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Trevali Mining Corporation (TSX:TV) reports preliminary fourth quarter (“Q4”) 2016 production results from its two operating zinc mines, the Caribou Mine in New Brunswick, Canada and the Santander Mine in Peru. For the three months ending December 31, 2016, approximately 36.8 million payable pounds zinc, 11.3 million payable pounds lead and 409,654 payable ounces of silver was produced (see Table 1).
Table 1: Consolidated Q4-2016 and 2016 preliminary production statistics
Table 1: Consolidated Q4-2016 and 2016 preliminary production statistics
| Q4-2016* | Q4-2015 | 2016* | 2015 | ||||||
| Tonnes Mined | 415,523 | 173,283 | 1,166,381 | 722,360 | |||||
| Tonnes Milled | 469,723 | 204,999 | 1,300,037 | 778,151 | |||||
| Average Head Grades: | |||||||||
| Zinc | 5.33% | 3.80% | 4.92% | 4.14% | |||||
| Lead | 1.91% | 1.68% | 1.78% | 2.09% | |||||
| Silver (ounces/ton) | 1.85 oz/t | 1.38 oz/t | 1.66 oz/t | 1.66 oz/t | |||||
| Average Recoveries (%): | |||||||||
| Zinc | 81% | 90% | 84% | 90% | |||||
| Lead | 69% | 88% | 75% | 89% | |||||
| Silver | 48% | 75% | 57% | 77% | |||||
| Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): | |||||||||
| Zinc | 42,275 | 14,141 | 110,027 | 58, 232 | |||||
| Lead | 13,284 | 5,347 | 34,335 | 24,962 | |||||
| Concentrate Grades: | |||||||||
| ZincSilver in zinc conc. | 47% 4.0 oz/t | 49% – | 48% 4.2 oz/t | 50% – | |||||
| Lead | 42% | 56% | 46% | 58% | |||||
| Silver in lead conc. | 28.7 oz/t | 36.7 oz/t | 33.2 oz/t | 40.48 oz/t | |||||
| Payable Production: | |||||||||
| Zinc (pounds) | 36,757,268 | 13,078,864 | 97,962,891 | 54,148,660 | |||||
| Lead (pounds) | 11,317,254 | 6,337,737 | 33,048,019 | 30,237,350 | |||||
| Silver (ounces) | 409,654 | 224,021 | 1,215,873 | 1,055,965 | |||||
*Q4-2016 and 2016 preliminary production figures include Caribou Zinc Mine production from commencement of commercial production on July 1, 2016.
For the year ending December 31, 2016, consolidated production was approximately 98 million payable pounds zinc, 33 million payable pounds lead and 1.2-million payable ounces of silver, a new annual record and reflective of the commencement of commercial production at the Caribou Mine (see Table 1).
“On top of consistent operational results from our Santander Zinc Mine in Peru, Q4-2016 saw significant improvement in throughput at our Caribou Zinc Mine in New Brunswick where the mill is now effectively operating at its nameplate 3,000-tonnes-per-day capacity,” stated Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali’s President and CEO. “While we are very proud to achieve both record quarterly and annual zinc production from our mines we will continue to optimize operations and implement our business initiatives to maximize our production profile and benefit from the current strengthening zinc cycle.”
Santander Zinc Mine, Peru
For Q4-2016, Santander continued its strong performance to deliver preliminary quarterly production of 15.8 million payable pounds of zinc, 3.1 million payable pounds of lead and 177,931 payable ounces of silver (see Table 2). Recoveries averaged 89% for zinc, 83% for lead and 66% for silver.
Santander mill throughput for 2016 was 863,307 tonnes, approximately 18% above the nameplate design of 2,000-tonnes-per-day (730,000 tonnes per year).
As previously disclosed, lead production decreased during the Quarter as mining operations focused on the zinc-rich Magistral Central and South zones. The Santander team is advancing development of the Magistral North ramp in order to access recently discovered higher-grade Zn-Pb and Ag mineralization in the Magistral North and Oyon Zones, both of which remain open for expansion and which are anticipated to result in increased Pb-Ag production in the latter half of 2017.
