Canada’s Trevali among world’s top zinc producers with Glencore mines buy

Canadian miner Trevali (TSX:TV) reached a milestone Thursday, as it finished the acquisition of majority stakes in Glencore’s (LON:GLEN) Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia and the Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso.

The deal, announced in March, places the Vancouver-based company among the world’s top ten zinc producers and helps it extend its footprint to Africa.

The acquisition of an 80% interest in Rosh Pinah and a 90% stake in Perkoa, will allow Trevali double its annual output to approximately 410 million pounds of zinc. It also makes it the first pure zinc company with operations in North and South America as well as Africa.

Rosh Pinah opened in 1969 and is expected to have a further 14 years of operating life, while Perkoa is set to produce for another six years.

The two African mines complement Trevali’s existing operations at the Caribou zinc-lead mine in Canada’s New Brunswick and Santander copper-zinc mine in Peru.

“We are very pleased to finalize our acquisition of the Rosh Pinah and Perkoa zinc mines, which marks a truly transformational event for Trevali shareholders,” President and CEO Mark Cruise said in the statement. “Additionally, we welcome Glencore as a key strategic shareholder in Trevali, expanding on the strong, proven business relationship we’ve enjoyed since 2010 at our Santander operation.”

Glencore now owns about 25.6% of Trevali’s issued and outstanding shares, representing about a 21% increase in ownership previous to the transaction.

Zinc was one of the best performing commodities last year, climbing up 60% as a few top mines, such as Lisheen in Ireland and Century in Australia, closed down. At the same time, top miners of the metal, including Glencore and Nyrstar, suspended some production.

Trading of Trevali shares was halted previous to the announcement and they were trading slightly up (0.70%) at 12:39PM ET.

Acquisitions will allow Trevali to double zinc output to about 410 million pounds per year, placing it among the world’s top 10 producers of the metal.

Source: www.mining.com