies, some of which have greater financial resources than we do or other advantages, including in the following areas:

We face inherent risks in acquisitions of other mining companies or properties that may adversely impact our growth strategy.

We are actively seeking to expand our mineral reserves by acquiring other mining companies or properties. Although we are pursuing opportunities that we feel are in the best interest of our stockholders, these pursuits are costly and often unproductive.

Furthermore, there is a limited supply of desirable mineral properties available in the United States and foreign countries where we would consider conducting exploration and/or production activities, and we face strong competition for companies and properties from other mining companies, some of which have greater financial resources than we do. Therefore we may be unable to acquire attractive companies and mining properties on terms that we consider acceptable.

There are inherent risks in any acquisition we may undertake which could adversely affect our current business and financial condition and our growth. For example, we may not realize the expected value of the companies or properties that are acquired due to declines in metals prices, lower than expected quality of orebodies, failure to obtain permits, labor problems, changes in regulatory environment, failure to achieve anticipated synergies, an inability to obtain financing, and other factors described in these risks factors. Acquisitions of other mining companies or properties may also expose us to new geographic, political, operating, and geological risks.

We may be unable to successfully integrate the operations of the properties we acquire.

Integration of the businesses or the properties we acquire with our existing business will be a complex, time-consuming and costly process. Failure to successfully integrate the acquired properties and operations in a timely manner may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The difficulties of combining the acquired operations include, among other things:

The process of integrating our operations could cause an interruption of, or a slowdown in, the activities of our business. Members of our senior management may be required to devote considerable amounts of time to this integration process, which will decrease the time they will have to manage other parts of our business. If our senior management is not able to effectively manage the integration process, or if any business activities are interrupted as a result of the integration process, our business could suffer.

We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits from our acquisitions.

We may not realize all of the anticipated benefits from any acquisitions, such as increased earnings, cost savings and revenue enhancements, for various reasons, including difficulties integrating operations and personnel, higher than expected acquisition and operating costs or other difficulties, unknown liabilities which may be significant, inaccurate reserve estimates and fluctuations in market prices.

The properties we may acquire may not produce as expected, and we may be unable to determine reserve potential, identify liabilities associated with the acquired properties or obtain protection from sellers against such liabilities.

The properties we acquire in any acquisitions may not produce as expected, may be in an unexpected condition and we may be subject to increased costs and liabilities, including environmental liabilities. Although we review properties prior to acquisition in a manner consistent with industry practices, such reviews are not capable of identifying all potential adverse conditions. Generally, it is not feasible to review in depth every individual property involved in each acquisition. Even a detailed review of records and properties may not necessarily reveal existing or potential problems or permit a buyer to become sufficiently familiar with the properties to fully assess their condition, any deficiencies, and development potential.

Legal, Regulatory and Market Risks

We are currently involved in ongoing legal disputes that may materially adversely affect us.

There are several ongoing legal disputes in which we are involved, and additional actions may be filed against us. We may be subject to future claims, including those relating to environmental damage, safety conditions at our mines, and other matters. The outcomes of these pending and potential claims are uncertain. We may not resolve these claims favorably. Depending on the outcome, these actions could have adverse financial effects or cause reputational harm to us. If any of these disputes result in a substantial monetary judgment against us, are settled on terms in excess of our current accruals, or otherwise impact our operations, our financial results or condition could be materially adversely affected. For a description of some of the lawsuits and other claims in which we are involved, see Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

We are required to obtain governmental permits and other approvals in order to conduct mining operations.

In the ordinary course of business, mining companies are required to seek governmental permits and other approvals for continuation or expansion of existing operations or for the commencement of new operations. Obtaining the necessary governmental permits is a complex, time-consuming and costly process. The duration and success of our efforts to obtain permits are contingent upon many variables not within our control. Obtaining environmental permits, including the approval of reclamation plans, may increase costs and cause delays or halt the continuation of mining operations depending on the nature of the activity to be permitted and the interpretation of applicable requirements implemented by the permitting authority. Interested parties including governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations or civic groups may seek to prevent issuance of permits and intervene in the process or pursue extensive appeal rights. Past or ongoing violations of laws or regulations involving obtaining or complying with permits could provide a basis to revoke existing permits, deny the issuance of additional permits, or commence a regulatory enforcement action, each of which could have a material adverse impact on our operations or financial condition. In addition, evolving reclamation or environmental concerns may threaten our ability to renew existing permits or obtain new permits in connection with future development, expansions and operations. There can be no assurance that all necessary approvals and permits will be obtained and, if obtained, that the costs involved will not exceed those that we previously estimated. It is possible that the costs and delays associated with the compliance with such standards and regulations could become such that we would not proceed with a particular development or operation.  We are often required to post surety bonds or cash collateral to secure our reclamation obligations and we may be unable to obtain the required surety bonds or may not have the resources to provide cash collateral, and the bonds or collateral may not fully cover the cost of reclamation and any such shortfall could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition.

Legal challenges could prevent the Rock Creek or Montanore projects from ever being developed.

The proposed development of our Rock Creek project has been challenged by several regional and national conservation groups at various times since the U.S. Forest Service ("USFS") issued its initial Record of Decision ("ROD") in 2003 approving Revett Mining Company’s plan of operation (Revett is now our wholly-owned subsidiary, named Hecla Montana, Inc.). Some of these challenges have alleged violations of a variety of federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to Revett’s permitting activities at Rock Creek, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the General Mining Law of 1872 ("1872 Mining Law"), the Federal Land Policy Management Act, the Wilderness Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Forest Service Organic Act of 1897, and the Administrative Procedure Act. Although Revett successfully addressed most of these challenges, Revett was directed by the Montana Federal District Court in May 2010 to produce a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“SEIS”) to address National Environmental Policy Act procedural deficiencies that were identified by the court. We cannot predict how possible future challenges will be resolved. Possible new court challenges in the future to the final SEIS and ROD may delay the planned development at Rock Creek. If we are successful in completing the SEIS and defending any challenges to Rock Creek, we would still be required to comply with a number of requirements and conditions as development progresses, failing which could make us unable to continue with development activities.

A joint final Environmental Impact Statement on the Montanore project was issued in December 2015 by the USFS and Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and each agency issued a Record of Decision in February 2016 providing approval for development of the Montanore project. However, private conservation groups have taken and may in the future take actions to oppose or delay the Montanore project, and there are currently three pending lawsuits challenging environmental permits that have been granted. In addition, there are three lawsuits pending which involve potential defects in title or limiting our access to the properties comprising the Montanore project. A development or outcome from one of these or any other lawsuit could limit our ability to access, develop or operate the Montanore project.

Rock Creek and Montanore are significant assets obtained in the acquisitions of Revett and Mines Management in 2015 and 2016, respectively. However, even if Rock Creek and Montanore are permitted, there is no assurance that they will be successfully developed or operated, including, among other reasons, because financing necessary to develop the projects may be unavailable.

We face substantial governmental regulation, including the Mine Safety and Health Act, various environmental rules and regulations and the 1872 Mining Law.

Our business is subject to extensive U.S. and foreign, federal, state and local laws and regulations governing environmental protection, natural resources, prospecting, development, production, post-closure reclamation, taxes, labor standards and occupational health and safety laws and regulations, including mine safety, toxic substances and other matters. The costs associated with compliance with such laws and regulations are substantial. Possible future laws and regulations, or more restrictive interpretations of current laws and regulations by governmental authorities, could cause additional expense, capital expenditures, restrictions on or suspensions of operations and delays in the development of new properties.

