Hecla Mining has expanded the Keno Hill Silver Trend after new drilling at its Bermingham mine in Yukon confirmed additional high-grade silver mineralisation extending toward the historic Hector-Calumet deposit. The latest results strengthen the company’s long-term strategy to expand reserves across the Keno Hill Silver District while identifying further exploration opportunities between existing mining areas.
The exploration programme extended the mineralised trend by 50 metres to the southwest toward existing Bermingham reserves and by another 50 metres to the northeast in the direction of the former Hector-Calumet mine. The latest step-out drilling has increased the interpreted strike length of the Keno Hill Silver Trend to more than 244 metres, with mineralisation remaining open in both directions.
Located approximately 45 kilometres northeast of Mayo in central Yukon, the Keno Hill property covers 242 square kilometres and encompasses one of Canada’s best-known historic silver districts. More than 35 mines have operated across the district during more than a century of production.
Hecla acquired Keno Hill through its acquisition of Alexco Resource Corp. in 2022 and has since focused on restarting operations, underground development and expanding exploration across the district. Following the mine restart in 2023, silver production reached 2.8 million ounces in 2024 and increased to 3 million ounces in 2025. The company expects production of between 2.9 million and 3.2 million ounces during 2026 as underground development continues.
Step-out drilling expands exploration targets
The latest drilling campaign focused on the Footwall Vein within Bermingham Deep, where previous exploration identified a high-grade mineralised corridor beneath the active mine. The target extends toward Hector-Calumet, a historic producer of approximately 96 million ounces of silver that Hecla believes shares the same mineralising system as Bermingham.
At the northeastern end of the Keno Hill Silver Trend, drill hole K-26-0935C intersected 3.1 metres grading 62.7 ounces per ton silver, together with 3.6% lead and 3.7% zinc. The interval included a higher-grade section grading 114 ounces per ton silver over 1.6 metres and a narrower interval grading 349.2 ounces per ton silver.
At the southwestern end, hole K-26-0936C returned four metres grading 35.1 ounces per ton silver with 8.4% lead and 1.5% zinc. Within that interval, a higher-grade section returned 44.6 ounces per ton silver over 3.1 metres, while another narrow interval contained 247.3 ounces per ton silver.
“Our exploration teams delivered another quarter of tangible progress toward our district-scale growth targets,” said Kurt Allen, vice president of exploration at Hecla Mining.
Allen added that extending the Bermingham trend toward Hector-Calumet supports the company’s long-term strategy to increase reserves across its mining portfolio.
Exploration programme continues across Bermingham
Beyond the Footwall Vein, Hecla also tested Main Vein 2 within Bermingham Deep. Hole K-26-0936B returned 1.8 metres grading 21 ounces per ton silver, while another intersection returned 11.7 metres grading 7.9 ounces per ton silver, including a higher-grade interval containing lead and zinc mineralisation. Additional assays from nearby drilling remain pending.
Underground definition drilling within the Arctic Zone also produced encouraging results. One drill hole intersected 0.9 metres grading 138 ounces per ton silver, including a high-grade interval grading more than 390 ounces per ton silver. Another hole, located close to the current resource boundary, intersected 2.6 metres grading 24.3 ounces per ton silver, indicating potential to expand existing resources.
Hecla said drilling throughout the remainder of 2026 will continue along the Keno Hill Silver Trend, with further step-out drilling planned between Bermingham and Hector-Calumet, additional exploration within Bermingham Deep and ongoing underground definition drilling aimed at expanding and upgrading mineral resources around the active mine.