HECLA MINING CO/DE/

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Item 1A. – Risk Factors of our 2024 Form 10-K and Part II, Item 1A. - Risk Factors in our first and second quarter Form 10-Q set forth information relating to important risks and uncertainties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results.

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Mine closure and reclamation regulations impose substantial costs on our operations and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those obligations. These costs could significantly increase and we might not be able to provide financial assurance.

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We are required by U.S. federal and state laws and regulations and by laws and regulations in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate to reclaim our mining properties, which typically includes filing of a closure plan with the applicable regulator. The specific requirements may change and vary among jurisdictions, but they are similar in that they aim to minimize long term effects of exploration and mining disturbance by requiring the control of possible deleterious effluents and re-establishment to some degree of pre-disturbance land forms and vegetation. Mine closure plans are subject to periodic review and update requirements. In the course of reviewing or updating closure plans, it is common for the estimates, plans, costs and other details of the plan to be revised. Some of these revisions can be significant, including estimated closure cost increases. For example, our Casa Berardi mine is likely to soon update its mine closure plan. Currently we have recorded a $18.5 million liability for reclamation and closure costs at Casa Berardi. We believe that it is possible that we may need to materially increase that liability to reflect the updated closure plan. See the risk factors in our 2024 Form 10-K,“Our environmental and asset retirement obligations may exceed the provisions we have made,” “Our accounting and other estimates may be imprecise” and“We are required to obtain governmental permits and other approvals in order to conduct mining operations.”

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In some cases, we are required to provide financial assurances as security for reclamation costs, which may exceed our estimates for such costs. Similarly, our reclamation costs may exceed the financial assurances in place and those assurances may ultimately be unavailable to us. We often satisfy financial assurance requirements by posting surety bonds or cash collateral however, we may be unable to obtain the required surety bonds or may not have the resources to provide cash collateral, and the bonds or collateral may not fully cover the cost of reclamation and any such shortfall could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition. Further, when we use the services of a surety company to provide the required bond for reclamation, the surety companies often require us to post collateral with them. Currently we utilize letters of credit issued under our revolving credit facility as the source of such collateral, and as a result, there are less funds available for us to borrow under the facility for other purposes. In the event that we are unable to obtain necessary bonds or to post sufficient collateral, we may experience a material adverse effect on our operations or financial results. See the risk factors below in our 2024 Form 10-K,“Our existing stockholders are effectively subordinated to the holders of our Senior Notes", “Any downgrade in the credit ratings assigned to us or our debt securities could increase future borrowing costs, adversely affect the availability of new financing and may result in increased collateral requirements under our existing surety bond portfolio,” and“Mine closure and reclamation regulations impose substantial costs on our operations, and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those obligations. These costs could significantly increase, and we might not be able to provide financial assurance.”

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The EPA and other state, provincial or federal agencies may also require financial assurance for investigation and remediation actions that are required under settlements of enforcement actions under CERCLA or equivalent state or foreign regulations. Currently there are no financial assurance requirements for active mining operations under CERCLA, and a lawsuit filed by several environmental organizations which sought to require the EPA to adopt financial assurance rules for mining companies with active mining operations was dismissed by a federal court. In the future, financial assurance rules under CERCLA, if adopted, could be financially material and adverse to us. See the risk factors in our 2024 Form 10-K,“Our operations are subject to complex, evolving and increasingly stringent environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with environmental regulations, and litigation based on such regulations, involves significant costs and can threaten existing operations or constrain expansion opportunities” and“We are required to obtain governmental permits and other approvals in order to conduct mining operations.”