U.S. surface and underground mines like the Lucky Friday and Greens Creek mines are continuously inspected by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”), which inspections often lead to notices of violation under the Mine Safety and Health Act. Any of our U.S. mines could be subject to a temporary or extended shutdown as a result of a violation alleged by MSHA.

In addition, we have been and are currently involved in lawsuits or regulatory actions in which we have been accused of causing environmental damage, violating environmental laws, or violating environmental permits, and we may be subject to similar lawsuits or actions in the future. Moreover, such environmental matters have involved both our current and historical operations as well as the historical operations of entities and properties we have acquired. See the risk factors below titled Our environmental obligations may exceed the provisions we have made and Our operations are subject to complex, evolving and increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with environmental regulations, and litigation based on such regulations, involves significant costs and can threaten existing operations or constrain expansion opportunities.

There can be no assurance that we will at all times be in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements may result in lawsuits or regulatory actions, including orders issued by regulatory or judicial authorities causing operations to cease or be curtailed, which may require corrective measures including capital expenditures, installation of additional equipment or remedial actions. Any one or more of these liabilities could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition.

In addition to existing regulatory requirements, legislation and regulations may be adopted, regulatory procedures modified, or permit limits reduced at any time, any of which could result in additional exposure to liability, operating expense, capital expenditures or restrictions and delays in the mining, production or development of our properties. Mining accidents and fatalities or toxic waste releases, whether or not at our mines or related to metals mining, may increase the likelihood of additional regulation or changes in law or enhanced regulatory scrutiny. In addition, enforcement or regulatory tools and methods available to regulatory bodies such as MSHA or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), which have not been or have infrequently been used against us or the mining industry, in the future could be used against us or the industry in general.

From time to time, the U.S. Congress considers proposed amendments to the 1872 Mining Law, which governs mining claims and related activities on federal lands. The extent of any future changes is not known and the potential impact on us as a result of U.S. Congressional action is difficult to predict. Changes to the 1872 Mining Law, if adopted, could adversely affect our ability to economically develop mineral reserves on federal lands. Although we are not currently mining on federal land, we do explore, and future mining could occur, on federal land.

Our operations are subject to complex, evolving and increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with environmental regulations, and litigation based on such regulations, involves significant costs and can threaten existing operations or constrain expansion opportunities.

Our operations, both in the U.S. and internationally, are subject to extensive environmental laws and regulations governing wastewater discharges; remediation, restoration and reclamation of environmental contamination; the generation, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of hazardous substances; solid waste disposal; air emissions; protection of endangered and protected species and designation of critical habitats; mine closures and reclamation; and other related matters. In addition, we must obtain regulatory permits and approvals to start, continue and expand operations.

New or revised environmental regulatory requirements are frequently proposed, many of which result in substantially increased costs for our business, which could be the case under the proposed financial assurance regulations discussed in the risk factor below Mine closure and reclamation regulations impose substantial costs on our operations, and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those obligations. These costs could significantly increase.

We are subject to the Clean Water Act, which requires permits for certain discharges into waters of the United States. Such permitting has been a frequent subject of litigation and enforcement activity by environmental advocacy groups and the EPA, respectively, which has resulted in declines in such permits or extensive delays in receiving them, as well as the imposition of penalties for permit violations. Recently the regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” that are protected by the Clean Water Act was expanded by the EPA, thereby imposing significant additional restrictions on waterway discharges and land uses. These changes could increase litigation involving water discharge permits, which may result in delays in, or in some instances preclude, the commencement or continuation of development or production operations. Enforcement actions by the EPA could also result. Adverse outcomes in lawsuits challenging permits or failure to comply with applicable regulations or permits could result in the suspension, denial, or revocation of required permits, or the imposition of penalties, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our cash flows, results of operations, or financial condition. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Some of the mining wastes from our U.S. mines currently are exempt to a limited extent from the extensive set of EPA regulations governing hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”). If the EPA were to repeal this exemption, and designate these mining wastes as hazardous under RCRA, we would be required to expend additional amounts on the handling of such wastes and to make significant expenditures to construct hazardous waste storage or disposal facilities. In addition, if any of these wastes causes contamination in or damage to the environment at a U.S. mining facility, that facility could be designated as a “Superfund” site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”). Under CERCLA, any present owner or operator of a Superfund site or the owner or operator at the time of contamination may be held jointly and severally liable regardless of fault, and may be forced to undertake extensive remedial cleanup action or to pay for the cleanup efforts. The owner or operator also may be liable to federal, state and tribal governmental entities for the cost of damages to natural resources, which could be substantial. Additional regulations or requirements also are imposed on our tailings and waste disposal areas in Alaska under the federal Clean Water Act.

Legislative and regulatory measures to address climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are in various phases of consideration. If adopted, such measures could increase our cost of environmental compliance and also delay or otherwise negatively affect efforts to obtain permits and other regulatory approvals with regard to existing and new facilities. Proposed measures could also result in increased cost of fuel and other consumables used at our operations, including the diesel generation of electricity at our Greens Creek operation, used when we are unable to access hydroelectric power. Climate change legislation may also affect our smelter customers who burn fossil fuels, resulting in fewer customers or increased costs to us, and may affect the market for the metals we produce with effects on prices that are not possible for us to predict.

Adoption of these or similar new environmental regulations or more stringent application of existing regulations may materially increase our costs, threaten certain operating activities and constrain our expansion opportunities.

In addition to evolving and expanding environmental regulations providing governmental authorities with the means to make claims against us, private parties have in the past and may in the future bring claims against us based upon damage to property and injury to persons resulting from the environmental, health and safety impacts of prior and current operations (including for exposure to or contamination by lead). Laws such as CERCLA and similar state laws may expose us to joint and several liability, or claims for contribution made by the government (state or federal) or private parties. Moreover, exposure to these liabilities arises not only from our existing but also from closed operations or operations sold to third parties, or operations in which we had a leasehold, joint venture, or other interest. Because liability under CERCLA is often alleged on a joint and several basis against any property owner or operator or arranger for the transport of hazardous waste, and because we have been in operation since 1891, our exposure to environmental claims may be greater because of the bankruptcy or dissolution of other mining companies which may have engaged in more significant activities at a mining site than we but which are no longer available for governmental agencies or other claimants to make claims against or obtain judgments from. Similarly, there is also the potential for claims against us based on agreements entered into by certain affiliates and predecessor companies relating to the transfer of businesses or properties, which contained indemnification provisions relating to environmental matters. In each of the types of cases described in this paragraph, the government (federal or state) or private parties could seek to hold Hecla Limited or Hecla Mining Company liable for the actions of their subsidiaries or predecessors.

The laws and regulations, changes in such laws and regulations, and lawsuits and enforcement actions described in this risk factor could lead to the imposition of substantial fines, remediation costs, penalties and other civil and criminal sanctions against us. Further, substantial costs and liabilities, including for restoring the environment after the closure of mines, are inherent in our operations. There is no assurance that any such law, regulation, enforcement or private claim, or reclamation activity would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Mine closure and reclamation regulations impose substantial costs on our operations, and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those obligations. These costs could significantly increase.

We are required by U.S. federal and state laws and regulations to reclaim our mining properties. The specific requirements vary among jurisdictions. In some cases, we are required to provide financial assurances as security for reclamation costs, which may exceed our estimates for such costs. Conversely, our reclamation costs may exceed the financial assurances in place and those assurances may ultimately be unavailable to us.

