HECLA MINING COMPANY

EX-4.1 2 dex41.htm FORM OF SERIES 4 WARRANT Form of Series 4 Warrant

EXHIBIT 4.1

NEITHER THIS SECURITY NOR THE SECURITIES FOR WHICH THIS SECURITY IS EXERCISABLE HAVE BEEN REGISTERED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR THE SECURITIES COMMISSION OF ANY STATE IN RELIANCE UPON AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “SECURITIES ACT”), AND, ACCORDINGLY, MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD EXCEPT PURSUANT TO AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OR PURSUANT TO AN AVAILABLE EXEMPTION FROM, OR IN A TRANSACTION NOT SUBJECT TO, THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS AS EVIDENCED BY A LEGAL OPINION OF COUNSEL TO THE TRANSFEROR TO SUCH EFFECT, THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH SHALL BE REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMPANY. THIS SECURITY AND THE SECURITIES ISSUABLE UPON EXERCISE OF THIS SECURITY MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT OR OTHER LOAN SECURED BY SUCH SECURITIES.

SERIES 4 COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT

HECLA MINING COMPANY

 

Warrant Shares:                        Issue Date: June     , 2009

THIS SERIES 4 COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANT (the “Warrant”) certifies that, for value received,                      (the “Holder”) is entitled, upon the terms and subject to the limitations on exercise and the conditions hereinafter set forth, at any time on or after December 1, 2009 (the “Initial Exercise Date”) and on or prior to the close of business on the 181st day following the Initial Exercise Date (the “Termination Date”) but not thereafter, to subscribe for and purchase from Hecla Mining Company, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), up to              shares (the “Warrant Shares”) of Common Stock; provided, however, in the event that there is a Public Information Failure after December 1, 2009, for each Trading Day that such failure occurs the Termination Date shall be extended by one additional Trading Day. The purchase price of one share of Common Stock under this Warrant shall be equal to the Exercise Price, as defined in Section 2(b).

Section 1. Definitions. Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in that certain Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”), dated June 2, 2009, among the Company and the purchasers signatory thereto.

Section 2. Exercise.

a) Exercise of Warrant. Exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant may be made, in whole or in part, but not as to fractional shares of Common Stock, at any time or times on or after the Initial Exercise Date and on or before the

 

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Termination Date by delivery to the principal executive office of the Company (or such other office or agency of the Company as it may designate by notice in writing to the registered Holder at the address of the Holder appearing on the books of the Company) of a duly executed facsimile copy of the Notice of Exercise Form annexed hereto; and, within 3 Trading Days of the date said Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company, the Company shall have received payment of the aggregate Exercise Price of the shares thereby purchased by wire transfer or cashier’s check drawn on a United States bank or, if available, pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure specified in Section 2(c) below. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Holder shall not be required to physically surrender this Warrant to the Company until the Holder has purchased all of the Warrant Shares available hereunder and the Warrant has been exercised in full, in which case, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company for cancellation within 3 Trading Days of the date the final Notice of Exercise is delivered to the Company. Partial exercises of this Warrant resulting in purchases of a portion of the total number of Warrant Shares available hereunder shall have the effect of lowering the outstanding number of Warrant Shares purchasable hereunder in an amount equal to the applicable number of Warrant Shares purchased. The Holder and the Company shall maintain records showing the number of Warrant Shares purchased and the date of such purchases. The Company shall deliver any objection to any Notice of Exercise Form within 2 Business Day of receipt of such notice. The Holder and any assignee, by acceptance of this Warrant, acknowledge and agree that, by reason of the provisions of this paragraph, following the purchase of a portion of the Warrant Shares hereunder, the number of Warrant Shares available for purchase hereunder at any given time may be less than the amount stated on the face hereof.

b) Exercise Price. The exercise price per share of the Common Stock under this Warrant shall be $3.68, subject to adjustment hereunder (the “Exercise Price”). Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in no event shall the Exercise Price be adjusted to below the per share par value of the Company’s Common Stock.

c) Cashless Exercise. If at any time after the six (6) month anniversary of the date this Warrant was issued to the Holder, there is no effective Registration Statement registering, or no current prospectus available for, the resale of the Warrant Shares by the Holder, then this Warrant may also be exercised, in whole or in part, at such time by means of a “cashless exercise” in which the Holder shall be entitled to receive a certificate for the number of Warrant Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing [(A-B) (X)] by (A), where:

 

(A) =   the VWAP on the Trading Day immediately preceding the date on which Holder elects to exercise this Warrant by means of a “cashless exercise,” as set forth in the applicable Notice of Exercise;
(B) =   the Exercise Price of this Warrant, as adjusted hereunder; and
(X) =   the number of Warrant Shares that would be issuable upon exercise of this Warrant in accordance with the terms of this Warrant if such exercise were by means of a cash exercise rather than a cashless exercise.

