Trevali to close Burkina Faso Perkoa zinc mine after deadly flood

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Men work during a rescue operation inside Perkoa mine where water is still being pumped out, four weeks after a flood trapped eight miners inside the galleries, in Perkoa, Burkina Faso, May 13, 2022. REUTERS / Anne Mimault/File Photo

Canadian mining firm Trevali will close its Perkoa zinc mine in Burkina Faso, a company official told Reuters on Friday, following a flood at the mine in April that killed eight workers.

The miners drowned in the underground passages of the mine in Sanguie province after unexpected torrential rain during the West African country’s dry season.

The mine, one of Trevali’s three main operating assets, has been closed since.

“The funds still available…are insufficient to complete the rehabilitation of the mine,” said Ditil Moussa Palenfo, country director of Nantou Mining, the Trevali entity that owns Perkoa.

“Funds are barely sufficient to cover severance pay for terminated employees.”

A court in Burkina Faso last week handed out suspended sentences to two executives after finding them guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the flood disaster.

That came just weeks after the company announced it was halting trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

SOURCE: REUTERS

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