Note 4 - Business Segments, Sales of Products and Significant Customers

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Business Segments, Sales of Products and Significant Customers

Note 4: Business Segments, Sales of Products and Significant Customers

We discover, acquire and develop mines and other mineral interests and produce and market (i) concentrates containing silver, gold, lead and zinc, (ii) carbon material containing silver and gold, and (iii) doré containing silver and gold. We are currently organized and managed in four segments: Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Keno Hill and Casa Berardi.

Effective January 2024, we revised our internal reporting provided to our Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM") to no longer include any financial performance information for our Nevada assets ("Nevada"), reflecting the current status of Nevada being on care and maintenance. General corporate activities not associated with operating mines and their various exploration activities, idle properties and environmental remediation services in the Yukon, Canada, and the previously separately reported Nevada assets are presented as “Other". The presentation of the prior period information disclosed below has been revised to reflect this change.

The Company regularly reviews its segment reporting for alignment with its strategic goals and operational structure as well as for evaluation of business performance and the allocation of resources by Hecla's President and Chief Executive Officer, who has been identified as our Chief Operating Decision Maker . The CODM evaluates the performance for all of our reportable segments based on segment gross profit or loss. For all segments, the CODM uses segment gross profit or loss to assess segment performance and allocate resources for each segment predominantly in the annual budget and forecasting process. The CODM considers budget to actual variances on a monthly basis when making decisions about allocating capital and personnel to the segments. Significant segment expenses that are components of total cost of goods sold and drive the financial performance of our reportable segments are (i) salaries, wages and other benefits, (ii) contractors, (iii) consumables (iv) change in product inventory and (v) other direct production costs. In further evaluating the operational performance of each segment, the CODM also considers the amount of metals production versus budget, and the grade of the metal processed.

General corporate activities not associated with operating mines and their various exploration activities, as well as idle properties and environmental remediation services in the Yukon, Canada, are presented as “other.” The nature of the items that reconcile gross profit (loss) to income (loss) before income and mining taxes are not related to our reportable segments.

The tables below present information about our reportable segments as of and for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands).

Year ended December 31, 2024	Greens Creek		Lucky Friday			Keno Hill			Casa Berardi			Other		Total
Metal sales	$	421,574	$	203,154		$	74,962		$	209,679		$	—	$	909,369
Environmental remediation services		—		—			—			—			20,556		20,556
Intersegment sales		—		—			3,834			—			—		3,834
Reconciliation of sales		421,574		203,154			78,796			209,679			20,556		933,759
Elimination of intersegment sales		—		—			(3,834	)		—			—		(3,834	)
Total consolidated sales															929,925
Cost of sales and other direct production costs
Salaries, wages and other benefits		69,990		52,879			29,658			49,345			206		202,078
Contractors		6,135		14,154			22,960			23,982			19,696		86,927
Materials and consumables		93,223		39,957			28,648			55,867			625		218,320
Product inventory change		5,858		(2,628	)		(8,902	)		(3,269	)		—		(8,941	)
Other direct production costs		39,471		1,281			13,216			24,854			—		78,822
Transfer to ramp-up and suspension costs(a)		—		(2,207	)		(26,754	)		—			—		(28,961	)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		53,450		41,049			16,136			72,835			—		183,470
Gross profit (loss)	$	153,447	$	58,669		$	—		$	(13,935	)	$	29	$	198,210
Other operating expenses (b)															91,934
Income from operations															106,276
Other Expense:
Interest expense															(49,834	)
Fair value adjustments, net															(2,204	)
Foreign exchange gain, net															7,552
Other income															4,426
Income before income and mining taxes														$	66,216
Capital additions	$	47,795	$	49,592		$	54,869		$	60,704		$	1,532	$	214,492
Identifiable assets		564,334		587,945			413,982			687,080			727,719		2,981,060

(a) Total cost of sales in excess of sales value are transferred to ramp-up and suspension costs.

(b) Other operating expense items include general and administrative, exploration and pre-development, ramp-up and suspension costs, provision for closed operations and environmental matters, write-down of property, plant and equipment and other operating (income) expense, net.