The EPA and state agencies may also require financial assurance for investigation and remediation actions that are required under settlements of enforcement actions under CERCLA or equivalent state regulations. Currently there are no financial assurance requirements for active mining operations under CERCLA, but in January 2017, in response to a lawsuit filed previously by several environmental organizations, the EPA proposed rules for financial assurance regulations under CERCLA governing the hard rock mining industry, which includes us. The proposed rules are now subject to a public comment period lasting until March 13, 2017 (unless extended). It is uncertain how the new requirements, if adopted, will affect the amount and form of our existing and future financial assurance obligations or the extent to which they will supplement or replace state requirements. However, based on the current draft of the proposed rules, the new requirements may be financially material and adverse to us.

 Our environmental obligations may exceed the provisions we have made.

We are subject to significant environmental obligations.  At December 31, 2016, we had accrued $85.6 million as a provision for environmental obligations. There can be no assurance that we have accurately estimated these environmental obligations, and in the future our accrual could materially change. Our environmental obligations could have a material adverse impact on our cash flows, results of operations, or financial condition. For information on our potential environmental liabilities, see Note 4 and Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

We face risks relating to transporting our products, as well as transporting employees and materials at Greens Creek.

Certain of the products we ship to our customers are subject to regulatory requirements regarding shipping, packaging, and handling of products that may be considered dangerous to human health or the environment. Although we believe we are currently in compliance with all material regulations applicable to shipping, packaging, and handling our products, the chemical properties of our products or existing regulations could change and cause us to fall out of compliance, or force us to incur substantial additional expenditures to maintain compliance with applicable regulations. Further, we do not ship our own products but instead rely on third party carriers to ship our products to our customers. To the extent that any of our carriers are unable or unwilling to ship our products in accordance with applicable regulations, including because of difficulty in obtaining, or increased cost of, insurance, or are involved in accidents during transit, we could be forced to find alternative shipping arrangements, assuming such alternatives would be available, and we could face liability as a result of any such accident. Any such changes to our current shipping arrangements or accidents involving the shipment of our products could have a material adverse impact on our operations and financial results.

In addition, Greens Creek operates on an island and is substantially dependent on various forms of marine transportation for the transportation of employees and materials to the mine and for the export of its products from the mine. Any disruption to these forms of marine transportation could adversely impact mine operations, and possible effects could include suspension of operations.

The titles to some of our properties may be defective or challenged.

Unpatented mining claims constitute a significant portion of our undeveloped property holdings in the U.S. For our operations in Canada and Mexico, we hold mining claims, mineral concession titles and mining leases that are obtained and held in accordance with the laws of the respective countries, which provide Hecla the right to exploit and explore the properties. The validity of the claims, concessions and leases could be uncertain and may be contested. Although we have conducted title reviews of our property holdings, title review does not necessarily preclude third parties (including governments) from challenging our title. In accordance with mining industry practice, we do not generally obtain title opinions until we decide to develop a property. Therefore, while we have attempted to acquire satisfactory title to our undeveloped properties, some titles may be defective.

The price of our stock has a history of volatility and could decline in the future.

Shares of our common and outstanding preferred stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The market price for our stock has been volatile, often based on:

The market price of our stock at any given point in time may not accurately reflect our value, and may prevent stockholders from realizing a profit on, or recovering, their investment.

Our Series B preferred stock has a liquidation preference of $50 per share or $7.9 million.

If we were liquidated, holders of our preferred stock would be entitled to receive approximately $7.9 million (plus any accrued and unpaid dividends) from any liquidation proceeds before holders of our common stock would be entitled to receive any proceeds, but after holders of all notes issued under the indenture governing our Senior Notes received any proceeds.

We may not be able to pay common or preferred stock dividends in the future.

Since January 2010, we have paid all regular quarterly dividends on our Series B preferred stock.  The annual dividend payable on the Series B preferred stock is currently $0.6 million. Prior to 2010, there were numerous occasions when we did not declare dividends on the Series B Preferred Stock, but instead deferred them. There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay preferred stock dividends in the future.

Our board of directors adopted a common stock dividend policy that has two components: (1) a dividend that links the amount of dividends on our common stock to our average quarterly realized silver price in the preceding quarter, and (2) a minimum annual dividend of $0.01 per share of common stock, in each case payable quarterly, when declared. See Note 9 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on our common stock dividend policy.

From the fourth quarter of 2011 through and including the fourth quarter of 2016, our board of directors has declared a common stock dividend under the policy described above (although in some cases only a minimum dividend was declared and none relating to the average realized price of silver due to the prices not meeting the policy threshold). The declaration and payment of common stock dividends, whether pursuant to the policy or in addition thereto, is at the sole discretion of our board of directors, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to declare and pay common stock dividends in the future. In addition, the indenture governing our Senior Notes limits our ability to pay dividends.

 Our existing stockholders are effectively subordinated to the holders of our Senior Notes.

In the event of our liquidation or dissolution, stockholders' entitlement to share ratably in any distribution of our assets would be subordinated to the holders of our Senior Notes. Any rights that a stockholder may have in the event of bankruptcy, liquidation or a reorganization of us or any of our subsidiaries, and any consequent rights of stockholders to realize on the proceeds from the sale of any of our or our subsidiaries' assets, will be effectively subordinated to the claims of the holders of our Senior Notes.

Additional issuances of equity securities by us would dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders and could reduce our earnings per share.

We may issue securities in the future in connection with raising capital, acquisitions, strategic transactions or for other purposes. To the extent we issue any additional equity securities (or securities convertible into equity), the ownership of our existing stockholders would be diluted and our earnings per share could be reduced.

The issuance of additional shares of our preferred or common stock in the future could adversely affect holders of common stock.

The market price of our common stock may be influenced by any preferred or common stock we may issue.  Our board of directors is authorized to issue additional classes or series of preferred stock without any action on the part of our stockholders.  This includes the power to set the terms of any such classes or series of preferred stock that may be issued, including voting rights, dividend rights and preferences over common stock with respect to dividends or upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the business and other terms.  If we issue preferred stock in the future that has preference over our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up, or if we issue preferred stock with voting rights that dilute the voting power of our common stock, the rights of holders of the common stock or the market price of the common stock could be adversely affected.

If a large number of shares of our common stock are sold in the public market, the sales could reduce the trading price of our common stock and impede our ability to raise future capital.

We cannot predict what effect, if any, future issuances by us of our common stock or other equity will have on the market price of our common stock. Any shares that we may issue may not have any resale restrictions, and therefore could be immediately sold by the holders. The market price of our common stock could decline if certain large holders of our common stock, or recipients of our common stock, sell all or a significant portion of their shares of common stock or are perceived by the market as intending to sell these shares other than in an orderly manner. In addition, these sales could also impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional common stock in the capital markets.

The provisions in our certificate of incorporation, our by-laws and Delaware law could delay or deter tender offers or takeover attempts.

Certain provisions in our certificate of incorporation, our by-laws and Delaware law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us, even if that transaction could be beneficial to stockholders. These impediments include:

 If we cannot meet the New York Stock Exchange continued listing requirements, the NYSE may delist our common stock.

Our common stock is currently listed on the NYSE. In the future, if we are not be able to meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE, which require, among other things, that the average closing price of our common stock be above $1.00 over 30 consecutive trading days, our common stock may be delisted. Our closing stock price on February 20, 2017 was $6.58.  

