Hecla Mining Repays Greens Creek Mine Loan

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Hecla Mining Co. said Thursday it has fully repaid a loan that was used to acquire the remaining 70 percent of the Greens Creek mine in April 2008.

The precious metals miner said it made the payment of $38.3 million from the company's available cash resources, which stood at more than $80 million at the end of its last quarter.

Hecla also said it had entered into a three-year, $60 million senior secured revolving credit facility. It plans to use the facility for general corporate purposes, but not in the near term. Scotia Capital and ING Capital LLC are the lenders.

Hecla President and CEO Phillips S. Baker Jr. said strong cash flow from the company's two U.S. operations allowed it to pay off the debt nearly one year ahead of schedule.

"The Greens Creek acquisition is driving Hecla's production and financial performance and should result in record annual operating cash flow, remarkable given our 100-year history," he said in a statement. "With this cash flow and the new revolving credit facility, we plan to increase exploration, capital investment programs and acquisition activities."

Shares of Hecla slid 12 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $4.79 in afternoon trading.