Mad Money Spotlight: Mining Sector

Mining companies were the subject of the Lightning Round segment of Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" broadcast Friday evening.

He was bullish on Agnico-Eagle Mines(AEM Quote) and Eldorado Gold(EGO Quote), and bearish on Teck Resources(TCK Quote) and Hecla Mining(HL Quote).

Agnico-Eagle, based in Toronto, explores for and mines gold in Canada, Finland, Mexico and the U.S. In its latest quarter, the company topped analysts' estimates but reduced its production forecast for the rest of the year. Its shares were trading Monday morning at $51.29, down 2%.

Eldorado, of Vancouver, extracts most of its gold from Turkey and China. It reported first-quarter results last week, saying that profit fell 37% year-over-year as weather and the commissioning of a new ore-processing plant cut into production. Eldorado shares were changing hands at $8.23, of 1%.

As for the bearish side, Teck Resources, a diversified miner that produces copper, zinc, gold, molybdenum and other specialty metals, has recently been working to refinance the roughly $10 billion in loans it took out last year to acquire Fording Canadian Coal Trust. Struggling under that load, Teck has been selling off gold assets and issuing bonds -- nearly $4.3 billion worth -- to pay off the debts.

Idaho's Hecla Mining, meanwhile, is known mostly as a silver extractor, though it has its hands in a range of metals, including copper, zinc, lead and gold, with big mines in Idaho, Alaska and Mexico. First-quarter earnings at the company missed analysts' expectations even as its revenue surged 46% to nearly $55 million. In April, the company reached a pact with creditors to delay debt payments. Hecla shares moved recently at $3, up slightly from Friday's session.