U.S. silver producer Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is setting its sights on new growth after posting dimmed results for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Owing to North American setbacks like a fire in Lucky Friday mine and forest fires in Quebec, the company suffered notable disruptions — silver production is down 17%, gold production dropped 5% and lead production slowed by as much as 36%.

However, CEO Phillips J. Baker is optimistic about the Keno Hill Silver District.

Hecla gained Keno Hill through a $74 million all-stock acquisition of Canada-based Alexco Resource.

See Also: Endeavour Challenges Overshadow Ambitious Plans For 2024

"It is a great project, but we believe it has the potential to be even greater. We don't know what the limit is going to be," Baker said in an interview for Kitco.

See below.

Yet, despite strong North American production, Baker acknowledges the necessity to expand into other regions.

"We have 20 projects in the company – half of which are gold and half of which are silver. To an extent, we can advance those, but we recognize for us to grow quicker, we need to be in either Mexico, Peru, Bolivia or Argentina," he said.

Furthermore, Baker highlighted the crucial role of silver in the energy transition, especially in solar panel production.

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Hecla operates four mines. They include Greens Creek (Alaska), Lucky Friday (Idaho), Casa Berardi (Quebec), and Keno Hill (Yukon).

The company is also involved in 10 exploration projects and aims to produce up to 20 million ounces of silver annually by 2025.

Now Read: Uranium Revival: Denison Mines Resumes Operations At McClean Lake As Prices Soar

Image: Shutterstock