If we are unable to satisfy the NYSE criteria for continued listing, our common stock would be subject to delisting. A delisting of our common stock could negatively impact us by, among other things, reducing the liquidity and market price of our common stock; reducing the number of investors willing to hold or acquire our common stock, which could negatively impact our ability to raise equity financing; decreasing the amount of news and analyst coverage of us; and limiting our ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.  In addition, delisting from the NYSE might negatively impact our reputation and, as a consequence, our business.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

OPERATING PROPERTIES

The Greens Creek Unit

Various of our subsidiaries collectively own 100% of the Greens Creek mine, located on Admiralty Island near Juneau in southeast Alaska. Admiralty Island is accessed by boat, float plane, or helicopter. On the island, the mine site and various surface facilities are accessed by 13 miles of all-weather gravel roads. The Greens Creek mine has been in production since 1989, with a temporary care and maintenance period from April 1993 through July 1996.  Since the start of production, Greens Creek has been owned and operated through various joint venture arrangements.  For approximately 15 years prior to April 16, 2008, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Hecla Alaska LLC, owned an undivided 29.7% joint venture interest in the assets of Greens Creek.  On April 16, 2008, we completed the acquisition of all of the equity of two Rio Tinto subsidiaries holding a 70.3% interest in the Greens Creek mine, and which previously operated the mine, for approximately $758.5 million.  The acquisition gave various of our subsidiaries control collectively of 100% of the Greens Creek mine.

The Greens Creek orebody contains silver, zinc, gold and lead, and lies within the Admiralty Island National Monument, an environmentally sensitive area. The Greens Creek property includes 440 unpatented lode mining claims, 58 unpatented millsite claims, 17 patented lode claims and one patented millsite. In addition, the Greens Creek site includes properties under lease from the U.S. Forest Service ("USFS") for a road right-of-way, mine portal and mill site access, camp site, mine waste area and tailings impoundment. The USFS leases have varying expiration terms. Greens Creek also has title to mineral rights on 7,301 acres of federal land acquired through a land exchange with the USFS. We are currently exploring, but not mining, on such federal land.

The project consists of the mine, an ore concentrating mill, a tailings impoundment area, a ship-loading facility, camp facilities, a ferry dock, and other related infrastructure.  The map below illustrates the location and access to Greens Creek:

The Greens Creek deposit is a polymetallic, stratiform, massive sulfide deposit. The host rock consists of predominantly marine sedimentary, and mafic to ultramafic volcanic and plutonic rocks, which have been subjected to multiple periods of deformation. These deformational episodes have imposed intense tectonic fabrics on the rocks. Mineralization occurs most often along the contact between a structural hanging wall of quartz mica carbonate phyllites and a structural footwall of graphitic and calcareous argillite. Major sulfide minerals are pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and tetrahedrite/tennanite.

Pursuant to a 1996 land exchange agreement, the joint venture transferred private property equal to a value of $1.0 million to the U.S. Forest Service and received exploration and mining rights to approximately 7,500 acres of land with mining potential surrounding the existing mine. Any production from new ore discoveries on the exchanged lands will be subject to a federal royalty included in the land exchange agreement. The royalty is only due on any production from reserves that are not part of Greens Creek’s extralateral rights. Thus far, there has been no production triggering payment of the royalty. The royalty is 3% if the average value of the ore during a year is greater than the benchmark, and 0.75% if the value is equal to or less than the benchmark. The benchmark of $120 per ton is adjusted annually in July according to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Implicit Price Deflator until the year 2016, and at December 31, 2016, was at approximately $161 per ton when applying the latest GDP Implicit Price Deflator.

Greens Creek is an underground mine accessed by a ramp from surface which produces approximately 2,100 to 2,300 tons of ore per day. The primary mining methods are cut and fill and longhole stoping. The Greens Creek ore processing facility includes a SAG/ball mill grinding circuit to grind the run of mine ore to liberate the minerals and produce a slurry suitable for differential flotation of mineral concentrates.  A gravity circuit recovers free gold that exists as electrum, a gold/silver alloy in the ore.  Gravity concentrates are produced from this circuit prior to flotation.  Three flotation concentrates are produced: a lead concentrate which contains most of the silver recovered; a zinc concentrate which is low in precious metals content; and a zinc-rich bulk concentrate that contains gold, silver, zinc, and lead and must be marketed to an imperial smelter.  Doré is produced from the gravity concentrate by a third party processor and further refined and sold to precious metal traders and other concentrate products are sold to a number of smelters worldwide.  See Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for information on the significant customers for Greens Creek’s products. Concentrates are shipped from the Hawk Inlet marine terminal about nine miles from the mill.

In 2016, ore was processed at an average rate of approximately 2,229 tons per day and total mill recovery was approximately 78% for silver, 88% for zinc, 81% for lead and 68% for gold.  The processing facility was originally constructed in 1988, with the first production commencing in 1989. Various modifications and upgrades have been made since that time.  Changes to the flotation circuit have included:  installation of regrind mills in 1992; mill recommissioning in 1996; expansion of concentrate cleaning equipment in 2000 and 2001; addition of a swing cell option in 2004, allowing for a reduction in bulk concentrate production; addition of an on-stream analyzer in 2006; expansion of lead rougher equipment in 2007; retrofit of 2 column sparge systems in 2010 and 2011; replacement of the carbon flotation columns complete with sparger upgrades in 2012 and 2013; installation of a replacement on-stream analyzer with an additional multiplexer in 2013 and 2014; and replacement of the sulfuric acid system with a carbon dioxide system for pH control in 2015.  Significant changes to the grinding circuit since original construction have included a new motor, two stage screening, and various internal lining modifications for the SAG mill, and replacement of the primary cyclones and the addition of a trommel magnet in the ball mill.

Electricity for the Greens Creek unit is provided through the purchase of surplus hydroelectric power from Alaska Electric Light and Power Company (“AEL&P”), to the extent it is available after the power needs of Juneau and the surrounding area are met. When weather conditions are not favorable to maintain lake water levels sufficient for all of the power needs at Greens Creek to be met by available hydroelectric power, the mine relies on power provided by on-site diesel generators.

The employees at Greens Creek are employees of Hecla Greens Creek Mining Company, our wholly-owned subsidiary, and are not represented by a bargaining agent. There were 414 employees at the Greens Creek unit at December 31, 2016.

Definition drilling in 2016 focused on refining mineralized material at the Northwest West, 9A, and Deep 200 South zones. After applying economic analysis to these drilling results, and incorporating them into the life of mine plan, we expect this mineralized material to be converted into reserves. Other zones that were targeted by definition drilling included the East Ore and Upper Southwest zones. Underground exploration activities at Greens Creek in 2016 continued to define new mineralization along trend of the 9A, Deep 200 South and Southwest Bench zones. Additional exploration included drilling Gallagher Zone, Mine Syncline, and 5250 Zone targets.

In 2017, underground definition drilling is expected to begin on a multi-year project to refine known East Ore resources along the mineralized horizon. The Upper Plate, Deep 200 South, Gallagher, Deep Southwest, and West zones are expected to be advanced by definition drilling as well. Underground exploration in 2017 is expected to resume testing down plunge targets of the Deep 200 South, Gallagher, and Gallagher Fault Block zones after the advancement of the M390 exploration drift is complete. Surface drilling in 2017 is expected to concentrate on targets south of the 9A, 5250 and East Ore orebodies, and up-dip of the 5250 and Gallagher West zones.