Lucky Friday's income from operations for 2024 includes $50.0 million of business interruption and property damage insurance proceeds received during the respective periods related to the fire which suspended Lucky Friday's operations from August 2023 through January 8, 2024. The insurance proceeds received are recorded as part of "Other operating (income) expense, net" in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

During 2024, the Company wrote down $14.6 million of property, plant and mine development which had no salvage value. Of this amount, $13.9 million is included in Lucky Friday's income from operations and is related to the remote vein miner machine for which (i) we no longer had a use following the success of the Underhand Closed Bench ("UCB") mining method, (ii) we had been unsuccessful in locating a buyer, and (iii) the vendor advised us during the period that it would discontinue support for the program. The write down is recorded as part of "Write down of Property, Plant and Mine Development" in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Year ended December 31, 2023	Greens Creek		Lucky Friday			Keno Hill			Casa Berardi			Other			Total
Metal sales	$	384,504	$	116,284		$	35,518		$	177,678		$	960		$	714,944
Environmental remediation services		—		—			—			—			5,283			5,283
Intersegment sales		—		—			—			—			—			—
Reconciliation of sales		384,504		116,284			35,518			177,678			6,243			720,227
Elimination of intersegment sales																-
Total consolidated sales																720,227
Cost of sales and other direct production costs
Salaries, wages and employee benefits		68,183		43,142			21,569			51,201			3,029			187,124
Contractors		5,917		8,681			10,472			31,912			1,125			58,107
Materials and consumables		89,850		27,030			18,018			48,130			1,606			184,634
Product inventory change		4,266		8,014			(1,163	)		2,913			269			14,299
Other direct production costs		37,684		(1,460	)		12,138			23,376			1,207			72,945
Transfer to ramp-up and suspension costs(a)		-		(25,548	)		(29,793	)		(2,228	)		(1,036	)		(58,605	)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		53,995		24,325			4,277			66,037			140			148,774
Gross profit (loss)	$	124,609	$	32,100		$	—		$	(43,663	)	$	(97	)	$	112,949
Other operating expenses (b)																157,623
Loss from operations																(44,674	)
Other Expense:
Interest expense																(43,319	)
Fair value adjustments, net																2,925
Foreign exchange loss, net																(3,810	)
Other income																5,883
Loss before income and mining taxes															$	(82,995	)
Capital additions	$	43,542	$	65,337		$	44,672		$	70,056		$	280		$	223,887
Identifiable assets		569,369		578,110			362,986			683,035			817,604			3,011,104

(a) Total cost of sales in excess of sales value are transferred to ramp-up and suspension costs.

(b) Other operating expense items include general and administrative, exploration and pre-development, ramp-up and suspension costs, provision for closed operations and environmental matters, write-down of property, plant and equipment and other operating (income) expense, net.

Year ended December 31, 2022	Greens Creek			Lucky Friday			Keno Hill			Casa Berardi			Other			Total
Metal sales	$	335,062		$	147,814		$	—		$	235,136		$	420		$	718,432
Environmental remediation services		—			—			—			—			473			473
Intersegment sales		—			—			—			—			—			—
Reconciliation of sales		335,062			147,814			—			235,136			893			718,905
Elimination of intersegment sales																	—
Total consolidated sales																	718,905
Cost of sales and other direct production costs
Salaries, wages and employee benefits		64,142			42,155			863			58,678			6,186			172,024
Contractors		7,550			11,384			482			52,715			3,835			75,966
Materials and consumables		81,538			29,868			459			54,896			5,135			171,896
Product inventory change		(5,885	)		(2,302	)		-			(186	)		(9,554	)		(17,927	)
Other direct production costs		36,462			1,789			496			21,833			(1,428	)		59,152
Transfer to ramp-up and suspension costs(a)		-			-			(2,300	)		-			-			(2,300	)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		48,911			33,704			-			60,962			361			143,938
Gross profit (loss)	$	102,344		$	31,216		$	—		$	(13,762	)	$	(3,642	)	$	116,156
Other operating expenses (b)																	128,594
Loss from operations																	(12,438	)
Other Expense:
Interest expense																	(42,793	)
Fair value adjustments, net																	(4,723	)
Foreign exchange gain, net																	7,211
Other income																	7,829
Loss before income and mining taxes																$	(44,914	)
Capital additions	$	36,898		$	50,992		$	19,725		$	39,667		$	2,096		$	149,378
Identifiable assets		582,687			571,510			276,096			681,631			815,248			2,927,172

(a) Total cost of sales in excess of sales value are transferred to ramp-up and suspension costs.

