Document:

Letter Agreement

 Exhibit 10.16.1 
 

 
 October 16, 2008 
 Beijing Wonderful Investments Ltd 
 Building 2, No. 1 Naoshikou Avenue 
 Xicheng District, Beijing 
 People’s Republic of China 
 Attention: Xiqing Gao 
 Dear Mr. Gao: 
 Reference is made to that letter agreement, dated as of May 22, 2007, between The Blackstone Group L.P. (“Blackstone”) and Beijing Wonderful Investments Ltd (the “Letter
Agreement”) and the Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership of Blackstone, dated as of June 27, 2007 (the “Partnership Agreement”). This letter agreement is to confirm our agreement relating to certain
amendments to the Letter Agreement and certain undertakings of the parties, in each case as set forth in further detail below. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized terms are used herein as defined in the Letter Agreement or the Partnership
Agreement, as applicable. 
 In furtherance of the foregoing, the parties hereto agree as follows: 
  

	 	1.	Amendments to Letter Agreement. 

 (a)     The definition of “Investor Ownership Limitation Percentage” in Section 1(b) of the Letter Agreement is amended effective as of October 14, 2008 to replace the percentage “9.99%”
with “12.5%” in such definition. 
 (b)     Section 4(a) of the Letter Agreement is
amended effective as of October 14, 2008 to amend and restate the second proviso in clause (i) thereof as follows: 
 “, and
provided further that upon any such permitted acquisition of Common Units other than Purchased Units, any such additional Common Units shall be deemed to be, and shall be treated as, Purchased Units for all purposes under this Agreement,
except with respect to any such additional Common Units purchased in the open market on or after October 14, 2008 (the “Subsequently Acquired Units”), which Subsequently Acquired Units shall not be subject to the restrictions
on Transfer set forth in Sections 3(a) and 3(b) of this letter agreement.” 
 (c)
    Section 12 of the Letter Agreement is amended to add an additional sentence as follows: 

 “Each of Investor and Blackstone further covenants that, for purposes of the Registration Rights
Agreement, and any exercise by Investor of its rights therein, all Subsequently Acquired Units shall be deemed “Covered Common Units” as such term is defined and used therein.” 
 2.     Amendments to the Partnership Agreement. Blackstone hereby agrees that, promptly upon the written
request of the State Investment Company (as such term is defined in the Partnership Agreement), it shall use commercially reasonable efforts to amend the Partnership Agreement, as promptly as reasonably practical thereafter (but in any case no
sooner than seventy-five days after the date of such request), to provide that any Subsequently Acquired Units then Beneficially Owned or thereafter acquired by the State Investment Company and the State Investment Company Affiliates (as such term
is defined in the Partnership Agreement) shall be entitled to the same voting rights as Common Units held by other holders. 
 3.     Interpretation. The term “letter agreement” as used in the Letter Agreement shall be deemed to refer to the Letter Agreement as amended hereby. 
 4.     Severability. Any term or provision of this letter agreement which is invalid or unenforceable in any
jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining terms and provisions of this letter agreement or affecting the validity or
enforceability of any of the terms or provisions of this letter agreement in any other jurisdictions, it being intended that all rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. 

5.     Effectiveness. This letter agreement shall be deemed effective as of the date first written above.
Except as expressly amended herein, all other terms and conditions of the Letter Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. 
 6.     Governing Law. This letter agreement and the rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, and
shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors. 
 7.     Counterparts. This letter agreement may be signed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. 
 [Signatures on Following Page] 

			
	 Very truly yours,
  
 THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P.