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Table 2: Santander Mine Q4-2016 and 2016 annual preliminary production statistics
| Q1-2016 | Q2-2016 | Q3-2016 | Q4-2016 | 2016 | |||||||
| Tonnes Mined | 175,579 | 177,415 | 192,815 | 171,084 | 716,893 | ||||||
| Tonnes Milled | 209,188 | 219,086 | 216,551 | 218,481 | 863,307 | ||||||
| Average Head Grades: | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 3.93% | 4.16% | 4.61% | 4.36% | 4.27% | ||||||
| Lead | 1.66% | 1.39% | 1.08% | 0.82% | 1.23% | ||||||
| Silver (ounces/ton) | 1.32 | 1.32 | 1.26 | 1.18 | 1.27 | ||||||
| Average Recoveries (%): | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 89% | 89% | 89% | 89% | 89% | ||||||
| Lead | 88% | 87% | 84% | 83% | 86% | ||||||
| Silver | 76% | 73% | 67% | 66% | 71% | ||||||
| Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 14,840 | 16,601 | 18,403 | 17,553 | 67,397 | ||||||
| Lead | 5,469 | 4,865 | 3,745 | 3,111 | 17,189 | ||||||
| Concentrate Grades: | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 49% | 49% | 48% | 48% | 49% | ||||||
| Lead | 56% | 55% | 53% | 48% | 53% | ||||||
| Ag (ounces/ton) | 38.70 | 43.66 | 49.07 | 54.62 | 45.24 | ||||||
| Payable Production: | |||||||||||
| Zinc (pounds) | 13,662,766 | 15,157,944 | 16,608,275 | 15,826,253 | 61,255,238 | ||||||
| Lead (pounds) | 6,436,047 | 5,575,792 | 4,141,582 | 3,102,826 | 19,256,247 | ||||||
| Silver (ounces) | 221,324 | 222,121 | 192,431 | 177,931 | 813,807 | ||||||
2017 Santander Mine Production Guidance
The preliminary 2017 production guidance estimate for the Santander mine is:
- 63-65 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate
- 12-14 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate
- 700,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver
Cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$35-40 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).
Caribou Zinc Mine, Canada
Q4 marked the Caribou Mine’s second commercial production quarter and saw significant improvements in throughput and Pb recovery following completion of SAG mill modifications. In Q4-2016, Caribou produced a record 20.9 million pounds of payable zinc, 8.2 million payable pounds of lead and 231,722 payable ounces of silver (see Table 3). Recoveries averaged 76% for zinc, 60% for lead and 36% for silver. Mill throughput for Q4 was 251,242 tonnes, effectively at its nameplate (3,000-tonne-per-day) performance.
Table 3: Caribou Mine Q4-2016 and 2016 annual preliminary production statistics
| Q1-2016** | Q2-2016** | Q3-2016 | Q4-2016 | 2016*** | |||||||
| Tonnes Mined | 191,005 | 188,353 | 205,049 | 244,439 | 449,488 | ||||||
| Tonnes Milled | 200,670 | 186,246 | 185,488 | 251,242 | 436,730 | ||||||
| Average Head Grades: | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 5.95% | 5.92% | 5.91% | 6.01% | 5.97% | ||||||
| Lead | 2.55% | 2.74% | 2.62% | 2.68% | 2.66% | ||||||
| Silver (ounces/ton) | 2.03 | 2.48 | 2.26 | 2.32 | 2.29 | ||||||
| Average Recoveries (%): | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 71% | 77% | 78% | 76% | 77% | ||||||
| Lead | 58% | 56% | 56% | 60% | 58% | ||||||
| Silver | 38% | 31% | 36% | 36% | 36% | ||||||
| Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): | |||||||||||
| Zinc | 17,732 | 18,155 | 17,908 | 24,722 | 42,630 | ||||||
| Lead | 7,585 | 7,048 | 6,973 | 10,173 | 17,146 | ||||||
| Concentrate Grades: | |||||||||||
| ZincSilver in zinc conc. | 48% 4.0 oz/t | 47% 5.0 oz/t | 48% 4.5 oz/t | 46% 4.0 oz/t | 47% 4.2 oz/t | ||||||
| Lead | 39% | 41% | 39% | 40% | 39% | ||||||
| Silver in lead conc. | 20.3 oz/t | 20.3 oz/t | 21.5 oz/t | 20.8 oz/t | 21.1 oz/t | ||||||
| Payable Production: | |||||||||||
| Zinc (pounds) | 15,560,655 | 15,535,817 | 15,776,638 | 20,931,015 | 36,707,653 | ||||||
| Lead (pounds) | 6,070,048 | 5,891,615 | 5,577,344 | 8,214,428 | 13,791,772 | ||||||
| Silver (ounces) | 167,337 | 169,971 | 170,345 | 231,722 | 402,067 | ||||||
**Both Q1-2016 and Q2-2016 were pre-commercial production quarters. Caribou Mine commercial production was declared as of July 1, 2016.
***2016 reported annual production only includes commercial production commencing as of July 1, 2016 (Q3 and Q4).
In the first half of 2017 the Caribou Site, in conjunction with partners Glencore, will continue to focus on optimizing recoveries, specifically zinc.
2017 Caribou Mine Production Guidance
The preliminary 2017 production guidance estimate for the Caribou mine is:
- 90-93 million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate
- 30-32 million pounds of payable lead in concentrate
- 800,000-900,000 ounces of payable silver
Cash costs for 2017 are estimated at approximately US$55-60 per tonne milled (please see Cautionary Note on Forward Looking Statements at the end of this document).
Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance
EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali’s President and CEO, Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali’s Chief Operating Officer are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder.
ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION
Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations.
The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development.
The common 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.
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