Hecla Acquires Interest in Dolly Varden Silver Corporation

Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)
announced today that a wholly owned subsidiary of Hecla has entered into
a subscription agreement to acquire 20,000,000 common shares of Dolly
Varden Silver Corporation. Subject to receipt of approval by the TSX
Venture Exchange, the common shares will be issued to the wholly owned
subsidiary of Hecla from treasury at a price of $0.16 per common share
for total gross proceeds to Dolly Varden of $3,200,000. Upon completion
of the transactions contemplated by the subscription agreement, the
20,000,000 common shares will represent and Hecla will exercise control
over 19.9% of the outstanding common shares of Dolly Varden. In
addition, Hecla has the right to appoint one representative to the Board
of Directors of Dolly Varden Silver Corporation and will be providing
technical assistance to the company.

Dolly Varden is a mineral exploration company engaged in the exploration
and development of silver projects in northwestern British Columbia
including the past-producing Dolly Varden and Torbit mines that combined
have produced over 20 million ounces of silver. In addition there have
been recently defined occurrences in prospective mineral horizons and
structures. Dolly Varden′s land package is in a geologic setting with
world-class projects such as the past-producing Eskay Creek Mine, which
is a similar deposit type to Hecla′s Greens Creek Mine.

'Hecla is pleased to be able to make a strategic investment in Dolly
Varden to participate in the re-emergence of a historic silver district
with outstanding exploration and development potential,? said Hecla's
President and Chief Executive Officer Phillips S. Baker, Jr. 'This is
one of many strategic investments in junior mining companies with strong
management and outstanding exploration land packages that Hecla is
contemplating as we seek to expand our exposure to under-explored
silver-gold mining districts in the Americas.?

The common shares will be acquired for investment purposes by Hecla.
Hecla does not have any present intention to acquire ownership of, or
control over, additional securities of Dolly Varden. It is the intention
of Hecla to evaluate its investment in Dolly Varden on a continuing
basis and such holdings may be increased or decreased in the future. In
completing this investment Hecla is relying on Subsection 2.3(1) of
Canadian National Instrument 45-106 ? Prospectus and Registration
Exemptions as Hecla is an accredited investor. For the purposes of
Canadian National Instrument 62-103, the address of Hecla is 6500 N.
Mineral Drive, Suite 200, Coeur d′Alene, Idaho, 83815, USA.

About Hecla Mining Company

Established in 1891, Hecla Mining Company is a leading low 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 anticipated
payments, litigation outcome, production, sales of assets, exploration
results and plans, prospects and opportunities including reserves,
resources, and mineralization, 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 and regulatory 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, or to obtain a copy of the early warning report
filed in connection with Hecla′s holdings in Dolly Varden, please
contact:

Hecla Mining Company

Corporate Communications Coordinator

Investor
and Public Relations

Jeanne DuPont

Direct Main: 1-800-HECLA91
(1-800-432-5291)

hmc-info@hecla-mining.com

www.hecla-mining.com