As of December 31, 2016, we have recorded a $39.0 million asset retirement obligation for reclamation and closure costs. We maintained a $68.9 million reclamation and long-term water treatment bond for Greens Creek as of December 31, 2016.  The net book value of the Greens Creek unit property and its associated plant, equipment and mineral interests was approximately $631.0 million as of December 31, 2016.

Based on current ore reserve estimates, the currently known remaining mine life at Greens Creek is 10 years. Information with respect to production, average Cash Cost, After By-product Credits, Per Silver Ounce and proven and probable ore reserves is set forth in the following table.

The Lucky Friday Unit

Since 1958, we have owned and operated the Lucky Friday mine, a deep underground silver, lead and zinc mine located in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in northern Idaho. Lucky Friday is one-quarter mile east of Mullan, Idaho, and is adjacent to U.S. Interstate 90. The mine site and various surface facilities are accessed by paved roads from U.S. Interstate 90.  Below is a map illustrating the location and access to the Lucky Friday unit:

There have been two ore-bearing structures mined at the Lucky Friday unit.  The first, mined through 2001, was the Lucky Friday Vein, a fissure vein typical of many in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. The ore body is located in the Revett Formation, which is known to provide excellent host rocks for a number of ore bodies in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District. The Lucky Friday Vein strikes northeasterly and dips steeply to the south with an average width of six to seven feet. Its principal ore minerals are galena and tetrahedrite with minor amounts of sphalerite and chalcopyrite. The ore occurs as a single continuous ore body in and along the Lucky Friday Vein. The major part of the ore body has extended from 1,200 feet to 6,020 feet below surface.

The second ore-bearing structure, known as the Lucky Friday Expansion Area, or Gold Hunter, has been mined since 1997 pursuant to an operating agreement with Silver Hunter Mining Company (“Silver Hunter”), our wholly owned subsidiary.  During 1991, we discovered several mineralized structures containing some high-grade silver ores in an area known as the Gold Hunter property, approximately 5,000 feet northwest of the then existing Lucky Friday workings. This discovery led to the development of the Gold Hunter property on the 4900 level. At approximately 4,900 feet below surface, the Gold Hunter Veins are hosted in a 200-foot thick siliceous lens within the Wallace Formation that transitions to the St. Regis Formation below 5,900 feet. The veins are sub-parallel, and are numbered consecutively from the hanging wall of the favorable horizon to the footwall. The strike of the vein system is west-northwest with a dip of 85 degrees to the south. The 30 Vein, which has been demonstrated to contain higher silver grades, represents approximately 70% of our current proven and probable ore reserve tonnages, while the remaining 30% of our reserves are contained in various intermediate veins having lower silver grades than 30 Vein. While the veins share many characteristics with the Lucky Friday Vein, the Gold Hunter area possesses some mineralogical and rock mechanics differences that make it more favorable to mine at this time. On November 6, 2008, we, through Silver Hunter, completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Independence Lead Mines Company, which held an interest in the Gold Hunter property. The acquisition included all future interests or royalty obligations to Independence and the mining claims pertaining to the operating agreement with Hecla Limited that was assigned to Silver Hunter.

The principal mining method at the Lucky Friday unit is ramp access, cut and fill. This method utilizes rubber-tired equipment to access the veins through ramps developed outside of the ore body. Once a cut is taken along the strike of the vein, it is backfilled with cemented tailings and the next cut is accessed, either above or below, from the ramp system.

In 2016, production averaged 803 tons milled per day, and total mill recovery was approximately 95% for silver, 96% for lead, and 94% for zinc. Ore at the Lucky Friday is processed using a conventional lead/zinc flotation flowsheet, with process control guided by a real-time, on-line analyzer.  Run of mine ore is crushed in a conventional three stage crushing plant consisting of a primary jaw crusher, and a secondary crushing circuit, and tertiary cone crushing stage.  Crushed ore is ground in a ball mill, and the ground slurry reports to the lead flotation circuit.  The lead circuit tailings report to the zinc flotation circuit.  Lead and zinc concentrates are thickened and filtered, and final concentrate products are shipped to smelters for final processing.  The original flotation mill was constructed in 1960 and had a capacity of 750 tons per day. Various modifications and upgrades have been made since that time, including: installation of a 1,000 ton course ore bin and replacement of the ball mill in 1984 to increase processing capacity to 1,000 tons per day; replacement of the double-deck crushing screen with a triple-deck screen, installation of a tertiary cone crushing stage, lead concentrate flash flotation equipment, four ball mill cyclones, a mill feed sampler, and lead concentrate column cleaners and thickeners in 2005; addition of dust collection equipment in the crushing plant in 2006; installation of zinc concentrate flash flotation, conditioning, and column cleaner equipment, and an on-stream analyzer in 2007; construction of two new water treatment plants in 2008, with ongoing enhancements to those facilities since that time; addition of a discharge event pond in 2009; sand cyclone and reagent equipment in 2011; and various refurbishments made during the temporary suspension period in 2012 discussed below. Current processing capacity of the Lucky Friday facility is approximately 1,000 tons per day. All lead and zinc concentrate production during 2016 was shipped to Teck Resources Limited's smelter in Trail, British Columbia, Canada.

During 2008, we initiated engineering, procurement and development activities relating to construction of #4 Shaft, which, upon completion, would provide access from the 4900 level down to the 8600 level. The project was temporarily placed on hold in the fourth quarter of 2008 due to then prevailing metals prices.  However, detailed engineering, long lead time procurement, and other early-stage activities for the internal shaft project resumed in 2009.  The #4 Shaft sinking activities were temporarily suspended until certain rehabilitation work in the Silver Shaft was completed in early 2013. The #4 Shaft project has been completed, with commissioning finalized in January 2017. Activities related to the project as of December 31, 2016 have included engineering, detailed shaft design, excavation of the hoist room and off shaft development access to shaft facilities, installation of the hoist and head works, placement and receipt of orders for major equipment purchases, advancement of a geotechnical drill hole, 3,690 feet of vertical excavation to its final depth, shaft furnishing, installation of permanent conveyances, and other construction activities.  Completion of #4 Shaft and associated development should allow us to mine mineralized material below our current workings and provide deeper platforms for exploration.  

During 2014, Lucky Friday continued implementation of an Environmental Management System and completed installation of remote stream gauging stations. These stations assist in performing daily monitoring activities in nearby receiving waters as required by our effluent discharge permit. Additionally, we have completed reclamation activities on the 26 acre Mine Tailing Impoundment Structure ("MTIS") 4 borrow site and achieved final stabilization of the site prior to onset of winter conditions.  In 2015, closure plans and costs were updated and developed for MTIS 3 and 4.  The closure cost for MTIS 3 is based on the closure design and cost estimate developed by a third-party firm in conjunction with cost estimates prepared by Lucky Friday personnel to complete necessary associated work to facilitate the closure of the impoundment. The closure cost for MTIS 4 is based on the most recent closure cap design and was prepared for us by a consultant. At December 31, 2016, an asset retirement obligation of approximately $9.2 million had been recorded for closure of MTIS 3 and 4, reclamation and closure of the mine and mill upon the end of the known mine life based on a revised plan developed in 2016, and ongoing monitoring and maintenance.

The net book value of the Lucky Friday unit property and its associated plant, equipment and mineral interests was approximately $431.3 million as of December 31, 2016. The age of the facilities at Lucky Friday ranges from the 1950s to 2016.

