Hecla CEO Baker resigns

Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) president and CEO Phillips Baker is being replaced by chairman Catherine Boggs as the largest silver miner in the United States searches for a permanent replacement.

Baker, retiring after 23 years at Hecla, issued no comments or reasons for leaving in a company statement on Thursday. A company spokesperson didn’t immediately reply to a phone message left early on Friday.

The company reported first-quarter results this month where it met analyst forecasts for performance after restarting its Idaho mine Lucky Friday in January after a fire last year and continued ramping up output from Keno Hill in the Yukon. 

“I would like to thank Phil for his years of service and valued contributions to Hecla and the silver industry overall,” Boggs, who will also remain as chairman, said in the release. “We are confident that we will find the right highly qualified individual to lead Hecla.”

Chief financial officer Russell Lawlar, vice-president of operations Carlos Aguilar and chief administrative officer Mike Clary are continuing at the Idaho-based company and will advise Boggs in her role as interim president and CEO, Hecla said.

Veteran interim CEO

“Hecla’s day-to-day mining operations will carry on unabated with the talented and dedicated staff we have at all our operations and at our headquarters,” said Boggs, who has spent 40 years in the industry. “Senior management and I will continue to support and guide our operations and personnel throughout this leadership transition.”

Boggs served in several leadership roles at Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) before becoming general counsel at Resource Capital Funds from 2011 until her retirement in 2019. She is a director of international mining services company Capital Limited and is an adjunct professor at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver.

Hecla, founded in 1891, also operates mines in Alaska and Quebec and owns several exploration and pre-development projects across North America. Shares in the company have see-sawed since the announcement after markets closed on Thursday. They were up less than 1% to US$5.78 apiece on Friday morning, valuing Hecla at US$3.6 billion.