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Trevali Mining (TV.to) and The IKN First Law of Mining News Releases

For those of you just joining us, here’s the reminder of our well-documented First Law:
 “The
IKN First Law of Mining News Releases: Considering that anything
contained in a mining news release is presented in the best possible way
for the company in question, any piece of information contained in a NR
that comes across in any way negative means the real news and/or events
behind it must be very, very bad indeed.”

And now for today’s example, from Trevali Mining (TV.to):

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Trevali Mining Corporation (“Trevali” or the “Company”) (TSX: TV, OTCQX: TREVF, Frankfurt: 4TI)
announces that operations at the Santander Mine in Peru have been
temporarily halted as a result of an illegal blockade. Main road access
was temporarily blocked by a small group of community members and other
persons not affiliated with the Santander Mine, and the Company was
unable to complete a scheduled delivery of supplies. The protesters
allege that Trevali has failed to satisfy its community investment
obligations under its agreement with the Santa Cruz de Andamarca
community.


The Company has
complied with all of its contractual obligations to the community and
fully cooperated with government departments and other authorities
regarding the blockade, which has now been lifted. Necessary supplies
are now being delivered to the mine and full production is expected to
resume within the week. The Company expects that production and sales
for the quarter will be negatively impacted; however, the Company
remains on track to achieve 2018 zinc production guidance at Santander.
The Santander senior management team is proactively engaging with the
local community and is in ongoing consultation with elected community
leaders to discuss their concerns and ensure that mine operations
continue without further interruption.
“It is
unfortunate that a small group of individuals chose to act in this
manner instead of through open dialogue,” said Mark Cruise, President
& CEO of Trevali. “We have enjoyed tremendous support from the local
communities at Santander over the years and will continue to work
diligently with the community to strengthen our commitment to a mutually
beneficial relationship.”

Now let us consider the things that Trevali didn’t tell you in that NR:

First consider the use of the word “temporarily” in paragraph one, with no dates or specific time periods mentioned. That’s what comes of putting a NR through your Community Relations, then Investor Relations, then Legal department before it gets signed off by the C-suite. In fact this “temporary blockade” has been going on since August 24th and the road has been blocked by locals all that time.
Something else that Trevali didn’t tell you was that on September 3rd they called in the heavy mob. On that day a group of 20 police officers showed up and beat the blockade protesters with their batons. Nine people were injured, including women and children. The lawyer representing the locals told local media that Trevali had hired the group of officers on a private contract to go in and do the dirty work in order to get the road back open. The lawyer also said that the police who repressed the protest are the same officers hired by Trevali on a regular basis to provide on-site security. However, even after getting beaten up the locals didn’t give up and kept the blockade in place afterwards.
As for what they were demanding all this time, in fact it’s no more than the type of community relations agreement that all responsible mining companies in Peru have with local communities. More jobs given to locals and less to outsiders, assistance with education costs for their children, etc. Nothing untoward or extortionate, all standard practice but because these terms weren’t agreed at the very beginning TV saiy “Hah, dumbo locals! You signed this contract at the time so screw you now!”. Very clever of them.
“Tremendous support” eh, Mark Cruise? You funny man. Funny funny man.

Just so you know what type of people you’re supporting when you make that decision to buy or hold shares of TV.to. Have a nice day.

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