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Note 4 - Commitments, Contingencies and Obligations | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2017
Notes to Financial Statements |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] |
Note 4. | Commitments, Contingencies and Obligations
General We follow GAAP guidance in determining our accruals and disclosures with respect to loss contingencies, and evaluate such accruals and contingencies for each reporting period. Accordingly, estimated losses from loss contingencies are accrued by a charge to income when information available prior to issuance of the financial statements indicates that it is probable that a liability could be incurred and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. If a loss contingency is not probable or reasonably estimable, disclosure of the loss contingency is made in the financial statements when it is at least reasonably possible that a material loss could be incurred. Rio Grande Silver Guaranty Our wholly-owned subsidiary, Rio Grande Silver Inc. (“Rio”), is party to a joint venture with Emerald Mining & Leasing, LLC (“EML”) and certain other parties with respect to a land package in the Creede Mining District of Colorado that is adjacent to other land held by Rio. Rio holds a 70% interest in the joint venture. In connection with the joint venture, we are required to guarantee certain environmental remediation-related obligations of EML to a third party up to a maximum liability to us of $2.5 million. As of June 30, 2017, we have not been required to make any payments pursuant to the guaranty. We may be required to make payments in the future, limited to the $2.5 million maximum liability, should EML fail to meet its obligations to the third party. However, to the extent that any payments are made by us under the guaranty, EML, in addition to other parties, has jointly and severally agreed to reimburse and indemnify us for any such payments. We have not recorded a liability relating to the guaranty as of June 30, 2017. Lucky Friday Water Permit Matters In the past, the Lucky Friday unit experienced multiple regulatory issues relating to its water discharge permits and water management more generally. All of these issues have been resolved except for one: in December 2013, the EPA issued to Hecla Limited a request for information under Section 308 of the Clean Water Act directing Hecla Limited to undertake a comprehensive groundwater investigation of Lucky Friday’s tailings pond no. 3 to evaluate whether the pond is causing the discharge of pollutants via seepage to groundwater that is discharging to surface water. We completed the investigation mandated by the EPA and submitted a draft report to the agency in December 2015. We are waiting for the EPA’s response and we cannot predict what the impact of the investigation will be. Hecla Limited strives to maintain its water discharges at the Lucky Friday unit in full compliance with its permits and applicable laws, however, we cannot provide assurance that in the future it will be able to fully comply with the permit limits and other regulatory requirements regarding water management. Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, McKinley County, New Mexico In May 2011, the EPA made a formal request to Hecla Mining Company for information regarding the Johnny M Mine Area near San Mateo, McKinley County, New Mexico, and asserted that Hecla Mining Company may be responsible under CERCLA for environmental remediation and past costs the EPA has incurred at the site. Mining at the Johnny M was conducted for a limited period of time by a predecessor of our subsidiary, Hecla Limited. In August 2012, Hecla Limited and the EPA entered into a Settlement Agreement and Administrative Order on Consent for Removal Action (“Consent Order”), pursuant to which Hecla Limited agreed to pay (i) $1.1 million to the EPA for its past response costs at the site and (ii) any future response costs at the site under the Consent Order, in exchange for a covenant not to sue by the EPA. Hecla Limited paid the $1.1 million to the EPA for its past response costs and in December 2014, submitted to EPA the Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis (“EE/CA”) for the site. The EE/CA evaluates three alternative response actions: 1 ) no action, 2 ) off-site disposal, and 3 ) on-site disposal. The range in estimated costs of these alternatives is $0 to $221 million. In the EE/CA, Hecla Limited recommended that EPA approve on-site disposal, which is currently estimated to cost $5.6 million, on the basis that it is the most appropriate response action under CERCLA. In June 2015, the EPA approved the EE/CA, with a few minor conditions. The EPA still needs to publish the EE/CA for public notice and comment, and the agency will not make a final decision on the appropriate response action until the public comment process is complete. It is anticipated that Hecla Limited will implement the response action selected by the EPA pursuant to an amendment to the Consent Order or a new order. Based on the foregoing, we believe it is probable that Hecla Limited will incur a liability for remediation at the site. In the fourth quarter of 2014, we accrued $5.6 million, which continues to be our best estimate of that liability as of the date of this report. There can be no assurance that Hecla Limited’s liability will not be more than $5.6 million, or that its ultimate liability will not have a material adverse effect on Hecla Limited’s or our results of operations or financial position. In September 2016, Hecla Limited was served with a lawsuit filed by an individual in state court in New Mexico alleging personal injury claims of several millions of dollars arising from alleged exposure to contaminants as a result of allegedly living on land adjacent to the Johnny M Mine site. The case was subsequently removed to federal court