Note 11 - Stockholders' Equity (Details Textual)		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jul. 20, 2018 shares	Sep. 30, 2021 $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2020 $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) Director $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2019 $ / shares shares	Feb. 15, 2022 $ / shares	Feb. 18, 2021 shares	Sep. 30, 2020 $ / shares	May 08, 2012 shares	Jun. 30, 2010 shares
Average Realized Silver Price, Minimum Dividend, Threshold (in dollars per share) | $ / shares							$ 30			$ 25
Average Realized Silver Price Per Ounce (in dollars per share) | $ / shares		$ 20				$ 25
Share Price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares								$ 0
Preferred Stock, Shares Outstanding, Ending Balance (in shares)					157,816
Percent of Shareholders' Consent Needed to Create or Issue Stock Ranking Senior to Series B Preferred Stock				66.00%
Preferred stock, dividends declared (Quarterly) | $				$ 552,000	$ 552,000	$ 552,000
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference, Value | $					$ 7,891,000
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Amount, Total | $				$ 4,600,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Measurement Period Used to Value Performance-based Awards (Year)				3 years
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Treasury Stock Reissued (in shares)						650,000
Conversion of Stock, Shares Converted				40
Conversion of Stock, Shares Issued				128
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Interest on Income Taxes Expense | $				$ 4,700,000
Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition				1 year 1 month 6 days
Hecla Charitable Foundation [Member]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Treasury Stock Reissued (in shares)						650,000
Stock Issued During Period, Value, Treasury Stock Reissued | $						$ 2,000,000.0
Warrants in Connection with Klondex Mines Acquisition [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right, Issued During Period (in shares)	4,136,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Each Warrant or Right (in shares)	1
Satisfy Withholding Obligations [Member]
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 4.99	$ 7.88	$ 2.32
Stock Repurchased During Period, Shares (in shares)				737,258	574,251	1,183,773
Stock Repurchased During Period, Value | $				$ 3,700,000	$ 4,500,000	$ 2,700,000
2010 Stock Incentive Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized (in shares)												20,000,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant (in shares)				13,808,002
Directors Stock Plan [Member]
Number of distributed shares				388,175
Number of directors | Director				2
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Expense | $				$ 400,000	$ 1,800,000	$ 1,500,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant (in shares)				2,170,959
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement by Share-Based Payment Award, Method of Measuring Cost of Award Participant, Numerator | $				$ 120,000
Shares Issued, Shares, Share-based Payment Arrangement, before Forfeiture (in shares)				98,310	207,375	391,244
Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Member]
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Expense | $				$ 6,000,000.0	$ 6,100,000	$ 5,000,000
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Unvested units expected to vest (in shares)			3,936,134	1,796,115	2,022,352	3,936,134	3,997,168
Performance Shares [Member]
Unvested units expected to vest (in shares)			1,813,895	599,858	874,422	1,813,895	1,477,631
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Interest on Income Taxes Expense | $				$ 1,400,000
Share-Based Payment Arrangement, Nonvested Award, Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition				1 year 6 months
Series B Preferred Stock [Member]
Preferred Stock, Shares Outstanding, Ending Balance (in shares)				157,776	157,816
Preferred Stock, Dividend Rate, Per-Dollar-Amount (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 3.50
Preferred stock, dividends declared (Quarterly) | $				$ 552,000	$ 552,000	$ 552,000
Preferred Stock, Redemption Price Per Share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 50
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference Per Share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares					$ 50
Preferred Stock, Liquidation Preference, Value | $				$ 7,900,000
Preferred Stock Conversion Price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 15.55
Common Stock Repurchase Program [Member]
Stock Repurchase Program, Number of Shares Authorized to be Repurchased (in shares)											20,000,000
Cumulative Stock Repurchased (in shares)				934,100
Treasury Stock Acquired, Average Cost Per Share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 3.99
At-the-market Offering [Member]
Equity Distribution Agreement, Maximum Number of Shares to be Sold (in shares)				3,860,199					60
Proceeds from sale of shares | $				$ 17,300,000
Fees and commission on sale of shares | $				300,000
Quarterly Dividends [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Total | $				$ 12,400,000	$ 20,100,000	$ 8,600,000
Minimum [Member]
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared (in dollars per share) | $ / shares				$ 0.01			$ 0.01
Maximum [Member]
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared (in dollars per share) | $ / shares			$ 0.015