MULLAN — The Lucky Friday Mine recorded a record‑breaking silver output in 2025. 

According to a press release from Hecla Mining Co., the Silver Valley mine produced 5.3 million ounces of silver, surpassing projections and marking the highest annual output ever publicly reported for the operation. 

Mike Satre, Hecla’s director of government affairs, said because of the mine’s strong performance, Hecla plans to invest up to $73 million in the operation over the coming years. 

“This capital investment is heavily tied to underground development, a new tailings facility and a surface cooling project, which is expected to be completed by mid‑2026 and is critical to increase the designed cooling capacity at the mine over its reserve mine life of 17 years,” he said. 

Satre highlighted the company’s patented Underhand Closed Bench mining method as a key driver of the mine’s success. 

The UCB method allows miners to safely extract ore from deep, narrow veins. It involves drilling and blasting downward from a supported top cut while maintaining engineered roofs that stabilize the stope as work progresses. 

This controlled, underhand approach reduces fault‑slip seismicity and keeps miners out of high‑risk zones. Ore blasted below swells upward into the open cut, allowing it to be removed from a safer elevation. 

Hecla reports the method has significantly improved safety and productivity, making it a core innovation for mining at extreme depths. 

The surface cooling project is particularly important to both the success of 2025 and the mine’s future, as it enables operations to advance deeper into high‑grade zones. Its purpose is to deliver chilled air underground to counter rising temperatures at depth. As the mine transitions deeper into hotter geological zones, the cooling system becomes essential for maintaining safe working conditions. 

The project is 79% complete and should be finished by mid‑2026. 

Lucky Friday, which employs 447 people, is one of Hecla’s three primary silver mines, along with Greens Creek in Alaska and Keno Hill in Canada’s Yukon. 

Greens Creek remains Hecla’s largest silver‑producing operation. Combined, the three mines produced 17 million ounces of silver in 2025, solidifying Hecla’s position as a leading silver producer in the United States and Canada.