Lucky Friday | future upside
Our goal is to access more resource to further extend the mine life at Lucky Friday. Currently, we believe only one-third of the tons and one-half of the ounces that are contained underground at Lucky Friday are in the current mine life. Hecla sees great organic growth opportunities at Lucky Friday.
The #4 Shaft project progressed well during 2011. The detailed engineering for an internal shaft descending from the 4900 level to 8800 level was completed and final Board of Directors' approval for completion of the project was received.
mine optimization study
A mine optimization study is under way at the Lucky Friday to establish the optimal rate of mining in order to determine the potential size of a mill expansion. All of the expansion work that has been done to date at the Lucky Friday was constrained by the mill capacity. This study takes the mill out of the equation. The optimization study will be determining the limits of ventilation, hoisting capacity and rock mechanics. These various potential constraints will ultimately determine the size of the mill.