in New Mexico, and Hecla Limited filed a motion to dismiss. We do not yet have enough information to conclude if Hecla Limited has any liability or to estimate any loss that it may incur. Carpenter Snow Creek and Barker-Hughesville Sites in Montana In July 2010, the EPA made a formal request to Hecla Mining Company for information regarding the Carpenter Snow Creek Superfund site located in Cascade County, Montana. The Carpenter Snow Creek site is located in a historic mining district, and in the early 1980s Hecla Limited leased 6 mining claims and performed limited exploration activities at the site. Hecla Limited terminated the mining lease in 1988. In June 2011, the EPA informed Hecla Limited that it believes Hecla Limited, among several other viable companies, may be liable for cleanup of the site or for costs incurred by the EPA in cleaning up the site. The EPA stated in the June 2011 letter that it has incurred approximately $4.5 million in response costs and estimated that total remediation costs may exceed $100 million. Hecla Limited cannot with reasonable certainty estimate the amount or range of liability, if any, relating to this matter because of, among other reasons, the lack of information concerning the site. In February 2017, the EPA made a formal request to Hecla Mining Company for information regarding the Barker-Hughesville Mining District Superfund site located in Judith Basin and Cascade Counties, Montana. The Barker-Hughesville site is located in a historic mining district, and between approximately June and December 1983, Hecla Limited was party to an agreement with another mining company under which limited exploration activities occurred at or near the site. Neither the EPA nor any other party has made any claims against Hecla Limited (or Hecla Mining Company), however, it is possible that such a claim will be made in the future. Unless and until such a claim is made, Hecla Limited cannot estimate the amount or range of liability, if any, relating to this matter. Senior Notes On April 12, 2013, we completed an offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of 6.875% Senior Notes due 2021. The net proceeds from the offering of the Senior Notes were used to partially fund the acquisition of Aurizon Mines Ltd. ("Aurizon") and for general corporate purposes, including expenses related to the Aurizon acquisition. Aurizon held our Casa Berardi mine and other interests in Quebec, Canada. In 2014, we completed additional issuances of our Senior Notes in the aggregate principal amount of $6.5 million, which were contributed to one of our pension plans to satisfy the funding requirement for 2014. Interest on the Senior Notes is payable on May 1 and November 1 of each year, commencing November 1, 2013. See Note 9 for more information. Other Commitments Our contractual obligations as of June 30, 2017 included approximately $1.2 million for various costs. In addition, our open purchase orders at June 30, 2017 included approximately $0.1 million, $1.4 million and $11.0 million for various capital and non-capital items at the Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi and Greens Creek units, respectively. We also have total commitments of approximately $13.8 million relating to scheduled payments on capital leases, including interest, primarily for equipment at our Greens Creek, Lucky Friday and Casa Berardi units (see Note 9 for more information). As part of our ongoing business and operations, we are required to provide surety bonds, bank letters of credit, and restricted deposits for various purposes, including financial support for environmental reclamation obligations and workers compensation programs. As of June 30, 2017, we had surety bonds totaling $116.9 million in place as financial support for future reclamation and closure costs, self-insurance, and employee benefit plans. The obligations associated with these instruments are generally related to performance requirements that we address through ongoing operations. As the requirements are met, the beneficiary of the associated instruments cancels or returns the instrument to the issuing entity. Certain of these instruments are associated with operating sites with long-lived assets and will remain outstanding until closure of the sites. We believe we are in compliance with all applicable bonding requirements and will be able to satisfy future bonding requirements as they arise. Other Contingencies When we acquired Revett Mining Company, Inc. (now known as Hecla Montana, Inc. - "HMI") in June 2015, it was the subject of a lawsuit filed in Montana state court by a former employee of its wholly owned subsidiary, Troy Mine, Inc., alleging that Revett was responsible for injuries he suffered while working for Troy Mine. The case is continuing with plaintiff claiming injuries totaling several millions of dollars. Although we are vigorously defending the suit, it is possible that HMI faces some liability in the case; however, we are unable to estimate the amount or range of any potential liability. Insurance is currently providing a defense to HMI, but there is no guarantee it would provide coverage for any losses incurred. We also have certain other contingencies resulting from litigation, claims, EPA investigations, and other commitments and are subject to a variety of environmental and safety laws and regulations incident to the ordinary course of business. We currently expect that the resolution of such contingencies will not materially affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. However, in the future, there may be changes to these contingencies, or additional contingencies may occur, any of which might result in an accrual or a change in current accruals recorded by us, and there can be no assurance that their ultimate disposition will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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