Property Sales Boost Hecla Profits

Property sales of $1.8 million near Hecla Mining Co.’s corporate office in Coeur d’Alene contributed to positive first-quarter earnings, Hecla officials said Thursday.

The company reported earnings of $800,000, or 2 cents per common share, after the payment of a $2 million quarterly dividend to preferred stockholders.

Last year, the company reported first-quarter losses of $1.5 million.

Hecla sold a 20-acre parcel at Wilbur Ave. and U.S. Highway 95 to Parkwood Business Properties. The site will house new quarters for keyboard manufacturer Advanced Input Devices. Two one-acre parcels in the Silver Lake Office Park also were sold, said company spokeswoman Vicki Veltcamp.

Higher silver prices, along with solid performances by the company’s gold, silver and clay operations also played a role in improved quarterly earnings, said Art Brown, Hecla chairman and chief executive officer.

Operations should pick up in the second quarter as industrial minerals activity increases, and the Lucky Friday mine continues its transition to a new, higher-grade area, Brown said. The mine is expected to produce about 4 million ounces of silver this year, doubling last year’s production, Brown said.