content_image/151434.jpg
<img src='content_image/151434.jpg'>

“lucky Friday is a very important asset to hecla. why? I guess it’s a combination of the quality of the resource and the people who work there.…I think it points to a solid future for this mine.” 

With the temporary closure of the one-mile-deep Silver Shaft in January of 2012, primary access to the Lucky Friday mine was closed off as well. And all production and certain other activities — including construction of the $200 million #4 Shaft — were put on hold. If there could be any good news from such an action, it’s that Hecla hasn’t been idle. Work has been done not only to meet regulatory requirements, but also to improve the mine’s ability to realize benefits for decades to come. 

“We chose to turn 2012 into an opportunity,” explains Lucky Friday vice president and general manager Ed Sutich. “We’ve been doing a lot of repair of underground support; a lot of maintenance projects upgrading or replacing old piping and tanks…concentrating on getting the property in shape for re-opening.” Sutich adds that, in addition to the work underground and the mill rehabilitation, his team’s biggest focus has been on formalizing and systemizing training procedures for all Lucky Friday employees. 

“Part of what we’ve done is to add people specifically trained for this sort of thing,” says Sutich. “It allows us to provide consistency throughout the training system, which, in turn, enables us to exceed the guidelines that were followed before.” 

Since 1958, Hecla has owned and operated the Lucky Friday, a deep underground silver, lead, and zinc mine located in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in northern Idaho. The plant has a 1,000-ton-per-day mill, which produces concentrates containing silver, lead, and zinc. Access is via the 18-foot-diameter, concrete- lined Silver Shaft. 

Production at the Lucky Friday began again in the first quarter of 2013 with the re-opening of the Silver Shaft. Full production is expected to be reached by mid-year. Hecla will be working over the next few years to increase reserves by close-space drilling as the mine develops deeper access. Increasing reserves provides the basis to increase mine production, a focus for the mine. 

“This is the most capable group of people I’ve ever worked with,” says Sutich. “Lucky Friday is a very important asset to Hecla. Why? I guess it’s a combination of the resource and the people who work there, from management all the way down. A lot of them were born and raised in the area, so this is their home. But it’s more than that. I sense a loyalty to Hecla. I’ve never worked with a group of people who feel so strongly about a company the way these employees feel about Hecla. And I think it points to a solid future for this mine.” 

