VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 19,
2022 /CNW/ - Trevali Mining Corporation
("Trevali Corp." or the "Company") (TSX: TV) (BVL: TV) (OTCQX:
TREVF) (Frankfurt: 4TI) announces
today that the Company as well as its wholly-owned subsidiary
Trevali Mining (New Brunswick)
Ltd. ("Trevali NB" and, together with Trevali Corp., "Trevali")
have received an Initial Order for creditor protection (the
"Initial Order") from the British Columbia Supreme Court (the
"Court") under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement
Act (the "CCAA"). Trevali made its application to Court
for the Initial Order on August 19, 2022.
After careful consideration of Trevali's cash position,
scheduled debt payments, forecast revenue and expenses, all
available alternatives to an application for creditor protection,
and following thorough consultation with legal and financial
advisors, the board of directors of the Company determined that it
is in the best interests of Trevali and all of its stakeholders to
file an application for creditor protection under the CCAA.
The Initial Order being sought includes, among other things: (i)
a stay of creditor claims and proceedings in favour of Trevali
Corp. and Trevali NB; and (ii) the appointment of FTI Consulting
Canada Inc. as court-appointed monitor of Trevali (in such
capacity, the "Monitor"). While under creditor protection, Trevali
will consider all available transactional and restructuring options
with a goal of maximizing value for the Company and its
stakeholders.
Following receipt of the Initial Order, Trevali intends to
continue to operate throughout the CCAA proceedings. Management of
Trevali is expected to remain responsible for the day-to-day
operations, under the general oversight of the Monitor.
Trevali will continue to fund itself during the CCAA proceedings
through cash on hand and cash flow generated at the Rosh Pinah
Mine.
Information about the marketing process and other materials
filed in connection with the CCAA can be found on the Monitor's
website at: http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/trevali/.
Caribou Mine to be placed on care
and maintenance
Following review of its operations at the Caribou Mine
("Caribou") in New Brunswick, the
Company has suspended operations due to operational and financial
challenges.
"The decision to suspend operations is a difficult but necessary
step to address challenges at the Caribou Mine," said Ricus
Grimbeek, President and CEO. "This was not an action taken lightly
and we are aware of the uncertainty created and impacts this
decision has on the community and on our team. The Trevali team
have worked hard to improve the mine's position and Trevali
appreciates their dedication."
The mine will be put on a care and maintenance program
immediately to preserve the value of the mineral resource and mine
assets and protect the environment in the mine's vicinity. While
mining and milling activities have been wound down, those employees
dedicated to environmental compliance and general maintenance
activities at the mine site will continue. No timeline for a
potential restart of operations has been defined.
Senior Credit Facility
Update
As previously indicated on August 15,
2022 in its second quarter results filing, the Company did
not make a mandatory prepayment of approximately $7.5 million on its senior secured revolving
credit facility when payment came due on August 17, 2022.
The Company remains in discussions with its senior lenders
regarding this event of default under the credit facility.
State of other mining
operations
In addition to the update provided above on Caribou and
financing, the Company provides a status update on its two other
primary assets:
Rosh Pinah – On August 15, the
Company revised full-year production and cost guidance for the Rosh
Pinah Mine for 2022 with production guidance of 62 – 66 million
pounds of payable zinc, a C1 Cash Cost1 of $0.84 – 0.90/lb and AISC1 of
$1.22 – 1.28/ lb. The Early Works
program at Rosh Pinah is under review and the expansion project has
been suspended while the Company pursues a financing
initiative.
Perkoa – Perkoa mining and milling operations remain suspended
following the April 16th flooding
event. Operating cost and production guidance at the Perkoa Mine
remain suspended.
About Trevali Mining
Corporation
Trevali is a global base-metals mining Company headquartered in
Vancouver, Canada. The bulk of
Trevali's revenue is generated from zinc and lead concentrate
production at its three operational assets: the 90%-owned Perkoa
Mine in Burkina Faso, the
90%-owned Rosh Pinah Mine in Namibia, and the wholly owned Caribou Mine in
northern New Brunswick, Canada. In
addition, Trevali owns the Halfmile and Stratmat Properties and the
Restigouche Deposit in New Brunswick,
Canada. Trevali also owns an effective 44% interest in the
Gergarub Project in Namibia.