 

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d) Holder’s Restrictions. A Holder shall not have the right to exercise any portion of this Warrant, pursuant to Section 2 or otherwise, to the extent that after giving effect to such issuance after exercise as set forth on the applicable Notice of Exercise, the Holder (together with the Holder’s Affiliates, and any other person or entity acting as a group together with the Holder or any of the Holder’s Affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of the Beneficial Ownership Limitation (as defined below). For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by the Holder and its Affiliates shall include the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant with respect to which such determination is being made, but shall exclude the number of shares of Common Stock which would be issuable upon (A) exercise of the remaining, nonexercised portion of this Warrant beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates and (B) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or nonconverted portion of any other securities of the Company (including, without limitation, any other Common Stock Equivalents) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein beneficially owned by the Holder or any of its Affiliates. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this Section 2(d), beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, it being acknowledged by the Holder that the Company is not representing to the Holder that such calculation is in compliance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the Holder is solely responsible for any schedules required to be filed in accordance therewith. To the extent that the limitation contained in this Section 2(d) applies, the determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable shall be in the sole discretion of the Holder, and the submission of a Notice of Exercise shall be deemed to be the Holder’s determination of whether this Warrant is exercisable (in relation to other securities owned by the Holder together with any Affiliates) and of which portion of this Warrant is exercisable, in each case subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation, and the Company shall have no obligation to verify or confirm the accuracy of such determination. In addition, a determination as to any group status as contemplated above shall be determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. For purposes of this Section 2(d), in determining the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock, a Holder may rely on the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock as reflected in (A) the Company’s most recent periodic report on Form 10-K or Form 10-Q, as applicable, (B) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (C) any other notice by the Company or the Transfer Agent setting forth the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. Upon the written or oral request of a Holder, the Company shall within two Trading Days confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding. In any case, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of securities of the Company, including this Warrant, by the Holder or its Affiliates since the date as of which such number of outstanding shares of Common Stock was reported. The “Beneficial Ownership Limitation” shall be 4.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of this Warrant. The Holder, upon not less than

 

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61 days’ prior notice to the Company, may increase or decrease the Beneficial Ownership Limitation provisions of this Section 2(d), provided that the Beneficial Ownership Limitation in no event exceeds 9.99% of the number of shares of the Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of this Warrant held by the Holder and the provisions of this Section 2(d) shall continue to apply. Any such increase will not be effective until the 61st day after such notice is delivered to the Company. The provisions of this paragraph shall be construed and implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with the terms of this Section 2(d) to correct this paragraph (or any portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the intended Beneficial Ownership Limitation herein contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable to properly give effect to such limitation. The limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor holder of this Warrant. The holders of Common Stock shall be third party beneficiaries of this paragraph and the Company may not waive this paragraph without the consent of holders of a majority of its Common Stock.

e) Mechanics of Exercise.

i. Delivery of Certificates Upon Exercise. Certificates for shares purchased hereunder shall be transmitted by the Transfer Agent to the Holder by crediting the account of the Holder’s prime broker with the Depository Trust Company through its Deposit Withdrawal Agent Commission (“DWAC”) system if the Company is then a participant in such system and either (A) there is an effective Registration Statement permitting the issuance of the Warrant Shares to or resale of the Warrant Shares by the Holder or (B) the shares are eligible for resale by the Holder without volume or manner-of-sale limitations pursuant to Rule 144, and otherwise by physical delivery to the address specified by the Holder in the Notice of Exercise within 3 Trading Days from the delivery to the Company of the Notice of Exercise Form, surrender of this Warrant (if required), and payment of the aggregate Exercise Price as set forth above (including by cashless exercise, if permitted)(such date, the “Warrant Share Delivery Date”). This Warrant shall be deemed to have been exercised on the date the Exercise Price is received by the Company. The Warrant Shares shall be deemed to have been issued, and Holder or any other person so designated to be named therein shall be deemed to have become a holder of record of such shares for all purposes, as of the date the Warrant has been exercised by payment to the Company of the Exercise Price (or by cashless exercise, if permitted) and all taxes required to be paid by the Holder, if any, pursuant to Section 2(e)(vi) prior to the issuance of such shares, have been paid.