(b) Other operating expense items include general and administrative, exploration and pre-development, ramp-up and suspension costs, provision for closed operations and environmental matters, write-down of property, plant and equipment and other operating (income) expense, net.

The following are our long-lived assets by geographic area as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):

	2024		2023
United States	$	1,684,890	$	1,698,285
Canada		1,001,612		960,109
Mexico		7,617		7,856
Total long-lived assets	$	2,694,119	$	2,666,250

Our products consist of metal concentrates and carbon material, which we sell to custom smelters, metal traders and third-party processors, and unrefined bullion bars (doré), which may be sold as doré or further refined before sale to precious metal traders. Revenue is recognized upon the completion of the performance obligations and transfer of control of the product to the customer.

For sales of metals from refined doré at Casa Berardi, the performance obligation is met, the transaction price is known, and revenue is recognized at the time of transfer of control of the agreed-upon metal quantities to the customer by the refiner. Refining, selling and shipping costs related to sales of doré and metals from doré are recorded to cost of sales as incurred.

For sales of carbon materials, transfer of control takes place, the performance obligation is met, the transaction price is known, and revenue is recognized generally at the time of arrival at the customer's facility.

For concentrate sales, which we currently have at Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, and Keno Hill, the performance obligation is met, the transaction price can be reasonably estimated, and revenue is recognized generally at the time of shipment. Concentrates sold at Lucky Friday typically leave the mine and are received by the customer within the same day. However, there is a period of time between shipment of concentrates from Greens Creek and Keno Hill and their physical receipt by the customer, and judgment is required in determining when control has been transferred to the customer and the performance obligation has been met for those shipments. We have determined control is met, title is transferred and the performance obligation is met upon shipment of concentrate parcels from Greens Creek and Keno Hill because, at that time, 1) legal title is transferred to the customer, 2) the customer has accepted the parcel and obtained the ability to realize all of the benefits from the product, 3) the concentrate content specifications are known, have been communicated to the customer, and the customer has the significant risks and rewards of ownership of it, 4) it is very unlikely a concentrate parcel from Greens Creek will be rejected by a customer upon physical receipt, and 5) we have the right to payment for the parcel.

Judgment is also required in identifying our concentrate sales performance obligations. Most of our concentrate sales involve “frame contracts” with smelters that can cover multiple years and specify certain terms under which individual parcels of concentrates are sold. However, some terms are not specified in the frame contracts and/or can be renegotiated as part of annual amendments to the frame contract. We have determined parcel shipments represent individual performance obligations satisfied at the point in time when control of the shipment is transferred to the customer.

The consideration we receive for our concentrate sales fluctuates due to changes in metals prices between the time of shipment and final settlement with the customer. However, we are able to reasonably estimate the transaction price for the concentrate sales at the time of shipment using forward prices for the month of settlement, and previously recorded sales and accounts receivable are adjusted to estimated settlement metals prices until final settlement with the customer. Also, it is unlikely a significant reversal of revenue for any one concentrate parcel will occur. As such, we use the expected value method to price the parcels until the final settlement date occurs, at which time the final transaction price is known. At December 31, 2024, metals contained in concentrate sales and exposed to future price changes totaled 1.5 million ounces of silver, 2,000 ounces of gold, 39,150 tons of zinc, and 52,350 tons of lead. However, as discussed in Note 10, we seek to mitigate the risk of price adjustments by using financially-settled forward contracts for some of our sales.

Sales and accounts receivable for concentrate shipments are recorded net of charges for treatment, refining, smelting losses, and other charges negotiated by us with the customers, which represent components of the transaction price. Charges are estimated by us upon shipment of concentrates based on contractual terms, and actual charges typically do not vary materially from our estimates. Costs charged by customers include fixed treatment and refining costs per ton of concentrate and may include price escalators which allow the customers to participate in the increase of lead and zinc prices above a negotiated baseline. Costs for shipping concentrates to customers are recorded to cost of sales as incurred.

