Hecla soars along with silver

Article Excerpt

HECLA MINING $5.33 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.hecla-mining.com; Shares o/s: 526.1 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The company’s shares continue to rise along with silver prices. At $22.56 an ounce U.S., silver has climbed 88% since mid-March. When gold prices soar, silver is increasingly perceived as a precious metal and less as an industrial commodity. Sometimes known as “poor man’s gold,” silver attracts a lot of interest as gold prices reach levels that seem too expensive for the average investor. Gold prices are up over 27% since mid-March and are within range of their record high of $1,888.70, reached in August 2011. Silver prices have also benefited from the reopening of factories across most industries in the U.S., China and elsewhere. Silver has widespread industrial applications in making solar panels, medical equipment and consumer electronics, among other goods. As a result, prices typically rise when…