ii. Delivery of New Warrants Upon Exercise. If this Warrant shall have been exercised in part and shall not have expired, the Company shall, at the request of the Holder and upon surrender of this Warrant certificate, at the time of delivery of the certificate or certificates representing Warrant Shares, deliver to Holder a new Warrant evidencing

 

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the rights of Holder to purchase the unpurchased Warrant Shares called for by this Warrant, which new Warrant shall in all other respects be identical with this Warrant.

iii. Rescission Rights. If the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder a certificate or the certificates representing the Warrant Shares pursuant to Section 2(e)(i) by the Warrant Share Delivery Date, then the Holder will have the right to rescind such exercise.

iv. Compensation for Buy-In on Failure to Timely Deliver Certificates Upon Exercise. In addition to any other rights available to the Holder, if the Company fails to cause the Transfer Agent to transmit to the Holder a certificate or the certificates representing the Warrant Shares pursuant to a proper exercise on or before the second Trading Day following the Warrant Share Delivery Date, and if after such date the Holder is required by its broker to purchase (in an open market transaction or otherwise) or the Holder’s brokerage firm otherwise purchases, shares of Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Holder of the Warrant Shares which the Holder anticipated receiving upon such exercise (a “Buy-In”), then the Company shall (A) pay in cash to the Holder the amount by which (x) the Holder’s total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for the shares of Common Stock so purchased exceeds (y) the amount obtained by multiplying (1) the number of Warrant Shares that the Company was required to deliver to the Holder in connection with the exercise at issue times (2) the price per share at which the sell order giving rise to such purchase obligation was executed, and (B) at the option of the Holder, either reinstate the portion of the Warrant and equivalent number of Warrant Shares for which such exercise was not honored or deliver to the Holder the number of shares of Common Stock that would have been issued had the Company timely complied with its exercise and delivery obligations hereunder against payment of the Exercise Price. For example, if the Holder purchases Common Stock having a total purchase price of $11,000 to cover a Buy-In with respect to an attempted exercise of shares of Common Stock with an aggregate sale price giving rise to such purchase obligation of $10,000, under clause (1) of the immediately preceding sentence the Company shall be required to pay the Holder $1,000. The Holder shall provide the Company written notice indicating the amounts payable to the Holder in respect of the Buy-In and evidence of the amount of such loss. Nothing herein shall limit a Holder’s right to pursue any other remedies available to it hereunder, at law or in equity including, without limitation, a decree of specific performance and/or injunctive relief with respect to the Company’s failure to timely deliver certificates representing shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Warrant as required pursuant to the terms hereof.

v. No Fractional Shares or Scrip. No fractional shares or scrip representing fractional shares shall be issued upon the exercise of this

 

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Warrant. As to any fraction of a share which Holder would otherwise be entitled to purchase upon such exercise, the Company shall, at its election, either pay a cash adjustment in respect of such final fraction in an amount equal to such fraction multiplied by the Exercise Price or round up to the next whole share.

vi. Charges, Taxes and Expenses. Issuance of certificates for Warrant Shares shall be made without charge to the Holder for any issue or transfer tax or other incidental expense in respect of the issuance of such certificate, all of which taxes and expenses shall be paid by the Company, and such certificates shall be issued in the name of the Holder or in such name or names as may be directed by the Holder; provided, however, that in the event certificates for Warrant Shares are to be issued in a name other than the name of the Holder, this Warrant when surrendered for exercise shall be accompanied by the Assignment Form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder and the Company may require, as a condition thereto, the payment of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any transfer tax incidental thereto.

vii. Closing of Books. The Company will not close its stockholder books or records in any manner which prevents the timely exercise of this Warrant, pursuant to the terms hereof.

