Hecla Announces Dismissal of “Bad Actor” Lawsuit

Recent retirement of former CEO leads to voluntary dismissal by plaintiffs

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) (“Hecla” or “Company”) today announced that the “bad actor” lawsuit impacting its Libby Exploration Project in Montana was dismissed as a result of the recent retirement of the Company’s former CEO Phillips Baker Jr.

On July 11, 2024, the Montana First Judicial District Court (Lewis and Clark County) dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental groups and tribes against the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”) alleging that Hecla’s former CEO, Phillips Baker, Jr. was a “bad actor” and as a result, MDEQ should deny exploration and mining permits to Hecla’s subsidiaries. The lawsuit sought declaratory relief and a writ of mandamus to compel enforcement of provisions in the Metal Mines Reclamation Act, precluding MDEQ from renewing or issuing exploration and mining permits, including those applicable to the Company’s Libby Exploration Project. The plaintiffs alleged that Mr. Baker was a “bad actor” not based on his roles with Hecla, but because of his prior leadership positions with Pegasus Gold in the leadup to its bankruptcy in 1998, and subsequent default on reclamation obligations at the Zortman-Landusky, Basin Creek, and Beal Mountain mines in Montana. With Mr. Baker’s recent retirement from the Company, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit.

With the dismissal of the “bad actor” lawsuit, the Company is focused on advancing permitting of the Libby Exploration Project (“Project”), a silver-copper project located 23 miles south of Libby, Lincoln County, Montana (about 50 miles north of the Company’s Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho). The Company’s subsidiary owns the HR 133 and HR 134 patented mining claims, in addition to other patented lands, and numerous unpatented mining claims at the Project, and has submitted a Plan of Operations to the U.S. Forest Service, which is currently under an Environmental Assessment review in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Plan of Operations, if approved, would allow for dewatering and rehabilitation of an existing 14,000’ adit, completion of 10,500’ of new underground development, and the commencement of exploration activities at the Project.

ABOUT HECLA

Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL) is the largest silver producer in the United States. In addition to operating mines in Alaska, Idaho, and Quebec, Canada, the Company is developing a mine in the Yukon, Canada, and owns a number of exploration and pre-development projects in world-class silver and gold mining districts throughout North America.