(Kitco News) – Paul Huet, CEO of Americas Gold and Silver Corporation (TSX: USA; NYSE American: USAS), says the turnaround at the Galena Mine in Idaho marks a new phase of growth for the U.S. silver producer after a year of sweeping operational and financial change.
Huet, who became CEO in November 2024, said his priority was to rebuild the foundation for success. “If we want to turn that around, we’ve got to fix the mine. In order to do that, we need to change the board, change the executive team, change the corporate structure, and the shareholders, and that’s what we did.”
He said the turnaround gained support from major shareholder Eric Sprott, who converted his 40% ownership in Galena into company shares. “Eric became the largest shareholder, and that alignment gave us the foundation we needed to rebuild,” Huet said.
The company has raised $160 million and grown from under $100 million to about $1.4 billion in market value. Huet spoke on his own contribution, adding, “I’m very happy we did because so far it’s been very good and there’s a lot of room from here.”
Americas Gold and Silver recently arranged a US$100 million term loan and offtake agreement to treat Galena concentrates at Teck’s Trail Operations, completed Phase 1 upgrades that doubled shaft productivity, and reported over 99% antimony extraction in recent testwork, key milestones that support its modernization and critical minerals plans.
Galena is being modernized with new mining methods and infrastructure upgrades aimed at restoring production from roughly 1.5 million ounces per year to 5 million ounces. “We’re doing something here that hasn’t been done in two decades,” Huet said. “All it needed was a bit of love and attention and somebody very focused.”
Starting in 2026, Americas Gold and Silver will begin receiving payments for gold, copper, and antimony. “We’re the only mine producing raw antimony in the U.S.,” he said, noting that all five metals the company produces are on the U.S. critical minerals list.
Next year will also mark a turning point as the company issues its first production guidance. “You won’t be surprised that it’ll be significantly better than what has been done over the last 15 years,” Huet said.
Watch on the Kitco Mining YouTube channel here: Catch the full, unedited conversation where Paul Huet explains the Galena Mine turnaround and outlines how Americas Gold and Silver plans to quadruple silver production by 2026.