Section 3. Certain Adjustments.

a) Stock Dividends and Splits. If the Company, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding: (i) pays a stock dividend or otherwise makes a distribution or distributions on shares of its Common Stock or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in shares of Common Stock (which, for avoidance of doubt, shall not include any shares of Common Stock issued by the Company upon exercise of this Warrant or by the terms of any preferred stock which is outstanding on the issuance date hereof), (ii) subdivides outstanding shares of Common Stock into a larger number of shares, (iii) combines (including by way of reverse stock split) outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues by reclassification of shares of the Common Stock any shares of capital stock of the Company, then in each case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which the numerator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) outstanding immediately before such event and of which the denominator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant shall be proportionately adjusted such that the aggregate Exercise Price of this Warrant shall remain unchanged. Any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 3(a) shall become effective immediately after the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution and shall become effective immediately after the effective date in the case of a subdivision, combination or re-classification.

b) [RESERVED].

 

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c) [RESERVED].

d) Fundamental Transaction. If, at any time while this Warrant is outstanding, (i) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another Person, (ii) the Company, directly or indirectly, effects any sale, lease, license, assignment, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of its assets in one or a series of related transactions, (iii) any, direct or indirect, purchase offer, tender offer or exchange offer (whether by the Company or another Person) is completed pursuant to which holders of Common Stock are permitted to sell, tender or exchange their shares for other securities, cash or property, (iv) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions effects any reclassification, reorganization or recapitalization of the Common Stock or any compulsory share exchange pursuant to which the Common Stock is effectively converted into or exchanged for other securities, cash or property, (v) the Company, directly or indirectly, in one or more related transactions consummates a stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination (including, without limitation, a reorganization, recapitalization, spin-off or scheme of arrangement) with another Person whereby such other Person acquires more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (not including any shares of Common Stock held by the other Person or other Persons making or party to, or associated or affiliated with the other Persons making or party to, such stock or share purchase agreement or other business combination) (each a “Fundamental Transaction”), then, upon any subsequent exercise of this Warrant, the Holder shall have the right to receive, for each Warrant Share that would have been issuable upon such exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of such Fundamental Transaction (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(d) on the exercise of this Warrant), the number of shares of Common Stock of the successor or acquiring corporation or of the Company, if it is the surviving corporation, and any additional consideration (the “Alternate Consideration”) receivable as a result of such Fundamental Transaction by a holder of the number of shares of Common Stock for which this Warrant is exercisable immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction (without regard to any limitation in Section 2(d) on the exercise of this Warrant). For purposes of any such exercise, the determination of the Exercise Price shall be appropriately adjusted to apply to such Alternate Consideration based on the amount of Alternate Consideration issuable in respect of one share of Common Stock in such Fundamental Transaction, and the Company shall apportion the Exercise Price among the Alternate Consideration in a reasonable manner reflecting the relative value of any different components of the Alternate Consideration. If holders of Common Stock are given any choice as to the securities, cash or property to be received in a Fundamental Transaction, then the Holder shall be given the same choice as to the Alternate Consideration it receives upon any exercise of this Warrant following such Fundamental Transaction.

e) Calculations. All calculations under this Section 3 shall be made to the nearest cent or the nearest  1/100th of a share, as the case may be. For purposes of this Section 3, the number of shares of Common Stock deemed to be issued and outstanding as of a given date shall be the sum of the number of shares of Common Stock (excluding treasury shares, if any) issued and outstanding. No adjustment in the number of Warrant Shares purchasable hereunder shall be required unless such adjustment would require an

 

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increase or decrease of at least 1% in the number of Warrant Shares purchasable upon the exercise of this Warrant, provided, that any adjustments not required by this Section 3(e) shall be carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment.

f) Notice to Holder.

i. Adjustment to Exercise Price. Whenever the Exercise Price is adjusted pursuant to any provision of this Section 3, the Company shall promptly mail to the Holder a notice setting forth the Exercise Price after such adjustment and setting forth a brief statement of the facts requiring such adjustment.