		
	By:	 	Blackstone Group Management L.L.C.,
		 	its general partner
		
	By:	 	/s/ Stephen A. Schwarzman
	 Name: Stephen A. Schwarzman
 Title:
  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

 Agreed and Accepted 
  

			
	BEIJING WONDERFUL INVESTMENTS LTD
		
	By:	 	/s/ Xiqing Gao
	 Name: Mr. Xiqing Gao
 Title:   Executive DirectorFirst Amendment to Credit Agreement effective October 16, 2008

 Exhibit 10.2 
 EXECUTION VERSION 
 FIRST AMENDMENT TO 
 AMENDED AND RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT 
 THIS FIRST AMENDMENT TO AMENDED AND
RESTATED CREDIT AGREEMENT (this “First Amendment”), dated as of October 16, 2008, is by and among HECLA MINING COMPANY, a Delaware corporation (the “Borrower”), The Bank of Nova Scotia, as administrative agent
for the Lenders (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent” or the “Agent”) and each of the banks and other financial institutions identified as Lenders on the signature pages hereto (the
“Lenders”). 
 W I T N E S S E T H: 
 WHEREAS, pursuant to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of April 16, 2008 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified prior to the date hereof, the “Existing Credit
Agreement” and, as amended by this First Amendment and as the same may be further amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Credit Agreement”), among the Borrower, the Lenders party thereto, the
Agent and Scotia Capital, as the Lead Arranger, the Lenders have made commitments to extend certain credit facilities to the Borrower; and 
 WHEREAS, the Borrower has requested that the Lenders agree to amend certain provisions of the Existing Credit Agreement as more specifically set forth herein, in each case upon the terms and conditions contained in this First Amendment;

 NOW, THEREFORE, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, and in consideration of
the agreements herein contained, the parties hereby agree as follows: 
 PART I 
 DEFINITIONS 
 SUBPART 1.1 Certain Definitions. Unless otherwise defined herein
or the context otherwise requires, the following terms used in this First Amendment, including its preamble and recitals, have the following meanings: 
 “Administrative Agent” and “Agent” are defined in the preamble. 
 “Borrower” is defined in the preamble. 
 “Credit Agreement” is defined in the
recitals. 
 “Existing Credit Agreement” is defined in the recitals. 
 “First Amendment Effective Date” is defined in Subpart 4.1. 
 “Lenders” is defined in the preamble. 
  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

 SUBPART 1.2 Other Definitions. Unless otherwise defined herein or the context otherwise requires,
terms used in this First Amendment, including its preamble and recitals, have the meanings provided in the Credit Agreement. 
 PART II

 AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING CREDIT AGREEMENT 
 Effective on (and subject to the occurrence of) the First Amendment Effective Date, the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended in accordance with this Part II. Except as so amended, the Existing Credit
Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall continue in full force and effect. 
 SUBPART 2.1 Amendment to Section 1.1.
Section 1.1 of the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended as follows: 
 (i) by inserting the following defined
terms in the appropriate alphabetical sequence: 
 “First Amendment” means the First Amendment to Credit
Agreement, dated as of October 16, 2008, among the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders party thereto. 
 “First Amendment Effective Date” has the meaning set forth in the First Amendment. 
 “First
Amendment Hecla Mine Plan” is defined in clause (s) of Section 7.1.1. 
 (ii) by amending and
restating each of the following defined terms in its entirety to read as follows: 
 “Applicable Margin”
means, at any time prior to the First Amendment Effective Date, the Applicable Margin as set forth in the Existing Credit Agreement and at any other time on or after the First Amendment Effective Date, the following: 
 (a) relative to the interest rates on the outstanding Term I Loans, the applicable percentage set forth below opposite the applicable
Leverage Ratio range: 
  

							
	 Leverage Ratio
	  	LIBO Rate plus	 	 	Base Rate plus	 
	 less than 1.00
	  	2.250	%	 	1.250	%
	 greater than or equal to 1.00, but less than 2.00
	  	2.375	%	 	1.375	%
	 greater than or equal to 2.00, but less than 2.50
	  	2.625	%	 	1.625	%
	 greater than or equal to 2.50
	  	3.000	%	 	2.000	%

  

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 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

