TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian zinc producer Trevali Mining has reported a fourth-quarter net loss C$8.3-million, or C$0.03 a share, despite its Santander zinc/lead/silver project, in Peru, putting in a strong performance.

The 76% year-on-year widening of the company’s net loss was mainly owing to lower realised metal prices, despite increased metal units sold, compared with the same quarter last year. This loss was despite a significant reduction in the company’s cash operating costs from the comparable quarter ended December 2014.

A revenue of $22.8-million was marginally higher in the period, from higher sales of 14 125 t of zinc concentrates containing 12.6-million pounds of payable zinc and 5 408 t of lead-silver concentrates containing 6.5-million pounds of payable lead and 229 464 oz of payable silver.

Trevali suffered under a 28% drop in the zinc price to $0.70/lb, lead was also down 15% year-on-year at $0.74/lb and silver declined 10% to $15.11/oz in the fourth quarter. This undermined some of the gains of a more favourable C$/US$ exchange rate.

For the full year, net income fell to C$14.3-million, or C$0.05 a share, despite revenues growing 13% to C$106.4-million.

Trevali reported that Santander had exceeded expected output guidance for the year, achieving actual production results of 54.1-million pounds of payable zinc, 30.2-million pounds of payable lead and 1.06-million ounces of payable silver. The company also significantly improved its estimated 2015 cash costs at $42.65/t milled for the year, compared with $47.33/t in 2014.

The decrease was owing to higher mill throughput and continued cost optimisation throughout 2015. Many of the cost and optimisation savings were realised in the renegotiations of key contracts, fuel and power for the mine and mill, Trevali advised.

The mill continued to perform above design recoveries averaging 90% for zinc, 89% for lead and 77% for silver.

For 2016, Trevali expected Santander operations to continue at steady-state 2 000 t/d nameplate production, producing between 52-million and 55-million pounds of payable zinc in concentrate grading about 50% zinc; 22-million to 25-million pounds of payable lead in concentrate grading about 56% to 58% lead; and 800 000 oz to one-million ounces of payable silver.

Site cash costs for 2016 were estimated at about $40/t to $43/t milled.

The company also planned to undertake a 3 000 m underground drill programme for the first half of 2016, which was expected to convert inferred tonnes to a higher confidence category and to follow up on 2015 exploration successes.

In Canada, Trevali owned the Caribou zinc mine and mill, Halfmile mine and Stratmat deposit all located in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. The company was currently commissioning its 3 000 t/d Caribou zinc mine, which it expected to enter into production phase by the end of June.