Hecla Receives Court Approval on the Coeur ?d′Alene Basin Environmental Settlement

Hecla Mining Company ('Hecla?)(NYSE:HL)
is pleased to report that the U.S. District Court for the District of
Idaho has approved and entered Hecla′s Consent Decree, which resolves
all claims of the United States, the Coeur ?d′Alene Tribe, and the State
of Idaho against Hecla Limited for historic environmental liability in
the Coeur d′Alene Basin Superfund Site.

'We are very pleased with the Court′s approval of the settlement, and
support by all the parties in resolving this protracted litigation,?
said Hecla′s President and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips S. Baker,
Jr. 'As one of the largest private employers in North Idaho, we look
forward to working in concert with our various stakeholders for a
prosperous Silver Valley. With the litigation behind us, we can now
focus on a new chapter and the opportunities ahead.?

Under the terms of the Consent Decree previously disclosed, Hecla will
pay a total of $263.4 million, plus certain interest payments, over a
period of three years, to the United States, the State of Idaho, and the
Coeur d′Alene Tribe. The initial payment of $167 million is payable by
October 8, 2011. The second and third payments of $25 million and $15
million will be payable one and two years later, respectively. In
addition, proceeds from the exercise of any outstanding Series 1 and
Series 3 warrants (which have an exercise price between $2.45 and $2.50
per share) with an aggregate exercise price of $56 ?million, will be paid
as quarterly payments, with the remaining balance, if any, due in
August ?2014. The payments are before any income tax benefits.

Hecla has a strong balance sheet with $377 million in cash and cash
equivalents as of June 30, 2011 and no debt, low cash costs, and
excellent silver margins. During the first half of 2011 alone, we
generated $127 million of operating cash flow. The Company has
sufficient cash on hand to fulfill our settlement obligations, meet all
capital, pre-development, and exploration requirements for 2011; and
adequate funding to pursue other value generating initiatives for our
shareholders.

For more information on the terms of settlement contained in the Consent
Decree, please see our 2011 SEC filings at www.sec.gov.

Visit Hecla′s new website at www.hecla-mining.com
which includes more in-depth information about the company, our people,
our properties, interesting historical and silver facts, social
responsibility initiatives and accomplishments, and a detailed investor
section.

ABOUT HECLA

Established in 1891, Hecla Mining Company is the largest and lowest cash
cost silver producer in the U.S. The company has two operating mines and
exploration properties in four world-class silver mining districts in
the U.S. and Mexico.

Cautionary Statements

Statements made which are not historical facts, such as strategies,
plans, anticipated payments, litigation outcome (including settlement
negotiations), production, sales of assets, exploration results and
plans, costs, and prices or sales performance are 'forward-looking
statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'may,? 'will,? 'should,? 'expects,?
'intends,? 'projects,? 'believes,? 'estimates,? 'targets,? 'anticipates?
and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected, anticipated, expected or implied. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, metals price volatility,
volatility of metals production and costs, environmental and litigation
risks, operating risks, project development risks, political risks,
labor issues, ability to raise financing and exploration risks and
results. Refer to the company's Form 10-K and 10-Q reports for a more
detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results.
The company undertakes no obligation and has no intention of updating
forward-looking statements other than as may be required by law.

For further information, please contact:

Hecla Mining Company

Vice President ? Investor Relations

M?lanie
Hennessey, 604-694-7729

Direct Main: 800-HECLA91 (800-432-5291)

hmc-info@hecla-mining.com

www.hecla-mining.com