 (b) relative to the interest rates on outstanding Term II Loans, 5.00% per
annum with respect to Base Rate Loans and 6.00% per annum with respect to LIBO Rate Loans. 
 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement (including the then effective Leverage Ratio), the Applicable Margin for all Term I Loans (i) from the Effective Date to (but not including) the First Amendment
Effective Date shall be (x) 0.625% for Base Rate Loans and (y) 1.625% for LIBO Rate Loans and (ii) from (and including) the First Amendment Effective Date to (and including) December 31, 2008 shall be (x) 1.625% for Base
Rate Loans and (y) 2.625% for LIBO Rate Loans. Changes in the Applicable Margin resulting from a change in the Leverage Ratio shall become effective upon delivery by the Borrower to the Administrative Agent of a new Compliance Certificate. If
the Borrower fails to deliver a Compliance Certificate by applicable due date as specified in Section 7.1.1(c), the Applicable Margin from such date and up to but excluding the date of receipt by the Administrative Agent of such
Compliance Certificate shall equal the highest Applicable Margin set forth above. 
 “Stated Maturity Date”
means: (a) relative to all Term I Loans, March 31, 2011; and (b) relative to all Term II Loans, February 16, 2009; provided that if the First Amendment Hecla Mine Plan is not delivered by the date set forth in clause
(s) of Section 7.1.1, or if any Lender provides written notice to the Administrative Agent that the First Amendment Hecla Mine Plan is not satisfactory, in each Lender’s sole discretion, by December 10, 2008 (which
notice may be delivered in electronic form), then the Stated Maturity Date relative to all Term II Loans shall be December 19, 2008. The Borrower understands that the Lenders will seek third party expert opinion supported by their report on the
First Amendment Hecla Mine Plan. 
 “Term II Loan Commitment Amount” means (i) on any date prior to the
First Amendment Effective Date, $240,000,000, and (ii) on any date on and after the First Amendment Effective Date, $40,000,000; provided, that, it being agreed that the Term II Loan Commitment Termination Date has occurred.

 SUBPART 2.2 Amendment to Section 3.2.1. Section 3.2.1 of the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended by inserting the
following text at the end of such Section: 
 Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section 3.2.1 to the contrary, if, for any
period, the sum of the Alternate Base Rate then in effect plus the Applicable Margin is less than the sum of the then available one month LIBO Rate (Reserve Adjusted) plus the Applicable Margin (“One Month LIBO
Rate”), the interest rate per annum applicable to Base Rate Loans shall be the One Month LIBO Rate during such period; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the application of the One Month LIBO Rate, such Loans shall be
deemed to be Base Rate Loans for all other purposes of the Agreement. 
  

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 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

 SUBPART 2.3 Amendment to Section 3.1.1(a). Section 3.1.1(a) of the Existing Credit
Agreement is hereby amended by amending and restating such section in its entirety as follows: 
 From time to time on any
Business Day, the Borrower may make a voluntary prepayment, in whole or in part, of the outstanding principal amount of any Loans; provided that all such voluntary prepayments (x) shall require at least one but no more than five Business
Days’ prior notice to the Administrative Agent; and (y) shall be, in the case of LIBO Rate Loans, in an aggregate minimum amount of $1,000,000 and an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and, in the case of Base Rate Loans, in an aggregate
minimum amount of $500,000 and an integral multiple of $100,000, provided, further, that the above restrictions in clauses (x) and (y) shall not apply in the case of a payment by the Borrower to any Lender as
described in Subpart 4.4 of the First Amendment. 
 SUBPART 2.4 Amendment to Section 7.1.1. Section 7.1.1 of the Existing
Credit Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following text immediately following clause (q) thereof: 
 (r) as soon as available and
in any event not less than five Business Days prior to the beginning of each month, a detailed budget of the Borrower for the immediately succeeding three month period and otherwise in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative
Agent, certified by an Authorized Officer of the Borrower; and 
 (s) as soon as available and in any event by November 14, 2008, a new
Hecla Mine Plan (which plan shall break out a life of mine plan for each of the Greens Creek Mine and the Lucky Friday Mine) and related financial model based on such Hecla Mine Plan (collectively, the “First Amendment Hecla Mine
Plan”), certified by an Authorized Officer of the Borrower. 
 SUBPART 2.5 Amendment to Section 8.1.3.
Section 8.1.3(a) of the Existing Credit Agreement is hereby amended by deleting the text “clauses (d), (e), (f), (h), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n) and (p) of
Section 7.1.1” and inserting the text “clauses (d), (e), (f), (h), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (p), (r) and (s) of
Section 7.1.1” in lieu thereof. 
 SUBPART 2.6 Amendment to Disclosure Schedule. The Disclosure Schedule to the
Existing Credit Agreement are hereby amended in their entirety by inserting the Disclosure Schedule attached hereto as Exhibit A as a replacement thereto. 
 PART III 
 NEGATIVE COVENANTS 
 SUBPART 3.1 Restricted Payments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Credit Agreement, from (and including) the First Amendment Effective Date to (and including) the earlier of
(a) the date on which the Term II Loan is repaid in full, and (b) February 16, 2009, the Borrower will make all dividends on its outstanding 6.5% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock 