ii. Notice to Allow Exercise by Holder. If (A) the Company shall declare a dividend (or any other distribution in whatever form) on the Common Stock, (B) the Company shall declare a special nonrecurring cash dividend on or a redemption of the Common Stock, (C) the Company shall authorize the granting to all holders of the Common Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase any shares of capital stock of any class or of any rights, (D) the approval of any stockholders of the Company shall be required in connection with any reclassification of the Common Stock, any consolidation or merger to which the Company is a party, any sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, of any compulsory share exchange whereby the Common Stock is converted into other securities, cash or property, or (E) the Company shall authorize the voluntary or involuntary dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the affairs of the Company, then, in each case, the Company shall cause to be mailed to the Holder at its last address as it shall appear upon the Warrant Register of the Company, at least 20 calendar days prior to the applicable record or effective date hereinafter specified, or such shorter period of time as the Company reasonably determines is necessary so as not to negatively impact in a material way the transaction that is the subject of the notice, a notice stating (x) the date on which a record is to be taken for the purpose of such dividend, distribution, redemption, rights or warrants, or if a record is not to be taken, the date as of which the holders of the Common Stock of record to be entitled to such dividend, distributions, redemption, rights or warrants are to be determined or (y) the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange is expected to become effective or close, and the date as of which it is expected that holders of the Common Stock of record shall be entitled to exchange their shares of the Common Stock for securities, cash or other property deliverable upon such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or share exchange; provided that the failure to mail such notice or any defect therein or in the mailing thereof shall not affect the validity of the corporate action required to be specified in such notice. To the extent that any notice provided hereunder constitutes, or contains, material, non-public information regarding the Company or any of its subsidiaries, the Company shall simultaneously file

 

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such notice with the Commission pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Holder is entitled to exercise this Warrant during the period commencing on the date of such notice to the effective date of the event triggering such notice.

g) Optional Exercise.

i. If, at any time after the fifteenth (15th) Trading Day following the date one or more Registration Statements (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement), which have been declared effective by the Commission (such date, the “Effective Date”), registers all Registrable Securities (as defined in the Registration Rights Agreement), (i) the VWAP is greater than $7.00 per share (as adjusted for any stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations, combinations, reverse stock splits or other similar events during such period) on each Trading Day during ten (10) consecutive Trading Days (which period shall not begin until after such fifteenth (15th) Trading Day) (an “Optional Exercise Measuring Period”) and (ii) there is no Equity Conditions Failure (unless the Holder has waived such Equity Conditions Failure), the Company shall have the right to require the Holder to exercise as of the Optional Exercise Date all or any portion of this Warrant not exceeding the amount of the then unexercised number of Warrant Shares (an “Optional Exercise”) at an exercise price equal to the then applicable Exercise Price. The Company may exercise its right to require exercise of this Warrant under this Section 3(g) by delivering a written notice thereof by facsimile and overnight courier to all, but not less than all, of the holders of the outstanding and the Company’s transfer agent (the “Optional Exercise Notice” and the date all of the holders received such notice is referred to as the “Optional Exercise Notice Date”) no later than two (2) Trading Days after the applicable Optional Exercise Measuring Period. The Optional Exercise Notice delivered shall be irrevocable and shall state (A) the date on which the Optional Exercise shall occur (the “Optional Exercise Date”) which date shall be at least ten (10) Trading Days after the Optional Exercise Notice Date, and (B) the aggregate number of Warrant Shares which the Company has elected to be subject to Optional Exercise by all of the holders of the outstanding Warrants pursuant to this Section 3(g) (and analogous provisions under the other outstanding Warrants) on the Optional Exercise Date. The Company may not effect more than one (1) Optional Exercise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this subsection shall prevent the Holder from exercising this Warrant, in whole or part, prior to such Optional Exercise Date.

ii. Pro Rata Exercise Requirement. If the Company elects to cause an Optional Exercise pursuant to this Section 3(g), then it must simultaneously take the same action with respect to the other outstanding Warrants. If the Company elects to cause an Optional Exercise pursuant to Section 3(g) (or similar provisions under the outstanding Warrants) with

 

