Manager, New Exploration Opportunities
Job Title: Manager, New Exploration Opportunities
Department: Corporate Exploration
Reports To: Director, Generative Exploration
Location: Reno, NV preferred with travel required
Position Summary
The Manager, New Exploration Opportunities leads in identifying and evaluating new silver and gold exploration opportunities through systematic research, field investigations, and strategic industry networking. The role focuses on discovering underexplored, high-potential properties in favorable jurisdictions, negotiating and securing land positions with the ultimate objective of discovering Tier 1 silver and gold assets aligned with Hecla's corporate growth strategy. The mandate is global with a regional emphasis on North America. The work runs as a continuous cycle: tracking the companies and properties that could matter, evaluating the best of them in detail, presenting the case internally and securing the mandate to act, and then negotiating the agreement that brings the ground into Hecla’s portfolio.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
This list is not all-inclusive and may be revised as needed; additional duties may be assigned.
- Promote and maintain a strong safety-first culture across all exploration activities including a strong commitment to following all applicable company, state, and federal safety guidelines.
- Ensure alignment of exploration goals with Hecla’s overall business objectives.
Pipeline & Opportunity Tracking
- Build and maintain the relationships that generate deal flow — property owners, prospect generators, junior companies, private vendors, and industry contacts — with the goal of seeing opportunities before they reach the open market
- Track competitor activity, land positions, and precious metals M&A to anticipate where opportunities will emerge, and represent Hecla at industry conferences, core shacks, and technical events where deals originate
- Own and maintain a live, ranked pipeline of the companies, projects, and land positions that matter to Hecla worldwide — who holds what, what stage it is at, what it would take to secure it, and when it is likely to become available
- Monitor the events that create openings: junior financing pressure, expiring options and earn-in deadlines, drill results, corporate restructurings, royalty and streaming activity, and shifts in peer company strategy
- Screen inbound submittals and self-generated opportunities against defined technical and commercial criteria, maintaining a documented record of what was reviewed, what was passed on, and the reasoning — so decisions can be revisited when circumstances change
External Evaluation
- Lead the technical evaluation of third-party projects and companies — data room and historical data review, verification of drilling, sampling and assay practice, testing the deposit model against the evidence, and independent judgement on resource quality and remaining exploration upside
- Conduct property site visits and field verification of external opportunities, including examination of core, outcrop, and workings, to confirm what the vendor’s data claims
- Build first-pass economic and valuation models to screen opportunities, test deal terms, and support Hecla’s negotiating position
- Assess the non-geological factors that decide whether a deal is worth doing — title and claim standing, permitting pathway, jurisdictional risk, community and Indigenous context, metallurgy, water, and infrastructure — and state clearly which are deal-breakers
- Prepare comprehensive evaluation reports with actionable recommendations for acquisition of properties and/or companies
Internal Presentation & Approval to Transact
- Build the investment case and present it internally — the geological thesis, the value case, the risks, the proposed structure, and the recommendation — to the Director of Generative Exploration and the executive leadership team
- Secure the mandate to transact: an agreed valuation range, deal structure, negotiating parameters, and walk-away conditions, together with the capital approval required to proceed
- Keep leadership current on pipeline status, live negotiations, and competitive threats, so Hecla can move decisively when an opportunity comes available
Negotiation & Transaction Execution
- Lead negotiation and execution of commercial agreements — confidentiality agreements, earn-ins, joint ventures, options, and purchases — in collaboration with the Legal team
- Own the counterparty relationship through the life of a deal: set the approach, lead the discussions, and manage the sequence from first contact and confidentiality agreement through term sheet to definitive agreement
- Structure transactions to protect Hecla’s position and preserve optionality — staged payments, work commitments, earn-in milestones, back-in rights, area-of-interest provisions, and defined exit points
- Coordinate Legal, Land, Finance, and Corporate Development through diligence and closing, then hand acquired ground to the exploration team with commitments, obligations, and reporting requirements clearly documented
Qualifications and Experience
- 20+ years of progressive experience in exploration, evaluations, and/or business development with a strong track record of opportunity recognition and successful negotiations
- Bachelor’s degree in Geology or a related geoscience required; Master’s or other advanced degree preferred
- Broad experience across geologic domains and deposit types
- Proven track record identifying underexplored Tier 1 silver/gold opportunities, securing land positions, and designing effective exploration programs
- Direct, hands-on experience negotiating and closing mineral property transactions — options, earn-ins, joint ventures, and purchases — including leading the counterparty relationship rather than supporting someone who does
- Demonstrated record of carrying opportunities through internal approval: building the investment case, presenting to executive decision-makers, and obtaining a mandate to negotiate and transact
- Experience maintaining a systematic opportunity pipeline, including working knowledge of who holds ground in the districts that matter and how those positions came to be
- Demonstrated ability to build and interpret first-pass economic models — NPV, capital and operating cost estimates, and sensitivity analysis — to screen opportunities and inform deal terms
- Proficiency in ArcGIS, Leapfrog, ioGAS, and Microsoft Office
- Strong analytical and data interpretation skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication abilities and experience preparing executive-level reports and presentations
- Self-directed, collaborative, and effective at building relationships with government agencies, Indigenous communities, industry partners, and multidisciplinary teams
- Creative problem-solver with strong geological intuition and cultural sensitivity; able to work autonomously and lead others
- Willingness and ability to travel nationally and internationally, estimated at 30% of working time
- Must have a valid driver’s license with a clean driving record
- Must successfully pass background screening, pre-employment physical, and drug screening
Physical and Work Environment Requirements
- Work is performed in office and field settings.
- Work may involve walking on uneven terrain, standing for long periods, exposure to weather, and lifting up to 50 pounds over extended periods.
- Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is required in all active exploration and mining areas.
- Noise levels are generally quiet in the office; in the field and warehouse, appropriate hearing protection may be required.
- Work environments may involve exposure to dust, and use of a respirator may be required.
- Reasonable accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities to perform essential work functions.
Why Hecla
Hecla has been mining silver for more than a century, and its continued growth depends on finding and securing the next generation of assets. This role sits at the front of that effort, with a global mandate and the means to act on what it finds: a funded program, direct access to the executives who approve transactions, and experienced legal and commercial teams to support execution. You will take an opportunity from first review through to signed agreement.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Hecla Mining Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace free from discrimination and harassment.