  

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 Hecla First Amendment to 
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(if any) in shares of the Borrower’s common stock, unless the holders of such stock are expressly entitled to receive cash in lieu of common stock for
all or a portion of such declared dividend under the existing terms of such outstanding 6.5% Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock, the certificate of designation related thereto, or applicable law, including, without limitation, the payment of cash
in lieu of fractional shares. It being understood and agreed that failure by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries to comply with this Subpart 3.1 shall constitute an Event of Default. 
 PART IV 
 CONDITIONS TO EFFECTIVENESS

 SUBPART 4.1 Amendment Effective Date. This First Amendment shall be and become effective as of the date hereof (the “First
Amendment Effective Date”) when all of the conditions set forth in this Part IV shall have been satisfied. 
 SUBPART 4.2
Execution of Counterparts of First Amendment. The Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts satisfactory to the Administrative Agent of this First Amendment, which collectively shall have been duly executed on behalf of the
Borrower, the Agent and each Lender. 
 SUBPART 4.3 Affirmation and Consent. The Administrative Agent shall have received, with
counterparts for each Lender, a duly executed copy of an Affirmation and Consent, dated as of the First Amendment Effective Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent, duly executed and delivered by each of the Obligors
(other than the Borrower). 
 SUBPART 4.4 Repayment of Term II Loan. The Borrower shall have repaid the Term II Loan in an amount
necessary so that the outstanding principal amount of such Loan does not exceed $40,000,000. 
 SUBPART 4.5 Authority Documents. The
Administrative Agent shall have received the following: 
 (i) Certificate of Incorporation, Etc. Copies of the
certificate of incorporation or other charter or formation documents of the Borrower, certified to be true and complete as of a recent date by the appropriate Governmental Authority of the state of its incorporation. 
 (ii) Resolutions. Copies of resolutions of the board of directors (or executive committee thereof) of the Borrower authorizing the
execution and delivery of the First Amendment (and the amendments to the Existing Credit Agreement contained herein), certified by an Authorized Officer of the Borrower as of the First Amendment Effective Date to be true and correct and in force and
effect as of such date. 
 (iii) Bylaws. A copy of the bylaws of the Borrower, certified by an Authorized Officer of
the Borrower as of the First Amendment Effective Date to be true and correct and in force and effect as of such date. 
  

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 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

 (iv) Incumbency. An incumbency certificate of the Borrower, certified by a
secretary or assistant secretary to be true and correct as of the First Amendment Effective Date, in form and substance satisfactory to Administrative Agent. 
 SUBPART 4.6 Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties contained in Subpart 5.4 are true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date hereof. 
 SUBPART 4.7 Costs and Expenses, etc. The Administrative Agent shall have received for its account and the account of each Lender, all fees, costs
and expenses due and payable pursuant to Section 10.3 of the Credit Agreement, if then invoiced, and any and all other Loan Documents. 
 PART V 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 SUBPART 5.1 Cross-References. References in this First Amendment to any Part or Subpart are, unless otherwise specified, to such Part or Subpart of this First Amendment. 
 SUBPART 5.2 Instrument Pursuant to Existing Credit Agreement. This First Amendment is a Loan Document executed pursuant to the Existing Credit
Agreement and shall (unless otherwise expressly indicated therein) be construed, administered and applied in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Existing Credit Agreement. 
 SUBPART 5.3 References in Other Loan Documents. At such time as this First Amendment shall become effective pursuant to the terms of Part
IV, all references in the Loan Documents to the “Credit Agreement” shall be deemed to refer to the Existing Credit Agreement as amended by this First Amendment. 
 SUBPART 5.4 Representations and Warranties of the Borrower. The Borrower hereby represents and warrants that (a) it has the requisite power
and authority to execute, deliver and perform this First Amendment, (b) it is duly authorized to, and has been authorized by all necessary action, to execute, deliver and perform this First Amendment, (c) the representations and warranties
contained in Article VI of the Credit Agreement are true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date hereof as though made on and as of such date (except for those which expressly relate to an earlier date) and after giving effect to
the amendments contained herein (including those contained in Subpart 2.5) and (d) no Default or Event of Default exists under the Credit Agreement on and as of the date hereof after giving effect to the amendments contained herein.

