VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2022
/CNW/ - Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the
"Company") announced that its 90%-owned subsidiary Nantou Mining
Burkina Faso S.A. ("Nantou Mining") has filed an application for
liquidation with the Judicial Tribunal of Commerce in Burkina Faso. Under applicable Burkinabe law,
a liquidator is expected to be appointed by the Judicial Tribunal
in the coming days, and such liquidator will assume responsibility
for the management of the affairs of Nantou Mining.
Upon appointment, the liquidator will carry out or exercise, as
applicable, all acts, rights, and obligations of Nantou Mining, and
will be required to perform all acts necessary for the preservation
of Nantou Mining's rights against its debtors and creditors.
Nantou Mining's liquidity position has deteriorated
significantly in the months following the flooding event that
occurred at its Perkoa Mine on April 16,
2022. This, together with the substantial funding
requirements to carry out a restart of operations and the continued
geopolitical uncertainty in Burkina
Faso, including the coup d'état carried out on September 30, 2022, has resulted in Nantou Mining
being unable to restart operations at the Perkoa Mine at this time,
or to effectively carry on its business or meet its obligations as
they become due.
The Perkoa Mine had been previously placed into care and
maintenance to preserve the value of the mineral resource and mine
assets and protect the environment in the mine's vicinity while
Nantou Mining explored its available options, before ultimately
determining that it was necessary to proceed with the application
for judicial liquidation. Employees dedicated to environmental
compliance and general maintenance activities at the mine site will
continue, while the majority of the approximate 350-person
workforce was terminated and paid severance entitlements.
Funds remain on deposit in a segregated environmental
reclamation fund administered by the Government of Burkina Faso in order to support future
closure and reclamation work. Funds have also been placed in trust
to fund a financial settlement with the families of the workers
that died in the flooding event on April 16,
2022.
Following appointment of the liquidator, further information
will be communicated to affected parties in accordance with
applicable legislation.
CCAA proceedings
Pursuant to the Initial Order under the Companies'
Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA"), the Company obtained
protection from its creditors for an initial period of ten (10)
days (the "Stay Period") and FTI Consulting Canada Inc. was
appointed as monitor of the Company (in such capacity, the
"Monitor"). The Supreme Court of British Columbia (the
"Court") issued an order in August approving an initial extension
of the Stay Period until October 6, 2022. The Court has today
issued an order for a second extension of the Stay Period
until October 18, 2022.
All inquiries regarding the CCAA proceedings of the Company
should be directed to the court-appointed monitor, FTI Consulting
Inc. (email: Trevali@fticonsulting.com or telephone:
+1-877-294-8998). Information about the Company's CCAA proceedings,
including all court orders made and the Monitor's reports, are
available on the Monitor's website at
http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/trevali/.
About Trevali Mining
Corporation
Trevali is a base-metals mining company headquartered in
Vancouver, Canada. 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.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Information and Statements
His 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 statement 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 in this news
release include, among others, statements with respect to the
judicial liquidation process in Burkina
Faso, including the appointment of a liquidator by the
judicial tribunal and the conduct of such liquidation proceeding,
the placing of the Perkoa Mine on care and maintenance and the
activities to be carried out during such care and maintenance
program. 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 judicial liquidation of Nantou Mining and the
care and maintenance program at the Perkoa Mine. 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, the filing of the application for
judicial liquidation by Nantou Mining; the placement of the Perkoa
mine into a care and maintenance program; operating in foreign
jurisdictions with risk of changes to governmental regulation;
compliance with governmental regulations; compliance with
environmental laws and regulations; maintaining ongoing social
license to operate; limitations inherent in our insurance coverage;
litigation; and other risks of the mining industry including,
without limitation, 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.
SOURCE Trevali Mining Corporation