Bunker Hill Advances Lead-Zinc Mine Restart, Targeting Commercial Production by End-2026

Published: Sep 02, 2026 21:58 (GMT+8)

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Bunker Hill Mining announced on September 1 that its Bunker Hill lead-zinc mine in Idaho, USA, produced its first lead and zinc concentrates in late June 2026. The operation is currently ramping up, with ongoing optimisation of underground mining and processing operations. The processing plant has a design capacity of 1,800 tonnes per day, with planned combined annual output of approximately 85,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and silver-bearing lead concentrate. The company plans to supplement working capital through standby financing and concentrate prepayment arrangements, targeting full commercial production by the end of 2026. SMM forecasts the mine’s 2026 output at approximately 25,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate and 10,000–15,000 tonnes of lead in concentrate, both on a contained-metal basis.

Meanwhile, recent underground drilling at the Cate-8 mineralised zone returned maximum sample grades of 41.1% lead and 7.41% zinc. The company is assessing the feasibility of incorporating the zone into its near-term mine plan. As production ramps up, the mine is expected to provide incremental lead and zinc supply to North America.

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