A North American miner that digs silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper from mines in Alaska, Idaho, Yukon, and Quebec, selling the metal-rich concentrates and doré it produces to smelters and refiners. Founded in 1891 in Idaho's Silver Valley, it is one of the largest primary silver producers in the United States. The company took its name from Mt. Hekla, an Icelandic volcano whose picture once hung in its payroll office.
Hecla posts $117.9M in Q2 net income as silver prices above $63/oz lift margins, while Keno Hill faces mid-2027 curtailment risk.
Silver prices above $63 an ounce pushed Hecla's to 53.9%, its second-highest on record. rose 52% to $333.9 million and from continuing operations reached $117.9 million, driven by a $101.1 million at Greens Creek and a $71.3 million contribution from Lucky Friday. The quarter leaves Hecla with $483.5 million in cash after the Casa Berardi sale, but Keno Hill's permitting and tailings constraints now carry a formal mid-2027 curtailment warning.
Key takeaways
reached 53.9%, up 14.9 percentage points from 38.9% a year ago, as realized silver prices rose to $63.06 per ounce from $34.82 and gold to $4,256 from $3,314.
Greens Creek rose to $101.1 million on higher metals prices, but silver production fell 15% to 2.1 million ounces due to lower mill throughput and ore grades.
Lucky Friday increased to $71.3 million as silver production rose 14% to 1.5 million ounces on higher grades of 15.6 ounces per ton, up from 12.5 a year ago.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Hecla's Q2 2026 sales rose 52% to $333.9M on higher metals prices, while silver production dipped 7% due to lower grades and throughput at Greens Creek.
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Total sales increased 52% to $333.9 million, driven by sharply higher realized prices for silver ($63.06/oz vs. $34.82) and gold ($4,256/oz vs. $3,314), partially offset by lower sales volumes.
Keno Hill generated a $6.8 million , up from $0.2 million a year ago, but the company disclosed that permitting delays, waste rock limits, and tailings capacity expected to run out by Q2 2028 could curtail production by mid-2027.
Income from continuing operations rose to $117.9 million from $26.9 million a year ago, aided by an $8.5 million drop in after the company redeemed $263 million of Senior Notes in April 2026.
Cash and equivalents stood at $483.5 million at quarter-end, following the $170 million cash closing of the Casa Berardi sale; the operation is now classified as discontinued.
What changed
The Casa Berardi sale closed on March 25, 2026, removing the mine from continuing operations; the $192.5 million loss on disposal recorded in Q1 did not recur, allowing consolidated to swing to a $117.9 million profit from the prior quarter's $19.0 million loss.
The $263 million Senior Notes redemption flagged as a post-Q1 event was completed in April 2026, reducing by $8.5 million and leaving the company with $483.5 million in cash.
Keno Hill's permitting and operational constraints, previously described as a risk, are now formally disclosed as likely to curtail production by mid-2027 if unresolved, a sharper timeline than the earlier watch item suggested.
from continuing operations fell 7.7 percentage points sequentially to 53.9% from Q1's 61.6%, as realized silver prices declined to $63.06 from $82.70 per ounce, though the margin remains the second-highest in the data provided.
What to watch
Whether Keno Hill's permitting delays, waste rock limits, and tailings capacity constraints are resolved before the mid-2027 curtailment deadline the company now warns of.
Whether Greens Creek's silver production decline — down 15% on lower throughput and grades — stabilizes or continues into the second half of 2026.
Whether the 53.9% can be sustained if silver prices retreat further from $63.06 per ounce, given that the improvement remains price-driven rather than cost-driven.
How much of the up to $319 million in deferred and contingent consideration from the Casa Berardi sale is ultimately realized, given its dependence on Orezone's performance and gold prices.
Income from continuing operations rose to $117.9 million from $26.9 million, aided by an $8.5 million drop in after redeeming $263 million of Senior Notes in April 2026.
Greens Creek grew to $101.1 million on higher metals prices, but silver production fell 15% to 2.1 million ounces due to lower mill throughput and ore grades.
Lucky Friday surged to $71.3 million as silver production increased 14% to 1.5 million ounces on higher grades (15.6 oz/ton vs. 12.5) and stronger realized prices.
Keno Hill generated a $6.8 million versus $0.2 million a year ago, but faces near-term production risks from permitting delays, waste rock limits, and tailings capacity expected to run out by Q2 2028.
Cash and equivalents jumped to $483.5 million following the $170 million cash closing of the Casa Berardi sale, which was used for debt reduction; the operation is now classified as discontinued.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Metals-price and CAD-USD currency exposures are the primary market risks; the company uses collars, forwards, and puts to hedge metals but does not hedge balance-sheet remeasurement.
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Silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper prices materially affect profitability; the company hedges silver, gold, zinc, and lead with collars and financially-settled forward and put option contracts.
Provisional concentrate sales create embedded price exposure between shipment and final settlement; at June 30, 2026, hedged volumes were 0.5 Moz silver, 370 oz gold, 10,850 tons zinc, and 7,000 tons lead.
A hypothetical 10% change in each hedged metal price would shift the value of hedged concentrate sales by approximately $8.5 million.
Canadian operations expose the company to USD-CAD fluctuations; a 10% change in the exchange rate would move the net foreign exchange gain or loss by about $1.4 million.
The company does not hedge the remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities but economically hedges some CAD-denominated operating and capital costs.
For information concerning legal proceedings, refer to Note 11 of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited), which is incorporated by reference into this Item 1. Item 1A. Risk Factors
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For information concerning legal proceedings, refer to Note 11 of Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited), which is incorporated by reference into this Item 1.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Growth Projects face early-stage risks from permitting, cost overruns, resource uncertainty, and metals price swings.
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The Greens Creek pyrite circuit, tailings reprocessing, and Midas mill restart are in early evaluation with no assurance of development or profitability.
Capital and operating costs may exceed estimates, reducing returns below current projections.
Permitting and governmental approvals may be delayed or denied due to environmental, regulatory, or third-party reviews.
Mineral resource estimates are uncertain, and further exploration may not support a sustainable Midas restart.
New metallurgical processes at commercial scale may perform materially worse than preliminary test results.
Fluctuations in silver, gold, and other metals prices could undermine the economic viability of these projects.