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HECLA Mining Company          

NEWS RELEASE


HECLA COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF EQUINOX
For Release:  March 11, 1994

                COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Hecla Mining Company (HL & HL-B:NYSE) 
                announced today that it had completed its acquisition of 
                Equinox Resources Ltd. (EQX:TSE), a gold exploration and 
                development company based in Vancouver, Canada.  Equinox 
                shareholders approved the transaction late last month.  The 
                Ontario Court of Justice approved the plan of arrangement on 
                Monday, March 7.

                Hecla will issue approximately 5.9 million shares of common 
                stock in exchange for all of Equinox's outstanding common 
                shares.  Each Equinox shareholder will receive three shares 
                of Hecla common stock for every 10 shares of Equinox common 
                stock held.  Holders of Equinox production shares will 
                receive Hecla production notes.  In addition, approximately 
                400,000 shares of Hecla common stock are issuable upon 
                exercise of outstanding Equinox warrants.

                "This acquisition, combined with production from our other 
                gold operations, provides Hecla with the opportunity to 
                become a 200,000 ounce-per-year gold producer," said Arthur 
                Brown, Hecla's chairman, president and chief executive 
                officer.  Hecla's principal reason for acquiring Equinox was 
                the opportunity to obtain the Rosebud gold project in Pershing 
                County, Nevada, and the American Girl gold mine in Imperial 
                County, California.

                "Equinox's primary asset, the 100 percent-owned Rosebud, is 
                one of the better underground projects Hecla has seen," Brown 
                said.  "Because of our expertise in underground mining, this 
                project is a good fit with our company."  The Rosebud deposit 
                contained 512,000 ounces of proven and probable gold reserves 
                as of December 31, 1993, and has significant exploration and 
                development potential.

                Hecla intends to develop the Rosebud gold project upon 
                satisfactory completion of feasibility study which is 
                currently expected to be finalized by late-1995.  
                Construction could begin shortly thereafter, with production 
                commencing as early as the fourth quarter of 1996.  The 
                feasibility study will assess the property's potential to 
                produce between 70,000 and 80,000 ounces of gold annually.

                Equinox's share of gold production at the American Girl mine 
                in 1993 was approximately 35,000 ounces.  Hecla's share of 
                the 1994 production from American Girl will be approximately 
                30,000 ounces.  The American Girl mine has sufficient ore 
                reserves to last until mid-1995, at which time mining is 
                expected to start at the adjacent Oro Cruz gold project.  
                Both are managed by MK Gold in a joint-venture arrangement.

                The Equinox acquisition also brings Hecla nearly 30 other 
                exploration projects, most of which are currently being 
                explored by joint-venture partners in the United States, 
                Canada and Bolivia.

                Hecla Mining Company has its headquarters in Coeur d'Alene, 
                Idaho.  During its 103-year history, Hecla has been a 
                leading U.S. producer of silver and lead, and more recently, 
                a significant supplier of gold and industrial minerals.


- -HL-

                Contact:  April Robertson, director of public relations, 
                208/769-4100