Item 1.01 - Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
On July 21, 2022 Hecla Mining Company (“we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”) entered into a Credit Agreement (“New Credit Agreement”) with the various financial institutions and other persons from time to time party thereto as lenders (the “Lenders”), Bank of Montreal and Bank of America, N.A. as letters of credit issuers, and Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the Lenders and as swingline lender, to replace our Prior Credit Agreement (as hereinafter defined). The New Credit Agreement is a $150 million senior secured revolving facility, with an option to be increased in an aggregate amount not to exceed $75 million. The revolving loans under the New Credit Agreement will have a maturity date of July 21, 2026. Proceeds of the revolving loans under the New Credit Agreement may be used to refinance the Prior Credit Agreement and for general corporate purposes. The interest rate on outstanding loans under the New Credit Agreement is, at the option of the Borrowers, one month, three months or six months Term SOFR (which is the one month, three months or six months Term SOFR Screen Rate published two U.S. government securities business days prior to the commencement of the applicable interest period plus (x) 0.10% for an interest period of one-month’s duration, (y) 0.15% for an interest period of three-month’s duration and (z) 0.25% for an interest period of six-month’s duration) plus the Applicable Margin or Base Rate (which is the highest of (i) the Bank of America prime rate, (ii) the Federal Funds rate plus .50% and (iii) Term SOFR plus 1.00%, subject to the interest rate floors set forth therein) plus the Applicable Margin. The “Applicable Margin” means (a) for the first fiscal quarter ending after the closing date, in the case of Term SOFR loans, 2.25% per annum, and, in the case of Base Rate loans, 1.25% per annum, and (b) thereafter, between 2.00% and 3.50% for Term SOFR loans or between 1.00% and 2.50% for Base Rate loans depending on our total leverage ratio. We are required to pay quarterly in arrears a commitment fee of between 0.45000% to 0.78750%, depending on our total leverage ratio, of the actual daily amount by which the Aggregate Revolving Commitments exceed the sum of the Outstanding Amount of Revolving Loan and the Outstanding Amount of L/C Obligations. We are also required to pay a participation fee for letters of credit issued under the New Credit Agreement in an amount between 2.00% and 3.50% based on our total leverage ratio, as well as a fronting fee to each issuing bank at an agreed upon rate per annum on the average daily dollar amount of our letter of credit exposure.
We and certain of our subsidiaries are the borrowers under the New Credit Agreement, while certain of our other subsidiaries are guarantors of the borrowers’ obligations under the New Credit Agreement. As further security, the credit facility is collateralized by a mortgage on the Greens Creek mine, the equity interests of our subsidiaries that own the Greens Creek mine or are part of the Greens Creek Joint Venture and our subsidiary Hecla Admiralty Company (the “Greens Creek Group”), and by all of the Green Creek Group’s rights and interests in the Greens Creek Joint Venture Agreement, and in all assets of the joint venture and of any member of the Greens Creek Group.
The New Credit Agreement contains representations and warranties made by us. The assertions embodied in those representations and warranties are qualified by information in confidential disclosure schedules that we have exchanged in connection with signing the New Credit Agreement. While we do not believe that they contain information securities laws require us to publicly disclose other than information that has already been so disclosed, the disclosure schedules do contain information that modifies, qualifies and creates exceptions to the representations and warranties set forth in the New Credit Agreement. Accordingly, you should not rely on the representations and warranties as characterizations of the actual state of facts, since they are modified in important part by the underlying disclosure schedules. The New Credit Agreement has been incorporated by reference herein to provide you with information regarding
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