Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining Spike 13% as Treasury Buyback Plan Ignites Precious Metals Rally

David Moadel

Wed, August 19, 2026 at 8:18 PM GMT+3 5 min read

Quick Read

Hecla Mining (HL) and Coeur Mining (CDE) each surged 13% after Treasury doubled long-dated debt buybacks, though both stocks remain flat to negative for the year.
First Majestic Silver (AG) leads silver peers with an 11% year-to-date gain, while Endeavour Silver (EXK) has managed just 3%, both lagging the underlying metal.
The 30-year yield at 5.2% is the key variable to watch. Further declines extend the metals bid, but a snapback could unwind Wednesday's gains just as fast.
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The bond market is impacting the precious metals space today, it seems. Shares of Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) are climbing 13% to $20.29 in midday trading Wednesday. Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE) shares are rising 13% to $20.83. Both moves follow a Treasury Department buyback plan that pushed long-end yields lower and sent precious metals higher.

Olivier Le Moal / iStock via Getty Images

The bigger story sits underneath the price action. Hecla Mining stock was down 6% year to date through Tuesday's close, and Coeur Mining shares were up just 4% for the year. Metals have been strong this year, but the miners have lagged, so today's rally looks more like a catch-up than a confirmed uptrend.

Treasury Buyback Plan Behind the Rally

The Treasury Department said it would increase buybacks of long-dated government debt "by at least double" for securities from the 10-year to 30-year sector. In response, the 10-year Treasury yield fell 5 basis points to 4.7%, while the 30-year yield declined 8 basis points to 5.2% after hitting its highest level since 2007 earlier this week, per Mining.com.

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Lower yields reduce the opportunity cost of holding metals that pay no income, which supports gold and silver. Producers like Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining carry heavy operating leverage to the metal price because their cost base doesn't move with it. A single-digit move in the underlying metal can therefore produce a double-digit move in a miner, which is exactly the pattern showing up Wednesday.

Mining.com reported Wednesday that gold, silver, and mining stocks surged as the Treasury doubled its buybacks, with basic materials leading the broader market on a surge in gold futures. Wednesday's rally is sector-specific rather than a broad commodity story, since crude oil has continued to drift lower from summer highs. That narrow driver argues against reading the day as anything larger than a yield-driven trade for now.

How the Peer Silver Miners Traded

First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG) shares trade at $20.57, and First Majestic Silver stock was up 11% year to date through Tuesday's close. That leaves First Majestic Silver as the strongest performer of the primary silver names covered here this year, though the year-to-date gain still looks modest against the strength of the metal.

Meanwhile, Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) shares trade at $10.91, and EXK stock was up 3% year to date through Tuesday's close. The pattern echoes the larger producers, with a strong metals backdrop, a laggard equity, and a sharp recent snap-back attempting to close the gap.

Both First Majestic Silver and Endeavour Silver remain modest performers this year on the equity side even as their underlying metal has run. This lag between silver prices and silver equities has been the defining feature of the year in the group, and Wednesday's move alone doesn't change that setup.

The Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF

For a broader context, the Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:SILJ) is up 9% to $31.18 in midday trading, and the fund was up 4% year to date through Tuesday's close. The fund's holdings skew toward smaller and development-stage silver miners rather than large diversified producers.

That composition matters more than the day's headline number. As a junior-focused vehicle, the Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF carries higher operational, financing, and single-project risk than a basket of senior producers, and it tends to swing far more than the metal itself in both directions.

Because of that small-cap concentration, the Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF is unsuitable for sizing like a diversified equity holding. Investors using the fund as a tactical vehicle should keep position sizes conservative, since a reversal in Treasury yields could pull it back just as sharply as it moved higher today.

What to Watch

The rally in Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining shares is being driven by a specific policy catalyst rather than a broad commodity move. Crude oil has drifted lower from its summer peaks, so this is a precious metals story tied directly to lower long-end yields and safe-haven demand.

Traders can watch for the direction of the 30-year yield through the rest of the week, since another leg lower would extend the metals bid and keep operating leverage working in favor of the miners. A snap back higher in yields could unwind Wednesday's gains just as quickly.

For now, Hecla Mining stock and Coeur Mining shares remain roughly flat for the year despite today's surge. That gap between the metal and the equities is worth keeping in mind before treating this session as anything more than a policy-driven rebound. A durable turn in these names would need follow-through in both the metal and the equities across multiple sessions, not one yield-driven day.