Caribou Mine Files For Creditor Protection Shortly After Suspending Operations
BATHURST – The owner of the suspended Caribou Mine in northern New Brunswick is now under creditor protection.
Trevali Mining Corporation, the parent of Trevali Mining New Brunswick Ltd., which owns the mine, announced earlier this week it has filed for creditor protection and halted the trading of its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“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 (Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act),” said a release from the Vancouver-based mining company.
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About a week before the announcement, Trevali suspended operations at the mine, citing declines in productivity and revenue following poor second-quarter financial results.
The company is currently facing difficulties overseas, following a fatal flood and the arrest of its manager and a contractor working for it, as a trial looms over a fatal flooding in its suspended Burkina Faso-based Perkoa Mine, in April.
The company also recently announced it will not be able to pay a $7.5 million debt payment.
Information released Aug. 22 related to the announcement said the company is expected to do the same on the Lime and Frankfurt stock exchanges, and may be delisted from trading.
Caribou Mine, a zinc, copper, lead, silver, and gold mine located 50 kilometers west of Bathurst, last saw interruptions to operations in the early days of the pandemic. The mine’s operations were placed on care and maintenance, with full operations re-launched in February 2021.
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The mine is not far from the Caribou Wind Park, one of several northern New Brunswick wind farms Port of Belledune is eyeing as a potential source of renewable energy to power green hydrogen plant it wants to have online as early as 2027.
Operations included a 3,000-ton-per-day processing mill, flotation recovery plant, metallurgical and geochemical laboratories and a tailings treatment facility.
In addition to the Caribou Mine’s closure, Trevali announced the resignation of two members of its board of directors: Nick Popovic and Aline Cote.