Trevali is committed to socially responsible mining, working
safely, ethically, and with integrity.
The shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the
OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the
Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali,
readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and
to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All
amounts herein are reported in United
States dollars ("US$") unless otherwise specified.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward–Looking Information and Statements
This news release contains "forward–looking information" within
the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward–looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively,
"forward–looking statements"). Forward–looking statements are based
on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management of the
Company as of the date the statements are published, and the
Company assumes no obligation to update any forward–looking
statement, except as required by law. In certain cases,
forward–looking statements can be identified by the use of words
such as "plans", "expects", "outlook", "guidance", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or
"believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements
that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would",
"might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative
of these terms or comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future
performance and reflect management's expectations or beliefs
regarding future events including, but not limited to, statements
with respect to the Company's intention to continue to operate
throughout the CCAA proceedings, the Company's expectations to
remain responsible for the day-to-day operations, under the general
oversight of the Monitor, the Company's expectations to fund its
operations from cash flows generated by the Rosh Pinah Mine. In
certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the
use of words such as "plans", "expects", "outlook", "guidance",
"budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends",
"anticipates" or "believes", or variations of such words and
phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results
"may", "could", "would", "might", "will be taken", "occur" or "be
achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to
CCAA proceedings and the impact of the same on the Company's
operations; securing financing or undertaking a restructuring
transaction and the timing thereof; the transition of the Caribou
mine to care and maintenance; ; the suspension of capital spending
guidance of the Early Works Program; future prices of zinc, lead,
silver and other minerals and the anticipated sensitivity of our
financial performance to such prices; possible variations in ore
reserves, grade or recoveries; results of current and planned
exploration activities; dependence on key personnel; potential
conflicts of interest involving our directors and officers; labour
pool constraints; labour disputes; availability of infrastructure
required for the development of mining projects; delays or
inability to obtain governmental and regulatory approvals for
mining operations, including the restart of operations at the
Perkoa and Caribou mines, or financing or in the completion of
development or construction activities; counterparty risks;
increased operating and capital costs; foreign currency exchange
rate fluctuations; operating in foreign jurisdictions with risk of
changes to governmental regulation; compliance with governmental
regulations; compliance with environmental laws and regulations;
land reclamation and mine closure obligations; challenges to title
or ownership interest of our mineral properties; maintaining
ongoing social license to operate; impact of climatic conditions on
the Company's mining operations; corruption and bribery;
limitations inherent in our insurance coverage; compliance with
debt covenants; competition in the mining industry; our ability to
integrate new acquisitions into our operations; cybersecurity
threats; litigation; and other risks of the mining industry
including, without limitation, other risks and uncertainties that
are more fully described in the Company's annual information form,
interim and annual audited consolidated financial statements and
management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of
which are filed and available for review under the Company's
profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual
actions, events or results to differ materially from those
described in forward–looking statements, there may be other factors
that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. Trevali provides no assurance that
forward–looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual
results and future events may differ from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.
Non-IFRS Financial Performance
Measures
The items marked with a "1" are non-IFRS measures. This press
release may refer to the following non-IFRS financial performance
measures: C1 Cash Cost and All-In Sustaining Cost ("AISC").
These measures are not recognized under IFRS as they do not have
any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore
unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other
issuers. Trevali uses these measures internally to evaluate the
underlying operating performance of the Company for the reporting
periods presented. The use of these measures enables the Company to
assess performance trends and to evaluate the results of the
underlying business. Trevali understands that certain investors,
and others who follow the Company's performance, also assess
performance in this way.
The Company believes that these measures reflect our performance
and are useful indicators of our expected performance in future
periods. This data is intended to provide additional information
and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for
measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.
SOURCE Trevali Mining Corporation