 SUBPART 5.5 Counterparts. This First Amendment may be executed by the parties hereto in several counterparts, each of which shall
be deemed to be an original and all of which shall constitute together but one and the same agreement. Delivery of executed counterparts of this First Amendment by telecopy or other electronic transmission shall be effective as an original and shall
constitute a representation that an original will be delivered. 
 SUBPART 5.6 Full Force and Effect; Limited Amendment.
Except as expressly amended hereby, all of the representations, warranties, terms, covenants, conditions and other provisions of the Existing Credit Agreement and the Loan Documents shall remain 

  

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 Hecla First Amendment to 
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unchanged and shall continue to be, and shall remain, in full force and effect in accordance with their respective terms. The amendments set forth herein
shall be limited precisely as provided for herein to the provisions expressly amended herein and shall not be deemed to be an amendment to, waiver of, consent to or modification of any other term or provision of the Existing Credit Agreement or any
other Loan Document or of any transaction or further or future action on the part of any Obligor which would require the consent of the Lenders under the Existing Credit Agreement or any of the Loan Documents. 
 SUBPART 5.7 Governing Law. THIS FIRST AMENDMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED AND INTERPRETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF
NEW YORK. 
 SUBPART 5.8 Successors and Assigns. This First Amendment shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties
hereto and their respective successors and assigns. 
 [SIGNATURES FOLLOW] 
  

 7 
 Hecla First Amendment to 
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 Each of the parties hereto has caused a counterpart of this First Amendment to be duly executed and
delivered as of the date first above written. 
  

							
	BORROWER:	 		 	HECLA MINING COMPANY,
		 		 	a Delaware corporation
				
		 		 	By:	 	 /s/ Phillips S. Baker, Jr.

		 		 	Name:	 	Phillips S. Baker, Jr.
		 		 	Title:	 	President & CEO

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	 THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA,
 as the
Administrative Agent

		
	By:	 	 /s/ Alastair Borthwick

	Name:	 	Alastair Borthwick
	Title:	 	Director

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	 THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA,
 as a Lender

		
	By:	 	 /s/ Hardeep S. Thind

	Name:	 	Hardeep S. Thind
	Title:	 	Director—Operations
		
	By:	 	 /s/ R. Blackwood

	Name:	 	R. Blackwood
	Title:	 	Director

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	 ING CAPITAL LLC,

	 as a Lender

		
	 By:
	 	 /s/ Richard Ennis

	 Name:
	 	Richard Ennis
	 Title:
	 	Head of Natural Resources Americas

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	MERRILL LYNCH BANK USA,
	as a Lender
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Louis Alder

	Name:	 	Louis Alder
	Title:	 	First Vice President

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	WESTLB AG, TORONTO BRANCH,
	as a Lender
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Robert L. Dyck

	Name:	 	Robert L. Dyck
	Title:	 	Executive Director
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Kenneth Chan

	Name:	 	Kenneth Chan
	Title:	 	Director

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
 Credit Agreement 

			
	BNP PARIBAS,
	as a Lender
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Gregory E. George

	Name:	 	Gregory E. George
	Title:	 	Managing Director
		
	By:	 	 /s/ Larry Robinson

	Name:	 	Larry Robinson
	Title:	 	Director

  

 Hecla First Amendment to 
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