Last week, Hecla Mining Corp. of Idaho completed the acquisition of Alexco Resource Corp. Alexco is developing Keno Hill, a 75-year-old active mine that produces silver, lead and zinc. As of 2020, the mine employs about 150 people, most of them from the Yukon Territory and British Columbia.
Chief Executive Phil Baker said Hecla has taken on the project for at least eight years and said the mine could operate longer depending on the results of the planned exploration work.
“For the best part of 30 years, no one has explored it because of environmental obligations,” he said.
“With the right technology and the work that Alexco has already done, we think we will expand far beyond what has been built.”
The company has three other mines – one in Quebec for gold, one in Juneau, Alaska, which produces mainly silver, and one in Idaho, which also produces silver and other minerals.
Hecla plans to build a water treatment plant on the site and eventually hopes to produce up to 5 million ounces of gold per year at Keno Hill, he said.
“After all, we care about the environment and the local communities we work with,” he said.
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Post time: Nov-28-2022