COEUR D’ALENE: Hecla Mining Company has announced that Casa Berardi plans to restart operations on April 15th, following the Government of Quebec’s decision to allow mining activities to resume.

The restart of operations is planned over a month and will follow the Government’s guidelines with a focus on maintaining appropriate COVID-19 practices, including emphasizing proper hygiene practices and social distancing.

As an added precaution, open pit contract mining will not yet resume to minimize the number of workers on site. Stockpiled open pit ore will be fed to the mill until contract mining resumes.

“We are pleased to bring the mine back into production, with the emphasis on the health and safety of our people,” said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla’s President and CEO. “We continue to have no known cases of COVID-19 at any of our operations in part due to our early adoption of measures that protect our workforce and their communities.”

Founded in 1891, Hecla Mining Company  is a leading low-cost U.S. silver producer with operating mines in Alaska, Idaho and Mexico, and is a growing gold producer with operating mines in Quebec, Canada and Nevada.

-Business Wire