Silvermet shares drop 26% after shutting down Turkish ops

Silvermet Inc. (TSX-V: SYI) shares dropped 26% on Thursday after the Toronto-based company announced  that operations have been halted due to a strike by unionized personnel at the Waelz kiln facility located in Iskenderun, Turkey.

Negotiations with union representatives are continuing said Stephen G. Roman Chairman, President and CEO adding that “management is moving regularly scheduled maintenance forward to coincide with the current shut down in order to shorten maintenance related shut downs for the remainder of the year.”

Silvermet’s principal business activity is the recycling of electric arc furnace dust obtained from steel companies through a Waelz kiln to recover zinc concentrates that are then sold to zinc smelters throughout the world. The Company owns 49% of BST, which operates a Waelz kiln facility located in Iskenderun, Turkey.