At December 31, 2016, there were 310 employees at Lucky Friday. The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial, and Service Workers International Union is the bargaining agent for the Lucky Friday’s 240 hourly employees. As further discussed in Item 1A. Risk Factors, the current labor agreement expired on April 30, 2016.

Avista Corporation supplies electrical power to the Lucky Friday unit.

Exploration drilling resumed at Lucky Friday in the fourth quarter of 2016 after a suspension of such activity since 2013. This represented the first exploration effort since 2011. Four holes tested for a westerly continuation of 30 Vein mineralization beyond the modeled boundary of mineralized material. This boundary had been defined by a fault segment, in what is described as the Silver Fault Zone. Each hole intercepted mineralization beyond the bounding fault, but the vein interpretation will require additional infill definition drilling east of, and along the margin of the current boundary of mineralized material to better define the resource. This infill definition drilling program began in December of 2016 and is expected to continue into 2017.

Definition drilling in 2017 is expected to occur from the 6350-52 Ramp West, 6500 East Lateral, and 6500 Far East to test the 30 Vein and a portion of the 30 Vein offset by the Silver Fault. Drilling is also expected to refine the intermediate vein package at the 6500 level and upgrade 30 Vein resources on the eastern end of the deposit. These adjacent veins are roughly defined as intermediate veins which have become an increasingly significant component of the mine’s production mix within the life of mine plan.

Exploration may resume again late in 2017 on the far-east end of the Lucky Friday Extension deposit. The goal of this exploration drilling is to define vein extensions for the 30 Vein and intermediate veins.

Based on current estimates of reserves, mineralized material, and other resources, the currently expected mine life at Lucky Friday is approximately 22 years. Information with respect to the Lucky Friday unit’s production, average Cash Cost, After By-product Credits, Per Silver Ounce and proven and probable ore reserves for the past three years is set forth in the table below.

The Casa Berardi Unit

In 2013, as a result of our acquisition of Aurizon Mines Ltd. ("Aurizon"), we acquired the Casa Berardi mine, located 95 kilometers north of La Sarre in the Abitibi Region of northwestern Quebec, Canada. The mining site is reached via a 38 kilometer all season gravel road which connects with the provincial and national paved roads grid. The property is limited to the west by the Quebec/Ontario border and covers parts of Casa Berardi, Dieppe, Raymond, D'Estrees, and Puiseaux townships. The project area extends east-west for more than 37 kilometers and reaches 3.5 kilometers in width. The Casa Berardi mine gold deposits are located along a 5 kilometer east-west mineralized corridor.

The Casa Berardi mine is located in the northern part of the Abitibi sub-province, a subdivision of the Superior province, within the Canadian Shield. The Casa Berardi area belongs to the Harricana-Turgeon Belt, which is a part of the North Volcanic Zone. The regional geology is characterized by a mixed assemblage of mafic volcanics, flysch-type sedimentary iron formations, and graphitic mudrocks that are limited by a large granodioritic to granitic batholith. Structurally, the area is enclosed in the Casa Berardi Tectonic Zone, a 15 kilometers wide corridor that can be traced over 200 kilometers. A network of east-west to east-southeast and west-northwest ductile high strain zones mainly follows the lithological contacts.

Casa Berardi can be classified as an Archean sedimentary-hosted orogenic gold deposit. Mineralization is found in large low-sulphide quartz veins developed against the Casa Berardi fault, and in disseminated sulfides and stockworks lenses associated with strongly carbonate-sericite altered ductile deformation zones obliquely oriented to the Casa Berardi fault, and extending a few hundred metres on both sides of the fault following northwest and northeast orientations. Gold mineralization emplacement was coeval with the fault`s evolution and shows a strong structural control and vertical extension, even if other factors such as the nature of some host rocks and lithological contacts seem to have favored gold deposition.

The Casa Berardi Fault is defined by a stratigraphic contact between a graphite-rich sediment sequence at the base of the Taïbi domain, a northern continuous intermediary fragmental volcanic unit, and a southern polymictic conglomerate unit. The mineralization system is composed of large, low-sulfide quartz veins and low-grade stockworks and carbonate-mica replacement zones forming in the West Mine and Principale area. On the north side of the Fault, a thick sequence of very homogeneous wacke belonging to the Taïbi Group is affected by an amphibolites metamorphic grade. One kilometer further north is the easterly elongated Recher batholith, which is part of the north-western boundary of the Abitibi greenstone belt.

Aurizon acquired the claims, leases and infrastructure comprising the Casa Berardi mine project in 1998 from TVX Gold Inc. Aurizon engaged in exploration programs beginning in 1998, and production began in late 2006.

The nearest commercial airport to the Casa Berardi mine is located at Rouyn-Noranda. La Sarre can be reached from Rouyn-Noranda via provincial roads 101 and 111. The 38 kilometer all-season gravel road to the mine site branches off from the paved Route des Conquérants road, which runs north from its intersection with road 393 north of La Sarre and passes through the village of Villebois. The branch is approximately 21 kilometers north of Villebois. A gravel road links the East Mine and the West Mine (which roughly represent the east-west boundaries of the mine), and a number of forestry roads provide access to the rest of the project area, from east and west.

Hecla Quebec Inc., Hecla’s wholly owned subsidiary, owns a 100% interest in the mineral titles and mining leases comprising the current Casa Berardi mine. The Casa Berardi mine is composed of 69 contiguous claims, covering 3,148.3 hectares (7,779.6 acres) and two mining leases covering 481.4 hectares (1,189.7 acres).  The Casa Berardi property area totals 3,629.75 hectares (8,969.3 acres).  All the claims and leases are in good standing. We own an additional approximately 29,000 acres of exploration property located adjacent to the current Casa Berardi mine and comprised of approximately 230 claims, most of which are subject to a 1% NSR royalty in favor of Lake Shore Gold Corp.

We also hold a non-exclusive lease BNE 25938 for a sand and gravel pit, tailings lease 70218, and an additional 12 acres of land contiguous to mining lease BM 768 for rock waste material storage.

Under the Quebec Mining Act, claims are required to be renewed every two years. Statutorily prescribed minimum work commitments apply to all claims and leases. As of December 31, 2016, the claims and leases comprising part of the Casa Berardi mine have excess work credits of CAD$47.5 million.

The project consists of an underground mine and the East Mine Crown Pillar open pit mine. The underground mine has two shafts; the West Mine shaft reaching a vertical depth of 1096 meters, and the unused East Mine shaft located 4.3 kilometers to the east, and going down to a vertical depth of 379 meters. A system of declines and drifts connecting both shafts provide access and underground services to ore zones. The surface infrastructures include a cyanidation processing mill (carbon-in-leach), tailings impoundment areas, and other facilities and infrastructures. Power supply to the site is provided by a 55 kilometer, 120kV power line from the Hydro-Québec transformation station located in the town of Normétal. The map below illustrates the location and access to Casa Berardi:

Prior to Aurizon’s ownership, the Casa Berardi underground mine operated from 1988 to 1997, producing approximately 3.9 million tons of ore at an average gold grade of 0.2 ounces per ton from two sites, the West Mine and the East Mine. Aurizon’s operations from 2006 to 2012 produced approximately 4.5 million tons of ore at an average gold grade of 0.3 ounces per ton. A total of 1,625,500 ounces of gold were recovered by the previous operators prior to 2013. The mineral deposits cover a distance of more than 5.0 kilometers.

