Trevali deploys new underground mining fleet at Caribou zinc mine

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Zinc producer Trevali Mining is currently phasing in some C$20-million of new underground mining equipment at its Cariboo zinc mine, in the Bathurst Mining Camp of north-eastern New Brunswick.

The fleet upgrade is part of an operation-wide optimisation drive, in partnership with Sandvik Mining, which will supply and maintain the full fleet of mining equipment for Caribou operations.

TSX- and BVL-listed Trevali has taken delivery of the first haul trucks and loaders on schedule, as it transitions to the owner-operator model, which is expected to ensure higher availability and production performance at Cariboo.

The new equipment will supplement the three loaders and four TH540 trucks on site, and more components of the new Sandvik underground mining fleet are scheduled for delivery over the next several weeks. The project is currently about three months ahead of schedule for full integration of mining activities by the end of June.

Trevali also announced Thursday that it had started its latest underground exploration campaign that would see contractor Boart Longyear Canada undertake 14 400 m of diamond drilling. The programme was a follow-up to the 14 000 m 2016 drill programme that targeted inferred and indicated resources on both the north and east limbs of the deposit, Trevali advised.

The 2017 programme will continue this effort below the current workings on both the north and east limbs, with a concerted emphasis on the down-plunge area of the north limb that shows the greatest potential to find more inferred resources. The goal for the 2017 programme is to upgrade a significant portion of inferred resources (about 2-million to 2.5-million tonnes) to the indicated category. A portion of the 2017 programme is also slated to further delineate and upgrade indicated resources into the measured category.

In parallel with the underground drill programme, Trevali is currently in the midst of a surface drill campaign to test near-mine targets.

The Caribou mine is expected to produce between 90-million to 93-million pounds of saleable zinc concentrate, 30-million to 32-million pounds of of lead in concentrate and 800 000 oz to 900 000 oz of silver.