The Coeur d’Alene Mining District, where Hecla was born 117 years ago, is located in North Idaho’s Silver Valley along US-90, providing very convenient access and infrastructure. This district has produced 1.2 billion ounces of silver in its history - one of the most prolific silver districts in the world. Hecla has a tremendous land position here… about 25 square miles, which is an area roughly the size of Manhattan. On this land position are many historic mines, which in the aggregate have produced about 300 million ounces of silver, or about 25% of the entire historic production of the Silver Valley.
Several decades’ worth of geologic information on the past-producing mines on Hecla’s property in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District has now been converted into digital format by the company. Three-dimensional (3D) models of more than ten major mines and mine workings of 60 other underground projects have been completed so far, showing the spatial relationship between mines and regional structures that control mineral and geologic trends. This information is defining brand-new drill targets, with four large exploration target areas identified so far. Detailed 3D modeling and resource assessment is now underway on the Star mine which closed in 1981 and was operated for a short period in the 1990s.The recent integration of the data has defined previous mine reserves and resources, and identified adjacent subsidiary structures that represent strong exploration targets.
Even though more than 300 million ounces of silver have been mined from Hecla’s land holdings within this valley, very little modern surface exploration has actually taken place. During the fourth quarter 2007, Hecla also signed exclusivity agreements with 35 companies that own properties in the Silver Valley to evaluate the mineral potential on those properties. The total property position covered by these agreements is more than 11-square miles, which is in addition to Hecla’s own approximately 25-square-mile land position.
In the Silver Valley, Hecla is looking at this old district in a new way. Successful exploration of old districts usually comes about as a result of people thinking about the geology differently, and that’s what Hecla’s geologists are doing here. They take the historic information and geologic data and reapply it, but without limiting themselves to historic thinking. They have the advantage of new technologies that allow them to take both a more comprehensive and more detailed look at the whole geologic structure of this great mining district. They are already identifying many prospective targets in this long-term exploration effort.