Hecla Mining (HL) Provides Updates on Lucky Friday Mine Incident
Hecla Mining Company HL experienced a fall of ground incident in one of the shafts at its Lucky Friday mine. The incident is expected to have an impact on the mine's production and cost guidance.
The accident occurred roughly 500 feet from the bottom of the shaft's active portion. The failure is likely to have been caused by fire. There were no personnel in the mine at the time of the incident since the mine damage occurred at an unused station under repair.
The company is taking action to guarantee that fire is extinguished before resuming normal ventilation.
Hecla is developing a plan to resume manufacturing. It will update its 2023 guidance once the plan is complete.
In the second quarter of 2023, the Lucky Friday mine reported a silver production of 1.3 million ounces in the second quarter, attaining its highest level since the first quarter of 2000.
After the end of second-quarter 2023, Hecla Mining projected a silver production of 16-17.5 million ounces for 2023. It is targeting to reach the 20-million-ounce mark in 2025. The company already produces 45% of U.S. silver and is gearing up to be Canada’s largest silver producer by 2024.
The company expected a gold production of 140,000-160,000 ounces. While it expects increased gold production at Greens Creek, the revised guidance took into account the wildfire-related suspension at Casa Berardi operations in June.
Price Performance
Shares of Hecla Mining have gained 1.4% in the past year against the industry's 4% decline.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Hecla Mining currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are Hawkins, Inc. HWKN, PPG Industries, Inc. PPG and L.B. Foster Company FSTR. HWKN sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, and PPG and FSTR carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Hawkins has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 25.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s fiscal 2024 earnings is pegged at $3.40 per share. The consensus estimate for 2024 earnings has moved 38% north in the past 60 days. Its shares gained 35.7% in the last year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPG Industries’ fiscal 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $7.47, indicating growth of 23.5% from the prior-year actual. Earnings estimates have moved 3% north in the past 60 days. It has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.3%. PPG’s shares have gained 9.7% in the past year.
L.B. Foster has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 134.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSTR’s 2023 earnings is pegged at 53 cents per share. Earnings estimates have been unchanged in the past 60 days. FSTR’s shares gained 30.2% in the last year.
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