The underground mine at Casa Berardi is a trackless mine accessed by declines and a shaft, which produces approximately 2,300 tons of ore per day. The mining methods are longhole transversal stoping in 10 metres or more mineralization width, and longitudinal retreat stoping in narrower ore bodies. The mineralized zones put in reserves are of varying thickness, ranging from a few tenths of meters to 3 metres, which is the minimum mining width. Most of the hanging walls are sub-vertical (55° to 85°), with typically the graphitic Casa Berardi fault at the footwall.

In 2014, we completed a project initiated by Aurizon to deepen the West Mine Shaft and construct the associated shaft infrastructure, including loading pockets, shaft lining, services and steel.

The gold recovery process is based on CIL (carbon in leach) technology where gold is dissolved in a cyanide solution, and precipitated on activated carbon grains put in suspension. The product is doré bars poured in the mill’s refinery. Construction of the processing facility, consisting of a crushing plant, a 2,400 tons per day ore processing plant and tailings facility, was completed in 1988 by Inco Gold and Golden Knight Resources Inc., and ore processing began in September 1989, and during the next 9 years the mill processed 3.9 million tons at an average grade of 0.2 ounces per ton.  Production at Casa Berardi was suspended in 1997 and the mill was put on care and maintenance until 2005, when major rehabilitation work was initiated by Aurizon.  Beginning in the third quarter of 2005, upgrades including refurbishing of the crushing, grinding circuits, conveyors, and leach circuits, the addition of gravity circuits, and construction of an assay laboratory were performed, resulting in an increase of mill capacity.  The mill facility was commissioned in November of 2006 and the processing rate ramped up to reach commercial production in May of 2007. During 2016, modifications were made to the plant to increase capacity to accommodate ore production from the open pit mines. In 2016, total mill recovery of gold was approximately 88%.

Current reserves at the Casa Berardi mine comprise seven zones at the West Mine, spread over a moderate horizontal distance from each other and located at different mine elevations, plus open pit and underground areas at the East Mine.  Zone 113, Lower Inter Zone, 118, 121,123, the Principal Zones (open pit and underground) and the East Mine (open pit and underground) comprise the bulk of the deposit tonnage. The zones are of varying thickness, ranging from over 50 meters to less than three meters, which is the minimum mining width. Most of the hanging walls are sub-vertical (55º to 85º) and exhibit similar wall characteristics with the exception of the Lower Inter Zone, which in a number of places has relatively shallow hanging wall configurations (less than 45º).

A transverse blasthole open stoping mining method was selected for the Casa Berardi mine to provide the desired production rate. Timely supply of both cemented and unconsolidated backfill plays a crucial role in controlling dilution and maintaining a short stoping cycle. We believe this mining method satisfies all of the geotechnical requirements and constraints and, as a non-entry mining method, has proven to be safe and reliable in similar operations.

A very small part of the mineral reserves is planned for longitudinal sequencing, limited to the fringes of the small zones. Longitudinal methods have the advantage of lower waste development requirements; however, there is much less flexibility in sequencing and in access, should ground instabilities occur.

The transverse mining method is used in areas with wide mineralization (10 meters wide or more) and good access from nearby development. The blasthole longitudinal mining method will be used in areas with narrow mineralization, or long distances from development infrastructure.

In early 2016, we made the decision to move forward with construction of the East Mine Crown Pillar ("EMCP") open pit, which is situated between the East Mine and West Mine. Stripping and development of the EMCP pit is planned to take place over five stages. The first stage was completed in the first half of 2016, and processing of ore from the EMCP pit began in July 2016. Stripping and development has been ongoing. The EMCP pit, as currently designed, is a smaller scale operation using conventional open pit mining methods, and is expected to run for approximately 5.5 years of production. The average amount of material to be moved every six months is anticipated to be approximately 160,000 to 260,000 tons of ore, with variable quantities of waste.

The Principale Zone open pit, as currently designed, would be mined using conventional open pit mining methods. The Principale Zone open pit is expected to commence production after the EMCP pit is depleted and to run for approximately 4 full years of production. The average amount of material to be moved every six months is expected to approximate 450,000 tons of ore, with variable quantities of waste.

The mine and mill complex are permitted to process 1,250,000 dry metric tonnes (approximately 1,378,000 tons) of ore per year at a rate of 3,775 tons per day. Difficult ground conditions and bottlenecks in stope preparation have limited underground production to levels below the designed capacity. In 2016, the mill processed approximately 997,579 tons, for an average of 2,726 tons per day. During the fourth quarter of 2016, the mill processed approximately 3,307 tons per day, with the increase due primarily to the addition of ore from the EMCP pit. The current life of mine plan is based on an average milling rate of approximately 3,500 tons per day, with the inclusion of material from the surface mines, for the remaining mine life.

Based on current ore reserve estimates, the known life of mine plan totals 13.6 million tons of ore grading 0.11 ounces of gold per ton, with production for approximately 11 years.

At Casa Berardi, in-stope drilling refines orebody shapes and gold grade distributions within the orebodies for mine planning. Underground definition drilling involves evaluating along strike or down plunge projections of the existing ore zones. Exploration drilling evaluates similar trends but beyond currently defined mineralization and also evaluates previously untested targets identified along major structural trends such as the Casa Berardi Fault and a number of other structures or zones that may be mineralized. During 2016, up to six drills operated underground and up to two drills operated on the surface to refine stope designs, upgrade and expand known mineralization to reserves and identify new mineralization in the 104, 113, 118, 123, 124, 134, Lower Inter and North Domain Zones.

The proposed 2017 underground in-stope and definition drilling programs are expected to appraise the high grade ore shoots of the 113, 118, 123 Principale Zones and Lower Inter area. Surface definition drilling is also expected to occur at the 160 Zone to potentially reclassify the resources to reserves.  Surface and underground exploration drilling in 2017 is expected to evaluate extensions of the 104, 118, 123, 124, 134, North Domain, South Domain, West Mine area, North West, and Lower Inter Zones. A surface program is also expected to evaluate new targets to the west, but along trend of the Casa Berardi Mine.

We expect the mine plan will continually be modified as new mineralization is discovered and upgraded to reserves.

The employees at Casa Berardi are employees of Hecla Quebec Inc., our wholly-owned subsidiary, and are not represented by a bargaining agent. There were 559 employees at the Casa Berardi unit at December 31, 2016.

Hecla acquired Aurizon on June 1, 2013 for approximately CAD$740.8 million (US$714.5 million), and has operated the Casa Berardi mine since the acquisition. The net book value of the Casa Berardi unit property and its associated plant, equipment and mineral interests was approximately $764.5 million as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, we have recorded a $5.5 million asset retirement obligation for reclamation and closure costs. We maintain a surety bond as financial guarantee for future reclamation and closure work.

Information with respect to the Casa Berardi unit’s production, average Cash Cost, After By-product Credits, Per Gold Ounce and proven and probable ore reserves for 2016, 2015 and 2014 is set forth in the table below.

The San Sebastian Unit

The San Sebastian mine is located approximately 60 miles northeast of the city of Durango, Mexico, on concessions acquired in 1999. Access to San Sebastian is via Mexico highway 40, approximately 6 miles east of Guadalupe Victoria, and then approximately 15 miles of paved rural road through the towns of Ignacio Allende and Emiliano Zapata.

