Trevali Reports a Successful Q3, High Hopes for the Future

Trevali Mining (TSX:TV,OTCQX:TREVF) had a successful third quarter, reporting increased production and hope for future plans in the company’s quarterly report published on Tuesday (November 5). 

During the three month period, the company produced 106.8 million pounds of zinc compared to the 101.6 million pounds it produced in the same period last year. Trevali said it is on track to meet, if not exceed, its 2019 projections. 

“Production is up and costs are down quarter over quarter. We had our second consecutive record of quarterly zinc production and we are moving our operations down the cost curve,” Trevali President and CEO Ricus Grimbeek said.

Like many zinc producers, Trevali was affected by the increase in treatment and refining charges, which influenced some of the company’s costs.

“The increase in Q3 2019 and Q2 2019 C1 cash cost from Q3 2018 mainly resulted from the increase of industry benchmark zinc concentrate smelting and refining charges from US$147 per tonne in 2018 to US$245 per tonne in 2019,” reads a part of the report. 

In order to meet the company’s goals to decrease costs, Trevali will be moving forward with the T90 program, which targets US$50 million in pre-tax annual sustainable efficiencies and hopes to reduce the company’s AISC to US$0.90 per pound by the beginning of 2022. The company reported an all-in sustaining cash cost of US$0.96 per pound this past quarter.

Over at the Caribou mine in Canada, Trevali began an evaluation of an alternative sublevel caving mining method and of the extraction of historic sill pillars. Trial mining is expected to begin and end in Q4 2019. If successful, the extraction methods will be adopted more widely at the Caribou mine. 

Trevali is also exploring the Restigouche project, which is being considered as a supplemental ore source to the Caribou mine. The internal scoping study is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2020, at which point the company would decide if it will continue along this path. 

At the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia, Trevali has undertaken two projects. The first, a filtration and grinding project that will improve efficiency, continued to advance in Q3 2019 and is on track to be completed by the end of 2019 on budget. Trevali also expects to make a decision regarding the RP2.0 project in Q2 2020, as it continues to work on the feasibility study.

In Peru, the company also expects that the Santander Pipe’s preliminary economic assessment will be complete by the end of Q4 2020.

On Wednesday (November 6), Trevali’s share price opened the market at C$0.21. On November 5, zinc was trading at US$2,593 per metric ton.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Sasha Dhesi, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.