Note 6 - Business Segments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 6.    Business Segments

We are currently organized and managed in three reporting segments: the Greens Creek unit, the Lucky Friday unit and the Casa Berardi unit. On June 1, 2013 we completed the acquisition of Aurizon, giving us 100% ownership of the Casa Berardi mine in Quebec, Canada. As a result, we added a new reporting segment for the Casa Berardi unit, and the information below reflects our ownership of the assets previously held by Aurizon as of the June 1, 2013 acquisition date.

General corporate activities not associated with operating units and their various exploration activities, as well as discontinued operations and idle properties, are presented as “other.”  Interest expense, interest income and income taxes are considered general corporate items, and are not allocated to our segments.

The following tables present information about reportable segments for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2014			2013			2014			2013
Net sales to unaffiliated customers:
Greens Creek	$	55,449		$	70,082		$	119,045		$	142,731
Lucky Friday		23,762			5,128			43,858			8,929
Casa Berardi		38,291			10,120			80,386			10,120
	$	117,502		$	85,330		$	243,289		$	161,780
Income (loss) from operations:
Greens Creek	$	8,804		$	9,802		$	19,850		$	36,991
Lucky Friday		6,398			(2,757	)		11,098			(6,604	)
Casa Berardi		996			(13,356	)		4,437			(13,356	)
Other		(11,166	)		(26,311	)		(22,442	)		(51,866	)
	$	5,032		$	(32,622	)	$	12,943		$	(34,835	)

The following table presents identifiable assets by reportable segment as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (in thousands):

	June 30, 2014		December 31, 2013
Identifiable assets:
Greens Creek	$	731,743	$	744,027
Lucky Friday		335,468		313,793
Casa Berardi		796,243		821,058
Other		391,673		353,241
	$	2,255,127	$	2,232,119