A class action has been filed in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho on behalf of purchasers of Hecla Mining Company (“Hecla”) (NYSE: HL) common stock during the period between October 26, 2010 and January 11, 2012 (the “Class Period”).
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business and financial results. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose operational problems at Hecla’s Lucky Friday silver mine. As a result of defendants’ false statements, Hecla’s stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $11.34 per share on December 29, 2010.
Due to a series of accidents at the Lucky Friday mine during 2011, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) engaged in a close inspection of the mine. In early December, MSHA issued an accident report accusing Hecla of safety failures that led to the death of a miner in April 2011. Thereafter, on January 5, 2012, MSHA issued a closure order for the Lucky Friday mine for the removal of built-up material in the shaft that had been leaking from a pipe into the shaft for a number of years. On January 11, 2012, Hecla announced that the Lucky Friday mine would be closed for up to a year based upon MSHA’s order. As a result of the closure, Hecla reduced its estimated silver production for 2012 from more than 9 million ounces to around 7 million ounces. On this news, Hecla stock dropped $1.23 per share, to close at $4.61 per share on January 11, 2012, a one-day decline of 21%.
According to the complaint, during the Class period, defendants knew but concealed from the investing public the following adverse facts: (a) the Company was not in compliance with safety regulations at its Lucky Friday mine; (b) the Company had allowed sand and concrete material to improperly build up in the mine shaft over a period of years, creating a safety hazard; (c) following the December closure, the Company would be unable to reestablish mining operations at the Lucky Friday mine by February 2012, as the Company had previously represented; (d) the Company improperly accounted for its contingent liabilities in violation of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; and (e) based on the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company’s operations and its expected silver production.
If you are a current shareholder and/or purchased your shares prior to Oct. 26, 2010 or during the class period of October 26, 2010 and January 11, 2012 and would like to discuss your options of exercising your rights as a shareholder, please contact us.
Please submit the following information so we can determine if you qualify for the suit. If you don't know all the specific details, partial information is also acceptable.