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One investor is turning time into money with Hecla Mining.

optionMONSTER's tracking programs detected the sale of about 2,400 September 4.50 puts for $0.19. A similar number of August 4.50 puts were bought around the same time for $0.03 and $0.04, but volume was below open interest in those.

It appears the investor had previously sold the August contracts, looking for the silver producer to hold its ground. As those options expire at the end of Friday's session, he or she is rolling the position forward in time. The trader were paid a credit of $0.14 to $0.15, in return for staying in the position for another month.

The time premium of options collapses in the final weeks before expiration, a trend that can be exploited by selling puts . (See our Education section)

HL is unchanged at $4.58 in morning trading. It touched a 2-1/2 year low of $3.70 in May but has been working its way higher since.

The put sale accounted for almost all the activity in the name so far today.

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