Hecla snaps up Aurizon

Article Excerpt

HECLA MINING COMPANY $4.21 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (208-769-4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares outstanding: 285.2 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion) is now purchasing Canadian mining company Aurizon Mines Ltd. (Toronto symbol AZK) for $796 million. Aurizon shareholders can choose to receive $4.75 a share in cash or 0.9953 of a Hecla share. In January 2013, Aurizon rejected a takeover offer from Alamos Gold (Toronto symbol AGI), which held 14% of Aurizon’s stock. Alamos offered 0.2801 of its shares for each Aurizon share. However, Alamos’s shares have dropped since the offer, which is now worth $4.00 per Aurizon share, based on Alamos’s current price of $14.29. Hecla expects its current mines to produce 8 million to 9 million ounces of silver this year, while Aurizon forecasts 125,000 to 130,000 ounces of gold production at its Casa Berardi mine in Quebec. Aurizon is also developing other gold properties. Hecla Mining is still a hold. hold…