Phillips S. Baker Jr., longtime CEO at Coeur d’Alene-based Hecla Mining Co., has retired, and Catherine J. “Cassie” Boggs, the company’s current board chair, has been named interim CEO effective immediately, according to an announcement from the company.

A company spokesperson couldn’t be reached immediately for further comment.

Baker, who had been with Hecla for 23 years, led the company through challenging times in recent years, including a nearly three-year labor strike and a mineshaft fire that temporarily shut down operations last year at the Lucky Friday silver mine, near Kellogg Idaho.

The company also recently acquired a Canadian high-grade silver mine, which Baker said at the time will eventually make Hecla the largest silver producer in North America.

In a press release, Boggs says the company's board will begin a search for a new CEO immediately.

“Hecla’s day-to-day mining operations will carry on unabated,” Boggs says in a press release.

Meantime, Boggs will be assisted in managing the company by a committee comprised of Hecla executives Russell Lawlar, senior vice president and chief financial officer; Carlos Aguilar, vice president of operations; and Mike Clary, senior vice president and chief administrative officer, the release says.

Boggs will continue to serve as board chair, and Hecla’s board also has named Charles B. Stanley to serve as lead independent director effective while Boggs serves as interim president and CEO.

Boggs has over 40 years of experience in domestic and international mining industries, most recently serving as general counsel at Resource Capital Funds from 2011 until her retirement in 2019.

Hecla recently reported a first-quarter loss of $5.9 million, or 1 cent per share, an improvement from a loss of $42.9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. At the time, Baker said, “We are well-positioned to achieve our production and cost guidance for 2024" due to current strong production and growing demand for silver.