Name: Greens Creek mine.

Location: The Greens Creek mine is located in south-east Alaska, in the US.

Controlling Company: Hecla Mining, through various subsidiaries.

Brief History: The Greens Creek orebody was discovered in 1975 by the Pan Sound Joint Venture (JV) of Noranda, Marietta Resources, Exalas Resources and Texas Gas. Since the start of production, Greens Creek has been owned and operated by various JV arrangements involving a variety of partners, including Hecla, Kennecott, BP Minerals America and other minor interests. Full-scale development started in 1987, with concentrate production beginning in 1989. Low metals prices closed the operation in 1993. This was followed by a $114-million modernisation and redevelopment investment over three years. Operations resumed in 1996. Kennecott Greens Creek operated the mine until 2008, with Hecla Mining holding a 29.73% interest. In 2008, Hecla acquired a 70.3% interest of two Rio Tinto subsidiaries to control 100% of the Greens Creek mine.

Brief Description: The Greens Creek property includes 17 patented lode claims and one patented mill site claim, in addition to property leased from the US Forest Service. Greens Creek also has title to mineral rights on an estimated 3 035 ha of federal land adjacent to the properties. The property package encompasses 70 km².

Mining Method: Cut-and-fill and longhole stoping.

Products: Silver, gold, zinc and lead.

Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The mine is accessed by boat and served by 21 km of road; it consists of the mine, an ore concentrating mill, a dry stacked tailings facility, a shiploading facility, camp facilities and a ferry dock.

Geology/Mineralisation: The Greens Creek deposit is a polymetallic, stratiform, massive sulphide deposit. The host rock consists predominantly of marine sedimentary and mafic to ultramafic volcanic and plutonic rocks, which have been subjected to multiple periods of deformation. These deformational episodes have imposed multiple folding on the orebodies to create a complex geometry. Mineralisation occurs discontinuously along the contact between a structural hanging wall of quartz mica carbonate phyllites and a structural footwall of graphitic and calcareous argillite.

Reserves: Total proven reserves as at December 31, 2012, were 12 000 t, with a grading of 9.3 oz/t silver, 0.10 oz/t gold, 7.8% zinc and 2.7% lead. Total probable reserves were estimated at 7.85-million tons, with a grading of 12 oz/t silver, 0.09 oz/t gold, 9% zinc and 3.4% lead.

Resources: Total indicated resources as at December 31, 2012, were 448 600 t, with a grading of 5.9 oz/t silver, 0.12 oz/t gold, 7% zinc and 3.2% lead. Inferred resources were estimated at 3.78-million tons, with a grading of 11.4 oz/t silver, 0.10 oz/t gold, 6.2% zinc and 2.4% lead.

Prospects: Greens Creek is exploring several areas on the 70 km2 land package, which could potentially lead to additional reserves and resources, further extending the mine life or even leading to the discovery of another deposit like Greens Creek.

Contact Person: Corporate communications coordinator Jeanne DuPont.

Contact Details:
Hecla Mining, tel +1 208 769 4100, fax +1 208 769 7612, and website http://www.hecla-mining.com

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