Hecla was originally incorporated in the state of Idaho in 1891, in 1898 in the state of Washington and then incorporated in the state of Delaware on March 21, 1983.

Hecla’s stock symbol is ‘HL’.  Hecla’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where it has been listed since 1964.

Silver production is estimated at 10 to 11 million ounces, and gold production is estimated at approximately 60,000 ounces.

For 2009, total cash costs for silver were $1.91 per ounce, after by-product credits.. Cash costs for silver for 2010 are estimated to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.50 per ounce, based on by-product prices of $0.80 per pound for zinc and lead.

No.

No.

There are 256.1 million common shares outstanding, as of July 26, 2010.

Yes, but not for many years.  Hecla’s stock split one-for-one in May 1968 and three-for-two in February 1981.  Details of each stock split are as follows:

Hecla has not paid a dividend on its common stock since December 1990. 

Hecla pays a $0.875 per share dividend on its Series B Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock (HL-PrB) each quarter.  Dividends are typically paid to shareholders of the Series B Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.  If you are a shareholder who has moved and you have not received your dividend payments, please contact Hecla’s transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company at 800-937-5449.

Hecla pays a $1.62 per share dividend on its 6.5% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock (HL-PrC) each quarter.  Dividends (cash or stock) are typically paid to shareholders of the Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1.  The Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock will be converted into common stock in January 2011. If you are a shareholder who has moved and you have not received your dividend payments, please contact Hecla’s transfer agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company at 800-937-5449.

Hecla does not administer a direct purchase plan or a direct reinvestment plan.  Shares can be purchased through a direct or online brokerage firm.

If your shares are held in a brokerage account, simply contact your broker and make your intent known.  The broker will sell the shares for you and place the proceeds, less commission, in your brokerage account.  To sell shares in certificate form, you must have an account with a broker.  You then physically sign the shares over to your broker.

Here is a list of all mergers and acquisitions of Hecla Mining Company, including the number of shares exchanged for each merged company for Hecla common stock:

Hecla sold its interest in the below-listed companies.  If you hold shares in any of these companies, please contact the below-listed individuals for information on your shares.

The state of incorporation should be on the front of the stock certificate.  Contact the Secretary of State (Corporation’s Division) for that state.  They should be able to give you information on that company.  You can also do searches through the Secretary of State’s web site and find the information you need.

American Stock Transfer & Trust Company can provide account information to Hecla shareholders Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET) when they call 800-937-5449.  American Stock Transfer & Trust Company can also provide the following information:

Account Information
Account Balance
Statement of Certificate History
Instructions for Lost Certificates
Shareholder Change of Address

Transfer Instructions
Establishing a Beneficiary
From Individual into Joint Tenant
Removal of Joint Tenant
Establishing a Trust Account
Change of Owner’s Name
Establishing a Custodial Account

You may also visit American Stock Transfer & Trust Company’s web site to review your account information.  Visit American Stock Transfer & Trust for more information.

If you are a beneficial owner or a shareholder of record of Hecla common stock, you should have received the 2009 Hecla Annual Report in the mail by late April or early May 2010.

You may also access our 2009 Annual Report and 2010 Proxy Statement by visiting our web site www.hecla-mining.com and selecting Investor Relations.

Starting in January 2008, in accordance with rules and regulations recently adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, instead of mailing a printed copy of our proxy materials to each shareholder of record, we may now furnish proxy materials to our shareholders on the Internet.  We do also provide our 2009 Annual Report (the “Annual Report”) on the Internet.  If you receive a Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Matters (the “Notice”) by mail, you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials or our Annual Report by mail.  Instead, the Notice will instruct you as to how you may access and review all of the important information contained in the proxy materials and the Annual Report.  The Notice will also instruct you as to how you may submit your proxy on the Internet.  If you receive a Notice by mail and would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials and the Annual Report, not including a proxy card, you should follow the instructions for requesting such materials included in the Notice.

Our Annual Meeting of Shareholders for calendar year ended December 31, 2009, was held on Friday, May 21, 2010, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The next meeting in 2011 has yet to be determined.

Broadridge Financial Services will begin mailing the Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Matters (the “Notice”) for Hecla’s next Annual Meeting of Shareholders sometime in late March or early April 2011.  Shareholders whose shares are kept in a brokerage account will receive Notices directly from their broker.

Additionally, a number of brokers and banks are participating in a program through Broadridge Financial Services that offers the means to receive shareholder material (Annual Report and Proxy Statements) and grant proxies to vote shares by means of the Internet.  If your shares are held in an account with a broker or bank participating in the Broadridge program you may use the following link to sign up for electronic delivery:  Open Enrollment.

Silver is a wonderfully useful and versatile metal used in photography, jewelry and silverware, and a variety of industrial uses (such as electronics, environmental, medical, superconductivity).  You may visit www.silverinstitute.org for more information on silver uses and the worldwide silver market.