Hecla's Hugh Zone Exploration Drilling Indicates Potentially Large Deposit at San Sebastian.COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho Coeur d'Alene (IPA: [kɚ də liːn]) is the county seat and largest city of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. -- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :HL) says additional drilling in the Hugh Zone silver-polymetallic resource on its San Sebastian property in central Mexico has moved the company significantly closer to making a decision on whether to advance the project through underground exploration. Exploration work on the project since the third quarter of 2005 has extended the strike length 200 meters, increasing the potential resource area by another 20% on top of the 50% increase in resource area announced in the third quarter report just six weeks ago. The Hugh Zone is the silver, copper, lead, and zinc-rich deeper extension of the Francine vein, in which Hecla has recently finished mining the upper silver-gold-rich oxide oxide, chemical compound containing oxygen and one other chemical element. Oxides are widely and abundantly distributed in nature. Water is the oxide of hydrogen. Silicon dioxide is the major component of sand and quartz. portion. The Hugh Zone mineralization Mineralization The process by which the body uses minerals to build bone structure. Mentioned in: Rickets mineralization, n the bioprecipitation of an inorganic substance. occurs between 250 and 500 meters below the surface and with the latest exploration drilling contains ore-grade drill hole intercepts along a 1.2 km strike length. This mineralization continues to be open along strike to the northwest and at depth to the southeast. Geologic ge·ol·o·gy n. pl. ge·ol·o·gies 1. The scientific study of the origin, history, and structure of the earth. 2. The structure of a specific region of the earth's crust. 3. A book on geology. data including fluid inclusion analysis show that the Francine vein and Hugh Zone are part of an intermediate-sulfidation epithermal system and may be one of the main structures feeding several smaller surface veins discovered earlier. The work has increased the knowledge of the inflection point Inflection Point An event that changes the way we think and act. -Andy Grove, Founder of Intel. Notes: For example, the fall of the Berlin Wall was an inflection point in global politics and the commercialization of the Internet was an inflection point in technology. along which the mineralization seems to run. In addition, geologists believe they may have discovered the faulted offset of the Francine vein to the west. The indications point to narrow, but high-grade mineralization near the surface. Hecla President and Chief Executive Officer Phillips S Phil·lips A trademark used for a screw with a head having two intersecting perpendicular slots and for a screwdriver with a tip shaped to fit into these slots. . Baker, Jr. says this is extremely good news. He said, "If the Hugh Zone continues to grow, we are looking at the same type of intermediate sulfidation epithermal system that the great silver mines of central Mexico are built on, such as the Fresnillo mine and others. Hecla's property is right on trend with some of the largest, longest-lived silver mines in the world, and it's beginning to look as though where we've been mining for the past four years is just the upper expression of a deeper, possibly very large deposit." Twenty-five drill holes, totaling nearly 12,000 meters, have been drilled into the Hugh Zone during 2005. The two most noteworthy intercepts had the following grades: 1) 436 grams (12.7 ounces) per tonne tonne measure of weight or mass; 1 tonne=1000 kg. See also ton. silver, 0.064 gram per tonne gold, 4.7% copper, 4.1% lead and 6.7% zinc zinc, metallic chemical element; symbol Zn; at. no. 30; at. wt. 65.38; m.p. 419.58°C;; b.p. 907°C;; sp. gr. 7.133 at 25°C;; valence +2. Zinc is a lustrous bluish-white metal. It is found in Group 12 of the periodic table. , diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. to a two-meter mining width, and 2) 271 grams (7.9 ounces) per tonne silver, 0.02 gram per tonne gold, 2.2% copper, 5.5% lead and 4.4% zinc, over 2.14 meters. Based on preliminary metallurgical met·al·lur·gy n. 1. The science that deals with procedures used in extracting metals from their ores, purifying and alloying metals, and creating useful objects from metals. 2. studies and October metals prices, these intercepts would translate into excellent net smelter returns (NSR NSR abbr. normal sinus rhythm NSR Normal sinus rhythm, see there ) of $253 per tonne and $157 per tonne, respectively. Another drill hole is in progress, and based on preliminary visual information, it has the potential to even further advance this deep, polymetallic ore zone. The surface drilling program continues, and a decision to initiate an underground exploration and feasibility program could be made by the third quarter of 2006. Hecla has found exceptional mineralization in the area, with nearly 50% of the assays translating into net smelter returns of well above $40 per tonne at metals prices of $462 per ounce of gold, $7.60 per ounce of silver, $1.75 per pound of copper, $0.45 per pound of lead and $0.65 per pound of zinc. Those intercepts, all diluted to a two-meter mining width, are shown below:
DILUTED
HORI- NSR
ZONTAL $ per
HOLE-ID FROM TO WIDTH Au_G/T Ag_G/T Cu_% Pb_% Zn_% tonne
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SS-328 273.24 276.48 2.00 0.029 289.89 2.241 0.924 4.958 132.63
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SS-326 443.02 447.52 2.08 0.021 127.99 1.400 0.628 1.634 58.17
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SS-324 477.80 484.00 2.14 0.020 271.27 2.231 5.544 4.400 156.57
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SS322A 390.81 394.28 2.00 0.064 435.96 4.651 4.111 6.752 253.18
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SS312A 541.53 545.45 2.00 0.007 110.19 1.299 1.218 5.800 82.20
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SS-310 567.07 570.80 2.00 0.012 149.41 1.694 0.513 0.626 62.88
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SS-304 462.40 466.23 2.65 0.062 409.25 3.491 6.399 11.612 262.86
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SS-301 470.89 473.41 2.00 0.016 123.09 1.833 0.514 1.917 68.42
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SS-295 432.37 435.65 2.78 0.096 315.11 3.353 4.382 7.261 201.67
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SS-291 559.70 563.18 2.00 0.021 186.52 2.358 2.855 3.201 119.18
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SS-290 520.44 523.02 2.00 0.025 130.65 1.057 4.063 1.253 69.42
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SS-289 416.05 419.05 2.32 0.212 288.73 2.438 1.177 1.993 125.50
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SS-288 430.02 433.03 2.00 1.507 309.59 2.790 4.692 8.913 215.09
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SS-287 570.15 572.95 2.00 0.026 123.55 1.394 1.493 3.422 73.49
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SS-286 595.45 598.95 2.87 0.412 75.63 1.006 0.306 0.405 30.66
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SS-284 524.05 528.10 2.66 0.020 539.19 5.207 12.250 8.523 354.64
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SS-283 508.27 510.47 2.00 0.650 86.87 1.755 2.249 3.622 88.66
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SS-281 395.94 398.54 2.00 0.042 116.61 0.824 0.980 1.378 40.06
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SS-274 461.29 465.81 3.21 0.036 352.03 2.973 7.721 11.562 247.66
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SS-272 395.65 398.50 2.00 0.046 140.75 1.858 1.328 1.981 77.20
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SS-269 387.55 393.08 4.51 1.607 230.75 1.534 3.293 5.896 142.30
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SS-268 480.41 484.34 2.00 0.084 289.00 1.851 6.603 5.317 165.18
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SS-267 421.37 424.38 2.00 0.043 198.55 1.748 4.163 7.298 138.34
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SS-266 358.12 361.39 2.00 4.928 147.60 1.075 2.052 2.864 113.35
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SS-265 374.98 378.05 2.69 14.341 330.14 2.707 2.586 6.662 339.96
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SS-262 197.19 199.85 2.38 0.886 279.30 0.823 1.421 3.011 89.59
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SS-261 206.65 209.45 2.00 0.277 266.31 1.015 3.535 6.038 122.42
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SS-203 225.05 228.55 2.00 4.160 788.81 1.196 4.095 4.853 263.50
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Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, mines, processes and explores for silver and gold in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Venezuela and Mexico. A 114-year-old company, Hecla has long been well known in the mining world and financial markets as a quality silver and gold producer. Hecla's common and preferred shares Preferred shares Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. under the symbols HL and HL-PrB. Statements made which are not historical facts, such as anticipated payments, litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. outcome, production, sales of assets, exploration results and plans, costs, and prices or sales performance are "forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. " within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995, and 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, exploration risks and results, political risks, project development risks, labor issues and ability to raise financing. Refer to the company's Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. and 10-K 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. Cautionary Note to Investors -- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this news release, such as "resource," that the SEC guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. strictly prohibit pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. us from including in our filing with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. . You can review and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. |
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