Sales of metal concentrates and metal products are made principally to custom smelters, third-party processors and metal traders. The percentage of metal sales contributed by each segment is reflected in the following table:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2022
Greens Creek		46.4	%		53.7	%		46.6	%
Lucky Friday		22.3	%		16.3	%		20.6	%
Keno Hill		8.2	%		5.0	%		—
Casa Berardi		23.1	%		24.9	%		32.7	%
Other		—			0.1	%		0.1	%
		100	%		100	%		100	%

Total sales for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2022
Silver	$	413,980		$	302,284		$	265,054
Gold		318,256			274,613			298,910
Lead		87,223			72,726			83,384
Zinc		130,767			116,230			123,057
Copper		416			—			—
Less: Smelter and refining charges		(41,273	)		(50,909	)		(51,973	)
Total metal sales		909,369			714,944			718,432
Environmental remediation services		20,556			5,283			473
Total sales	$	929,925		$	720,227		$	718,905

The following is metal sales information by geographic area based on the location of smelters and metal traders (for concentrate shipments) and the location of parent companies (for doré sales to metal traders) for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):

	2024		2023		2022
United States	$	41,079	$	36,307	$	21,938
Canada		457,423		375,092		406,600
Japan		44,561		52,744		51,375
Korea		181,372		127,590		107,828
China		183,644		103,534		136,514
Total, excluding gains/losses on forward contracts	$	908,079	$	695,267	$	724,255

Metal sales by significant product type for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows (in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2022
Doré and metals from doré - Greens Creek, Casa Berardi	$	238,124	$	211,321	$	255,608
Carbon - Casa Berardi		7,670		4,333		2,607
Silver concentrate - Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Keno Hill		493,584		356,941		329,165
Zinc concentrate - Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Keno Hill		111,101		80,274		109,177
Precious metals concentrate - Greens Creek		57,600		42,398		27,698
Total, excluding gains/losses on forward contracts	$	908,079	$	695,267	$	724,255

Metal sales for 2024, 2023 and 2022 included net gains of $1.3 million and $19.7 million and net losses of $5.8 million, respectively, on derivative contracts for silver, gold, lead and zinc contained in our sales. See Note 10 for more information.

Metal sales from continuing operations to significant metals customers as a percentage of total sales were as follows for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2022
Customer A - Casa Berardi		17.2	%		24.2	%		35.4	%
Customer B - Greens Creek, Lucky Friday		28.1	%		11.8	%		23.9	%
Customer C - Greens Creek		18.5	%		15.5	%		11.3	%
Customer D - Greens Creek, Keno Hill		15.9	%		9.5	%		6.9	%

Our trade accounts receivable balance related to contracts with customers was $31.5 million, $19.4 million and $45.1 million at December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and included no allowance for credit losses. Trade accounts receivable balances with significant metals customers as of December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:

	2024	2023	2022
Customer B	46.1%	22.2%	57.5%
Customer C	16.8%	3.3%	3.1%
Customer D	28.2%	—	2.1%
Customer E	7.2%	24.2%	3.2%
Customer F	—	—	15.9%
Customer G	—	—	11.8%
Customer H	—	34.8%	—

We have determined our contracts do not include a significant financing component. For doré sales and sales of metal from doré, payment is received at the time the performance obligation is satisfied. Payment for carbon sales is received within a relatively short period of time after the performance obligation is satisfied. The amount of consideration for concentrate sales is variable, and we receive payment for a significant portion of the estimated value of concentrate parcels within a relatively short period of time after the performance obligation is satisfied.

Our environmental services remediation revenue is all generated by our ERDC subsidiary and all from one customer CIRNAC. Annually, ERDC and CIRNAC agree to detailed work plans ("DWP") covering the planned activities from April 1 to March 31, the Canadian government's fiscal year. All DWPs are a separate performance obligation, which are satisfied over time as the services are performed and CIRNAC approves the work performed. Payment terms are 30 days after receipt of an invoice by CIRNAC. CIRNAC has the ability to cancel the contract with or without cause by providing written notice to the Company. ERDC is owed for work performed as of the date of cancellation. As at December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, CIRNAC owed us $8.8 million, $3.6 million and $0.4 million, which is included as part of "Other Accounts Receivable" on our consolidated balance sheet.

We do not incur significant costs to obtain contracts, nor costs to fulfill contracts which are not addressed by other accounting standards. Therefore, we have not recognized an asset for such costs as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.