Hecla Mining Divests Casa Berardi Gold Mine For $593M To Refocus On Premier Silver Operations

• The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. 
• Hecla intends to use the cash proceeds to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet, improving financial flexibility and capacity to invest in strategic growth investments. 
• Earlier on Monday, Hecla Mining said it expects consolidated silver and gold production to lower marginally in 2026.

Hecla Mining Co. (HL) announced that it is selling its subsidiary that owns the Casa Berardi open-pit gold mine in Quebec, Canada to Orezone Gold Corporation for $593 million.

The silver mining company said the deal will help it focus on its premier silver assets and strengthen its balance sheet. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Shares of HL slipped more than 4% at the time of writing, paring earlier gains.

Deal Contours

The deal includes $160 million in cash payable at closing, about $112 million in equity through the issuance of roughly 65.7 million Orezone common shares, and $80 million in deferred cash to be paid in two installments over 18 and 30 months, the company said.

In addition, Hecla said that contingent consideration of up to $241 million may be paid, tied to production-based royalties from open-pit operations, the receipt of key permits, and potential upside linked to gold prices exceeding $4,200 per ounce.

The sale will allow Hecla to optimize its portfolio and focus capital allocation on differentiated silver assets with significant growth and value creation opportunities, the company said. Hecla intends to use the cash proceeds to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet, improving financial flexibility and capacity to invest in strategic growth investments.

"Upon closing, this transaction is immediately ROIC accretive and delivers attractive value to our shareholders while enabling us to strengthen our balance sheet while continuing to invest in growth initiatives at our core silver assets, particularly the ramp-up of Keno Hill and our Tier 1 Greens Creek operation," said Rob Krcmarov, President and CEO of Hecla Mining.

Hecla’s Casa Berardi mine is an underground gold mine in western Quebec that produced 86,648 ounces of gold and 24,231 ounces of silver in 2024.

2026 Mining Forecast

Earlier, Hecla Mining said it expects consolidated silver and gold production to be marginally lower in 2026. The company forecast silver output of 15.1 to 16.5 million ounces, and gold output of 134,000 to 146,000 ounces for the full-year 2026, compared to 17 million ounces of silver and 150,509 ounces of gold in 2025.

The company said the outlook was a result of lower milled-grade expectations at the Greens Creek and Casa Berardi operations. Shares of the company jumped more than 7% in Monday’s pre-market trading.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around HL stock was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

One bullish user encouraged buying the dip, adding that the news was good and highlighting how silver prices are over $101.

Another bullish user said that the sale of the gold mine was a classic divestiture of non-core assets that usually went down well with Wall Street.

Shares of HL have gained over 470% in the past year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.
 

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