Trevali Mining closes $46 million financing to develop Caribou Mine and Mill complex

Trevali Mining (TSX: TV) announced Thursday the company has closed its previously announced private placement. The bought-deal financing was underwritten by a syndicate of underwriters and led by Dundee Securities.

Trevali plans to use the funds to recommence production at the Caribou mine and mill complex located in the Bathurst Mining Camp of New Brunswick. The company took ownership of the complex in 2012 after acquiring Maple Minerals in an all-stock deal valued at $22 million.

Existing infrastructure at Caribou includes a 3,000 tonne per day (tpd) processing plant along with a geochemical laboratory and tailings treatment facility. Operational licenses for mining were granted in May.

Initial plans are to use the mill to process ore from its Halfmile deposit, which is located 20 kilometers south, while it builds up underground mine infrastructure at Caribou. Trial mining at Halfmile was conducted in 2012 and the ore was shipped to Glencore Xstrata’s Brunswick #12 mine for processing.

Trevali recently completed 5,000 meters of drilling at Halfmile. The updated National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Indicated resource at Halfmile outlined 6.3 million tonnes grading 8.1% zinc, 2.6% lead, 0.22% copper and 30.8 g/t silver. An Inferred resource is also present with an estimated 6.08 million tonnes of similar grade ore.

An NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate was also calculated for the Caribou Mine earlier this year by SRK Consulting. The report outlined Measured and Indicated resources of 7.2 million tonnes grading 7% zinc, 2.9% lead and 84 g/t silver. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth.

Preparations are being made to complete Preliminary Economic Assessments (PEA) on both deposits. The Caribou and Halfmile deposits are polymetallic Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) ore bodies that occur within the world-class Bathurst Mining District of northeast New Brunswick. The Fraser Institute ranked New Brunswick as the best mining jurisdiction in the world in 2012.

Shares of Trevali are traded on the TSX under the ticker symbol TV. The company has 223 million shares outstanding and holds a market cap of $185 million. Shares are down 23% year to date.