Namibian Rosh Pinah zinc mine in the process of being sold
In a few months, Trevali Mining went from a company with promising growth plans for its zinc mines in Canada, Burkina Faso, but especially in Namibia where it planned to expand its Rosh Pinah mine, to a company on the verge of bankruptcy.
Trevali Mining has obtained an order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia authorizing it to initiate a sale and solicitation of investments (SISP) process to divest two zinc assets, including its 90% stake in the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia.
For interested parties, the submission deadline is November 21, with a sale agreement expected by the end of 2022. Trevali Mining’s decision to divest Rosh Pinah is linked to operational difficulties and financial difficulties encountered over the past few months by the company on other projects.
It suspended production at its Perkoa zinc mine in Burkina Faso on April 16, after a flood ravaged underground facilities and killed eight workers. The Canadian zinc mine Caribou, the second asset concerned by the SISP, is also in maintenance regime, due in particular to problems with the mining contractor of the site.
A non-cash impairment loss of $23.7 million after tax was thus recorded for the two assets in the second quarter. The combination of these difficulties has already prompted Trevali to seek legal protection from its creditors in August and to suspend the project to increase zinc, lead and silver production at Rosh Pinah. The company intends to withdraw from official listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of Monday, October 3.
As a reminder, the Rosh Pinah mine should deliver 62 to 66 million pounds of zinc for the year 2022.
