Four missing workers found dead at Trevali’s Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso 

Four out of the eight miners who have been missing since Trevali Mining’s (TSX: TV) Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso was hit by flash floods last month, were found dead, the company reported on May 25.  

The rescue team discovered the bodies of the four workers, the company said, without providing more details. The search for the remaining four workers will continue, it added. Six out of the eight men are from Burkina Faso, while one is from Tanzania and one is from Zambia. 

“Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues’ families during this difficult time, and all of us at Trevali grieve their loss,” the company’s CEO Ricus Grimbeek said in apress release. 

Families are being notified as each worker is recovered and identified, Trevali said.  

On Apr. 16, heavy rains outside the usual rainy season poured about 125 mm of rain in less than an hour, triggering flash floods that breached the open pit at Perkoa, located about 120 km west of the capital of Ouagadougou.   

As the water entered the open pit and underground mine, electricity and communications were lost. While most workers escaped, the company hadn’t been able to communicate with the eight missing workers.   

The rescue team and the company have been pumping water from the bottom of the mine at level 710 over the last month. On May 17, the company said that the workers had failed to reach the mine’s refuge chamber situated more than 500 metres below the surface.  

The Perkoa mine produced 316.2 million payable lb. of zinc in 2021 and generates the bulk of the company’s revenue. Trevali owns 90% of the mine, while Burkina Faso holds a 10% interest.   

According to Scotiabank analyst Orest Wowkodaw, the company’s credit facility matures in the third quarter of 2022. “Securing a refinancing package to replace its maturing credit facility and to fund development of the proposed Rosh Pinah expansion project (in Namibia) has been complicated by the Perkoa incident,” he wrote in a note to clients on May 16.   

A McKinsey & Co. report published in 2020 stated that commodities like iron ore and zinc, based on their location, are more exposed than other materials to “extremely high flood occurrence.”    

Shares of Trevali Mining fell 23.3% or 44¢ to $1.45 on Apr. 18, after the flash floods. At press time on May 25, the company’s shares were trading at 68¢ within a 52-week trading range of 57¢ and $2.70.