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respect to less than all of the Warrant Shares underlying the Warrants then outstanding, then the Company shall require exercise of the Warrant Shares from each of the holders of the outstanding Warrants equal to the product of (i) the aggregate number of Warrant Shares which the Company has elected to cause to be exercised pursuant to Section 3(g), multiplied by (ii) a fraction, the numerator of which is the sum of the aggregate number of Warrant Shares underlying the Warrants issued to such holder pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement and the denominator of which is the sum of the aggregate number of Warrant Shares underlying the Warrants issued to all holders pursuant to the Securities Purchase Agreement (such fraction with respect to each holder is referred to as its “Exercise Allocation Percentage”, and such amount with respect to each holder is referred to as its “Pro Rata Exercise Amount”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event the Company sends an Optional Exercise Notice and the Holder already exercised any portion of its Warrant prior to the Optional Exercise Date (such exercised portion with respect to each Holder is referred to as its “Exercised Portion”), such Exercise Portion shall be applied against such Holder’s Pro Rata Exercise Amount and the Holder will only be required to exercise the difference, if any, between such Holder’s Pro Rata Exercise Amount and such Holder’s Exercised Portion. In the event that the initial holder of any Warrants shall sell or otherwise transfer any of such holder’s outstanding Warrants, the transferee shall be allocated a pro rata portion of such Holder’s Exercise Allocation Percentage and Pro Rata Exercise Amount.

As used herein, (x) “Equity Conditions” means: (i) on each day during the period beginning ten (10) Trading Days prior to the Optional Exercise Notice Date and ending on and including the Optional Exercise Notice Date (the “Equity Conditions Measuring Period”), the Registration Statement filed pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement shall be effective for the resale of all of the Registrable Securities, in accordance with the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement; (ii) on each day during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, the Common Stock is designated for quotation on an Eligible Market and shall not have been suspended from trading on such Eligible Market (other than suspensions of not more than three (3) days and occurring prior to the applicable date of determination due to business announcements by the Company) nor shall proceedings for such delisting or suspension by such Eligible Market have been commenced, threatened or pending either (A) in writing by such Eligible Market or (B) by falling below the minimum listing maintenance requirements of such Eligible Market; (iii) on each day during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, the Company shall have delivered Common Stock upon any exercise of the Warrants to the Holders on a timely basis as set forth in Section 2(d) hereof; (iv) any applicable shares of Common Stock to be issued in connection with the event requiring determination may be issued in full without violating Section 2(d) hereof or the rules or

 

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regulations of the applicable Eligible Market; (v) during the Equity Conditions Measuring Period, there shall not have occurred either the public announcement of a pending, proposed or intended Fundamental Transaction which has not been abandoned, terminated or consummated; and (vi) the Company shall have no knowledge of any fact that would cause the Registration Statement(s) required pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement not to be effective and available for the resale of at least all of the Registrable Securities, in accordance with the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, (y) “Equity Conditions Failure” means that during the period commencing on the first Trading Day of the Equity Conditions Measuring Period through the Optional Exercise Date, the Equity Conditions have not been satisfied (or waived in writing by the Holder).

Section 4. Transfer of Warrant.

a) Transferability. Subject to compliance with any applicable securities laws and the conditions set forth in Section 4(d) hereof and to the provisions of Section 4.1 of the Purchase Agreement, this Warrant and all rights hereunder (including, without limitation, any registration rights) are transferable, in whole or in part, upon surrender of this Warrant at the principal office of the Company or its designated agent, together with a written assignment of this Warrant substantially in the form attached hereto duly executed by the Holder or its agent or attorney and funds sufficient to pay any transfer taxes payable upon the making of such transfer, and compliance with any applicable laws. Upon such surrender and, if required, such payment, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in the name of the assignee or assignees, as applicable, and in the denomination or denominations specified in such instrument of assignment, and shall issue to the assignor a new Warrant evidencing the portion of this Warrant not so assigned, and this Warrant shall promptly be cancelled. The Warrant, if properly assigned, may be exercised by a new holder for the purchase of Warrant Shares without having a new Warrant issued.

b) New Warrants. This Warrant may be divided or combined with other Warrants upon presentation hereof at the aforesaid office of the Company, together with a written notice specifying the names and denominations in which new Warrants are to be issued, signed by the Holder or its agent or attorney. Subject to compliance with Section 4(a), as to any transfer which may be involved in such division or combination, the Company shall execute and deliver a new Warrant or Warrants in exchange for the Warrant or Warrants to be divided or combined in accordance with such notice, if permitted by applicable law. All Warrants issued on transfers or exchanges shall be dated the Initial Exercise Date and shall be identical with this Warrant except as to the number of Warrant Shares issuable pursuant thereto.

c) Warrant Register. The Company shall register this Warrant, upon records to be maintained by the Company for that purpose (the “Warrant Register”), in the name of the record Holder hereof from time to time. The Company may deem and treat the registered Holder of this Warrant as the absolute owner hereof for the purpose of any exercise hereof or any distribution to the Holder, and for all other purposes, absent actual notice to the contrary.

 

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d) Transfer Restrictions. If, at the time of the surrender of this Warrant in connection with any transfer of this Warrant, the transfer of this Warrant shall not be either (i) registered pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act and under applicable state securities or blue sky laws or (ii) eligible for resale without volume or manner-of-sale restrictions or current public information requirements pursuant to Rule 144, the Company may require, as a condition of allowing such transfer, that the Holder or transferee of this Warrant, as the case may be, comply with the provisions of Section 5.7 of the Purchase Agreement.

e) Representation by the Holder. The Holder, by the acceptance hereof, represents and warrants that it is acquiring this Warrant and, upon any exercise hereof, will acquire the Warrant Shares issuable upon such exercise, for its own account and not with a view to or for distributing or reselling such Warrant Shares or any part thereof in violation of the Securities Act or any applicable state securities law, except pursuant to sales registered or exempted under the Securities Act.

f) Residual Obligation. In the event of any transfer of this Warrant, the initial Holder hereby guarantees payment of any liability of the Holder that arises pursuant to Section 3(g) hereof.

Section 5. Miscellaneous.

a) No Rights as Stockholder Until Exercise. This Warrant does not entitle the Holder to any voting rights or other rights as a stockholder of the Company prior to the exercise hereof as set forth in Section 2(e)(i).

b) Loss, Theft, Destruction or Mutilation of Warrant. The Company covenants that upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to it of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant or any stock certificate relating to the Warrant Shares, and in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to it, and upon surrender and cancellation of such Warrant or stock certificate, if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Warrant or stock certificate of like tenor and dated as of such cancellation, in lieu of such Warrant or stock certificate.

c) Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays, etc. If the last or appointed day for the taking of any action or the expiration of any right required or granted herein shall not be a Business Day, then, such action may be taken or such right may be exercised on the next succeeding Business Day.

d) Authorized Shares.

The Company covenants that, during the period the Warrant is outstanding, it will reserve from its authorized and unissued Common Stock a sufficient number of shares to provide for the issuance of the Warrant Shares

 

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upon the exercise of any purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company further covenants that its issuance of this Warrant shall constitute full authority to its officers who are charged with the duty of executing stock certificates to execute and issue the necessary certificates for the Warrant Shares upon the exercise of the purchase rights under this Warrant. The Company will take all such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure that such Warrant Shares may be issued as provided herein without violation of any applicable law or regulation, or of any requirements of the Trading Market upon which the Common Stock may be listed. The Company covenants that all Warrant Shares which may be issued upon the exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant will, upon exercise of the purchase rights represented by this Warrant, be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable and free from all taxes, liens and charges created by the Company in respect of the issue thereof (other than taxes in respect of any transfer occurring contemporaneously with such issue).

Except and to the extent as waived or consented to by the Holder, the Company shall not by any action, including, without limitation, amending its certificate of incorporation or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, dissolution, issue or sale of securities or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, but will at all times in good faith assist in the carrying out of all such terms and in the taking of all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect the rights of Holder as set forth in this Warrant against impairment. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will (i) not increase the par value of any Warrant Shares above the amount payable therefor upon such exercise immediately prior to such increase in par value, (ii) take all such action as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Warrant Shares upon the exercise of this Warrant and (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain all such authorizations, exemptions or consents from any public regulatory body having jurisdiction thereof, as may be, necessary to enable the Company to perform its obligations under this Warrant.

Before taking any action which would result in an adjustment in the number of Warrant Shares for which this Warrant is exercisable or in the Exercise Price, the Company shall obtain all such authorizations or exemptions thereof, or consents thereto, as may be necessary from any public regulatory body or bodies having jurisdiction thereof.

e) Jurisdiction. All questions concerning the construction, validity, enforcement and interpretation of this Warrant shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the Purchase Agreement.

f) Restrictions. The Holder acknowledges that the Warrant Shares acquired upon the exercise of this Warrant, if not registered and the Holder does not utilize cashless exercise, will have restrictions upon resale imposed by state and federal securities laws.

 

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g) Nonwaiver and Expenses. No course of dealing or any delay or failure to exercise any right hereunder on the part of Holder shall operate as a waiver of such right or otherwise prejudice Holder’s rights, powers or remedies. Without limiting any other provision of this Warrant or the Purchase Agreement, if the Company willfully and knowingly fails to comply with any provision of this Warrant, which results in any material damages to the Holder, the Company shall pay to Holder such amounts as shall be sufficient to cover any costs and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, including those of appellate proceedings, incurred by Holder in collecting any amounts due pursuant hereto or in otherwise enforcing any of its rights, powers or remedies hereunder.

h) Notices. Any notice, request or other document required or permitted to be given or delivered to the Holder by the Company shall be delivered in accordance with the notice provisions of the Purchase Agreement.

i) Limitation of Liability. Other than pursuant to an Optional Exercise in conformity with the requirements of Section 3(g), no provision hereof, in the absence of any affirmative action by Holder to exercise this Warrant to purchase Warrant Shares, and no enumeration herein of the rights or privileges of Holder, shall give rise to any liability of Holder for the purchase price of any Common Stock or as a stockholder of the Company, whether such liability is asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.

j) Remedies. The Holder, in addition to being entitled to exercise all rights granted by law, including recovery of damages, will be entitled to specific performance of its rights under this Warrant. The Company agrees that monetary damages would not be adequate compensation for any loss incurred by reason of a breach by it of the provisions of this Warrant and hereby agrees to waive and not to assert the defense in any action for specific performance that a remedy at law would be adequate.

k) Successors and Assigns. Subject to applicable securities laws, if any, this Warrant and the rights and obligations evidenced hereby shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the successors of the Company and the successors and permitted assigns of Holder. The provisions of this Warrant are intended to be for the benefit of all Holders from time to time of this Warrant and shall be enforceable by the Holder or holder of Warrant Shares.

l) Amendment. This Warrant (together with all other Warrants of this series) may be modified or amended or the provisions hereof waived with the written consent of the Company and the Holder.

m) Severability. Wherever possible, each provision of this Warrant shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Warrant shall be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of such provisions or the remaining provisions of this Warrant.

 

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n) Headings. The headings used in this Warrant are for the convenience of reference only and shall not, for any purpose, be deemed a part of this Warrant.

********************

(Signature Pages Follow)

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to be executed by its officer thereunto duly authorized as of the date first above indicated.

 

HECLA MINING COMPANY

By:

 

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

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NOTICE OF EXERCISE

TO:     HECLA MINING COMPANY

(1) The undersigned hereby elects to purchase              Warrant Shares of the Company pursuant to the terms of the attached Warrant (only if exercised in full), and tenders herewith payment of the exercise price in full, together with all applicable transfer taxes, if any.

(2) Payment shall take the form of (check applicable box):

[    ] in lawful money of the United States; or

[    ] [if permitted] the cancellation of such number of Warrant Shares as is necessary, in accordance with the formula set forth in subsection 2(c), to exercise this Warrant with respect to the maximum number of Warrant Shares purchasable pursuant to the cashless exercise procedure set forth in subsection 2(c).

(3) Please issue a certificate or certificates representing said Warrant Shares in the name of the undersigned or in such other name as is specified below:

The Warrant Shares shall be delivered to the following DWAC Account Number or by physical delivery of a certificate to:

 

 

 

     
 

 

     
 

 

     

(3) Accredited Investor. The undersigned is an “accredited investor” as defined in Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

[SIGNATURE OF HOLDER]

Name of Investing Entity:                                                                                                                                                                             

Signature of Authorized Signatory of Investing Entity:                                                                                                                                

Name of Authorized Signatory:                                                                                                                                                                    

Title of Authorized Signatory:                                                                                                                                                                      

Date:                                                                                                                                                                                                               


ASSIGNMENT FORM

(To assign the foregoing warrant, execute

this form and supply required information.

Do not use this form to exercise the warrant.)

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, [        ] all of or [            ] shares of the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to                                                                                                                                                                         whose address is                                                                                                                                                                                                     .

 

 

 

         

Dated:

              ,     
  

Holder’s Signature:

 

 

  

Holder’s Address:

 

 

Signature Guaranteed:                                         

NOTE: The signature to this Assignment Form must correspond with the name as it appears on the face of the Warrant, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever, and must be guaranteed by a bank or trust company. Officers of corporations and those acting in a fiduciary or other representative capacity should file proper evidence of authority to assign the foregoing Warrant.