Hecla Mining Company to Offer Senior Notes
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)
(Hecla or the Company) announced today that it intends to offer, subject
to market and other conditions, US$400 million of new Senior Unsecured
Notes (the Notes) due 2021. The Notes will be fully and unconditionally
guaranteed by ?certain of the Company′s subsidiaries. ?The proceeds will
be used to partially fund the acquisition of Aurizon Mines Ltd. (the
Acquisition) and for general corporate purposes, including expenses
related to the Acquisition.
The Company will deposit the proceeds from the Notes into an escrow
account until the satisfaction of certain conditions set forth in an
escrow agreement, including the consummation of the Acquisition (the
Escrow Conditions). If the Escrow Conditions are not satisfied or waived
or the escrow agreement related thereto is terminated, the Notes will be
subject to a special mandatory redemption. Escrowed funds would be
released and applied to pay for any such redemption.
The Notes will be offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers in
the United States pursuant to Rule 144A and outside the United States
pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the Securities Act).
The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state
securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States
absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration
requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to purchase the notes or any other securities,
and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or
jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful. This press release is being issued pursuant to and in
accordance with Rule 135c under the Securities Act.
ABOUT HECLA
Established in 1891, Hecla Mining Company is one of the largest and
lowest-cost primary silver producers in the U.S. The company has two
operating mines and exploration properties in four world-class silver
mining districts in the U.S. and Mexico.
Cautionary Statements
Statements made which are not historical facts, such as anticipated
payments, litigation outcome, production, sales of assets, exploration
results and plans, prospects and opportunities including reserves,
resources, and mineralization, costs, and prices or sales performance
are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'may?, 'will?,
'should?, 'expects?, 'intends?, 'projects?, 'believes?, 'estimates?,
'targets?, 'anticipates? and similar expressions are used to identify
these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected, anticipated, expected or
implied. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
metals price volatility, volatility of metals production and costs,
environmental and litigation risks, operating risks, project development
risks, political and regulatory risks, labor issues, ability to raise
financing and exploration risks and results. Refer to the company's Form
10-K and 10-Q reports for a more detailed discussion of factors that may
impact expected future results. The company undertakes no obligation and
has no intention of updating forward-looking statements other than as
may be required by law.
Hecla Mining Company
Jim Sabala, Sr. VP and CFO
Mike
Westerlund, VP-Investor Relations
or
Investor Relations
Direct
Main: 1-800-HECLA91 (1-800-432-5291)
hmc-info@hecla-mining.com
www.hecla-mining.com
