Maintaining its top league table rankings in North American equity and equity-linked issuances and solidifying a two-decade-long relationship, GMI Origination’s metals and mining franchise completed a key transaction for Hecla Mining Company.

In a mandatory convertible preferred stock offering that raised $201.3 million for Hecla, Merrill Lynch acted as lead joint bookrunner for the 116-year-old company that’s known in the industry as one of the largest silver producers in North America.

The transaction provided Hecla with proceeds it can use for corporate development, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes at a time when the sector is going through major consolidation, with frequent acquisitions.

Established in 1891 in northern Idaho’s Silver Valley, Hecla explores for silver and gold in the United States, Venezuela and Mexico. Merrill Lynch began working with Hecla some 20 years ago and is today a principal advisor to the company, known for its “Lucky Friday” mine in Idaho and as the lowest-cost producer of silver.

Merrill Lynch has led most of Hecla’s financing deals, including this $200 million convertible preferred offering in December, a $100 million equity offering in 2003, a $60 million equity deal in 1994 and a $100 million convertible preferred offering in 1993. Merrill Lynch also led a Liquid Yield Option Note (LYONs) for Hecla in 1989, one of the first offerings of its kind.

This most recent transaction for Hecla, a 6.5 percent mandatory convertible preferred stock offering priced on December 12, marked the last deal of a successful 2007 for the Metals and Mining group. The franchise completed the year in the No. 1 ranking in North American equity and equity-linked issuances for metals and mining, bookrunning nine deals for $6.7 billion in total proceeds.

Among major transactions Merrill Lynch completed within the industry in 2007, Merrill Lynch raised $25.9 billion in financing for Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold for its planned acquisition of rival Phelps Dodge Corporation. The deal represented the single largest North American metals and mining transaction ever. Merrill Lynch also later raised another $5.8 billion for Freeport-McMoRan.

The firm also led a $605 million initial public offering for OJSC Polymetal, the third-largest gold producer in Russia, advised on a $3.9 billion acquisition offer by Teck Cominco in Canada for Aur Resources and a $610 million acquisition offer by Agnico-Eagle Mines in Canada for Cumberland Resources, and led more than $230 million in offerings for Royal Gold Inc. in Colorado.