Our concession holdings cover approximately 160 square miles, including the Francine Vein, East Francine Vein, Middle Vein, North Vein, and the Andrea Vein and multiple outlying active exploration areas. Mineral concession titles are obtained and held under the laws of Mexico, and are valid for 50 years with the possibility of extending another 50 years. There are work assessment and tax requirements that are variable and increase with the time that the concession is held. The map below illustrates the location and access to San Sebastian:

Mineralization at the project occurs as low and intermediate sulfidation epithermal veins within the Saladillo valley area. Economically, the most important veins at the project are the Francine, East Francine, Middle and North veins located at the north end of the Saladillo valley and the Andrea Vein located 4 miles to the south. The veins are hosted within a series of shales with interbedded fine-grained sandstones interpreted to belong to the Cretaceous Caracol Formation. Most of the veins strike to the west-northwest and vein dips vary from steep toward the west to shallow toward the east. True vein widths range from 5 to 30 feet, and the average true width of the veins in the district is 8 feet.

Mineralization occurs in an epithermal setting at various paleo-depths. High-grade gold and silver occur both in the very shallow epithermal environment in the upper 1,000 feet of the crust as well as in deep silver-gold-lead-zinc root zones of the system at depths between 2,000 and 3,500 feet below the paleo-water table. Hypogene minerals include sphalerite, galena, argentite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, native silver and gold in electrum. The veins are oxidized down to approximately 300 feet below surface and the oxidized portions of the veins contain limonite, hematite, silver halides and various copper carbonates. Matrix minerals include fine-grained to coarsely crystalline quartz bands and chlorite-quartz-adularia bands and late calcite fill. Mineralization within the vein structures is generally deposited in high-grade “shoots” bound both laterally and horizontally by sharp gradients in grade-thickness.

Hecla operated the San Sebastian underground mine from 2001 to 2005. The historical life-of-mine production from the Francine and Don Sergio veins over four years was 11.2 million ounces of silver and 155,937 ounces of gold. Access to both underground workings was through ramps from the surface connecting one or more levels. Ore was mined by the cut-and-fill stoping method and extracted from the stopes using rubber-tired equipment and hauled to the surface in trucks.

Recent exploration success on the Middle, North, and East Francine veins and completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment lead to the decision in the third quarter of 2015 to develop shallow open pit mines on those veins, with development commencing in the fourth quarter of 2015. Ore production from the Middle and East Francine veins commenced late in the fourth quarter of 2015, and from the North Vein in the first quarter of 2016. The pits are expected to extend to a maximum of approximately 270 feet in depth. Near-surface material is excavated, with drill and blast techniques used for deeper material. Ore production is anticipated to run for approximately 6 months at the East Francine and North veins and 16 months at the Middle Vein. Total production from the three pits is anticipated to range from 7,000 to 29,000 tons of ore per month over approximately 16 months, with variable quantities of waste, for total ore production of approximately 300,000 tons. Production is achieved through excavating and drilling and blasting the shallow-dipping, high-grade silver veins which carry significant gold credits.

In January 2017, work commenced to build a new underground decline and rehabilitate historical underground workings at the San Sebastian mine, in order to mine deeper ore from the Middle Vein. We expect underground production to commence by the end of 2017. Underground production is anticipated to total approximately 142,000 tons over 15 months. We expect to mine ore by the cut-and-fill stoping method and extracted from the stopes using rubber-tired equipment and hauled to the surface in trucks.

Run of mine ore is hauled in trucks by contractors to a processing facility near Velardeña, Durango, Mexico, which is located approximately 60 miles from the San Sebastian mine site. We previously owned the Velardeña mill, but now use it to process ore under a lease arrangement. Processing of ore from the open pits averaged approximately 391 tons per day in 2016, with recovery of approximately 94% silver and gold. As of December 31, 2016, we have the ability to extend the lease through 2018. The mill is a conventional leach, counter-current decantation and Merrill Crowe precipitation circuit capable of processing up to approximately 550 tons per day, depending on ore hardness. The ore is crushed in a two-staged crushing plant consisting of a primary jaw, a secondary cone crusher and a double-deck vibrating screen. The grinding circuit includes a primary ball mill and cyclone classifiers. The ground ore is thickened followed by agitated leaching and four stages of counter-current decantation to wash solubilized silver and gold from the pulp. The solution bearing silver and gold is clarified, deaerated and zinc dust added to precipitate silver and gold that is recovered in plate and frame filters. The precious metal precipitate is smelted and refined into doré, and is then shipped to a third-party refiner. Since construction of the mill in 1994, two leach tanks were added in 2001, a filter press was added in 2002, and the Merrill Crowe system and Autojet Filters were expanded and modified in 2012. In addition, rehabilitation of various components of the mill was completed in 2015 prior to the start of processing of the ore from the open pits.

At December 31, 2016, the net book value of the San Sebastian unit property and its associated plant and equipment was $6.7 million. Infrastructure includes a water supply system, maintenance shop, warehouse, laboratory, leased mill and related improvements, and various offices. Equipment and facilities are in good condition. December 31, 2016, $5.6 million has been accrued for reclamation and closure costs. All permits required for mining of the open pits and operation of the mill are in place.

There were a total of 52 employees at the San Sebastian unit as of December 31, 2016, with most of them employed by our subsidiary that provides certain specialized services to another subsidiary that owns the mine.. These employees are not represented by a bargaining agent. We currently primarily use third-party contractors for mining and operation of the processing facility. The hourly employees of the lessor of the processing facility are represented by the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores Mineros, Metalúrgicos, Siderúrgicos y Similares de la República Mexicana (a Mexico national union) as bargaining agent.

Electric power is purchased from Comisiòn Federal de Electricidad (a Mexico federal electric company).

Drilling success over the past three and a half years on the near-surface East Francine, Middle and North veins at the San Sebastian property has lead to open pit mine production on all three veins. The Francine, Andrea, Middle and North veins now define over 5.0 miles of mineralized strike length and are open along strike and at depth. The Francine Vein has currently been traced for over 7,000 feet along strike and to 600 feet of depth.  The Middle Vein has been traced for nearly 9,000 feet along strike and to a depth of over 1,000 feet. Exploration and in-fill drilling of the western extension of the Middle Vein confirmed the continuity of the vein mineralization with design for exploitation from underground being finalized.  The North Vein has a mineralized trend that extends over 4,000 feet along strike and 1,000 feet to depth and remains open along strike in both directions and at depth.

Exploration core drilling in 2017 is expected to initially concentrate on defining shallow high grade mineralization along northwest extensions of the North, Middle, and Francine veins and southeastern extension of the Francine and Middle veins,. Later in 2017, drilling is expected to also test for deeper, high grade mineralization within these same vein systems. Additional exploration drilling is expected to occur at the Esperanza Vein located approximately 1.5 miles west of the mine area. Other exploration activities in 2017 are expected to include reverse circulation ("RC") drilling to test gold and silver anomalies generated by previous rotary air blast drilling. These RC targets are primarily south of the mine site as well as along the La India and Zapata Norte veins located west of the mine site. As in previous years, these drill programs may be expanded with continued success.

Information with respect to the San Sebastian unit’s production, average cost per ounce of silver produced and proven and probable ore reserves is set forth in the table below.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

For a discussion of our legal proceedings, see Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

The information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K is included in exhibit 95 to this report.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Shares of our common stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. under the symbol "HL." As of February 20, 2017, there were 4,160 stockholders of record of our common stock. Our common stock quarterly high and low sale prices for the past two years were as follows: