About Robert Krcmarov
In January 2025, Rob Krcmarov, the 11th CEO in Hecla Mining's 133-year history, outlined his strategic priorities. He stated that the company's direction will focus on maximizing the value of its portfolio, including a "measured pathway to optimizing production and profitability" at the Kino Hill mine in the Yukon. Krcmarov said the company will focus on generating cash flow rather than solely maximizing production, and plans to invest in critical infrastructure and foster relationships with the First Nations of Nacho Nyak Dun to turn Kino Hill around, similar to the turnaround at the Lucky Friday mine. He described Hecla's legacy as a leader in silver mining with a culture of innovation, citing the underhand closed bench mining method developed at Lucky Friday as an example that improved safety and boosted production.
Krcmarov expressed a bullish outlook on silver, noting that it serves as both a store of monetary value and an industrial metal with high conductivity. He observed that silver supply has been flat at around one billion ounces over the last decade, while demand is set to increase by about 4.5% in 2025, creating a deficit. He added that the Silver Institute predicts the deficit will continue for the foreseeable future. In a 2022 interview, Krcmarov discussed his management approach at Barrick Gold, where he said he would present the value proposition to board members in accessible terms and emphasized the importance of making hard decisions proactively, such as closing an entire region to fund better opportunities.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Robert Krcmarov's recent appearances.
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Transcript (8 segments)
I
Interviewer0:09
Rob, welcome to Floor Talk. It's great to have you on the show. Thank you very much. So Rob, you are the 11th CEO in Hecla's 133-year history, and you're actually two weeks in. You are ringing the closing bell today. Tell me, what appealed to you to take over the CEO position?
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Robert Krcmarov0:27
Well, firstly, this is a real honor. What was truly appealing was Hecla's legacy of being a leader in the silver mining space, a really incredible portfolio of assets, and a deep-rooted culture of innovation. For example, the underhand closed bench mining method, which was developed at Lucky Friday, is really testament to that spirit of innovation. That not only improved safety, which is a core value at our company, but it really significantly boosted production. The other thing I would say is the commitment to continuous improvement that extends from community to ESG in general, to environmental stewardship. These are things that I deeply care about. Above all, it's really the talented and dedicated people at Hecla that are driving forward the company's success.
I
Interviewer1:16
Now, what strategic direction would Hecla take under your leadership, and what will be some of your key priorities for Hecla?
R
Robert Krcmarov1:23
As the largest silver producer in Canada and the United States, Hecla really boasts a very high-grade silver portfolio with long reserve mine lives, underpinned by our flagship mines at Lucky Friday and Greens Creek. Our strategic direction is really going to focus on maximizing the value of our extensive portfolio. That includes finding a measured pathway to optimizing production and profitability at our Keno Hill mine in the Yukon. There we need to make some investments in critical infrastructure, foster strong relationships with the First Nations of Nacho Nyak Dun, and really set Keno Hill up to be a very successful operation, turning it around like we did at Lucky Friday in the recent past to make it another cornerstone asset. Of course, we're going to focus more on generating cash flow as opposed to focusing solely on production maximization.
I
Interviewer2:18
So mining is up 29% this year, it's reached its all-time high since 2012. What are your thoughts about silver and the future of silver demand?
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Robert Krcmarov2:28
I find silver really fascinating because it's not only a store of monetary value like gold is, it also has industrial use. It has the highest conductivity and the lowest resistivity. If you look at the supply side, production has been fairly flat over the last decade, around about a billion ounces. On the demand side, however, this is where it gets interesting. Demand this year is set to increase by about 4.5%, so an extra 200 million ounce deficit, which is mirroring what happened last year. In fact, for the last four consecutive quarters, there has been a deficit. The Silver Institute is predicting that this deficit is going to continue for the foreseeable future. Consequently, we are quite bullish on the outlook for silver.
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Interviewer3:12
All right, Rob, congratulations on becoming CEO at Hecla Mining, and thank you for joining me on Floor Talk today.
R
Robert Krcmarov3:19
Thank you so much, appreciate it.
