New Pacific Metals Corp. [NUAG-TSXV; NUPMF-OTCQX] has named former Trevali Mining Corp. [TV-TSX, LMA; TREVF-OTCQX; 4T1-FSE] CEO Dr. Mark Cruise as its new Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement comes 10 months after Trevali announced that Cruise and its former Chairman Mike Hoffman were stepping down as part of a leadership transition.
Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company. It operates the wholly-owned Santander mine in Peru, the wholly-owned Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick, the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia and its 90%-owned Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
In April 23, 2019, Ricus Grimbeek assumed the role of President and CEO at Trevali.
New Pacific is a Canadian exploration and development company. Its portfolio includes the Silver Sand Project in Potosi Department, Bolivia, and the Tagish Lake gold project in the Yukon.
In a press release on Tuesday, New Pacific said that under Cruise’s leadership, Trevali grew from an initial discovery to a top-ten global zinc producer with operations in Peru, Canada, Burkina Faso and Namibia, with a resultant market capitalization in excess of $1.48 billion.
Prior to launching Trevali, Cruise held multiple positions in Europe and North America with Anglo American Plc as a polymetallic commodity specialist. He previously served as the vice-president, business development, and vice-president, exploration at Cardero Resources Corp. [CDU-TSXV; CDYCF-OTC; CR5-FSE].
Cruise holds Doctorate and Bachelor degrees in Geology from the University of Dublin and Trinity College.
New Pacific shares were unchanged at $4.30 on Tuesday and trade in a 52-week range of $1.18 and $6.71.
“We’re excited to secure the services of someone with his level of experience and calibre,” said New Pacific CEO Dr. Rui Feng.
New Pacific recently raised $17.2 million from a bought deal offering of 4.3 million shares, priced at $4 per share. The offering was underwritten by BMO Capital Markets. The company said it will use the proceeds to advance exploration and construct an exploration camp at its Silver Sand project.
Silver Sand is located approximately 4,050 metres above sea level and 25 km northeast of the world-famous Cerro Rico silver and base metal system near Potosi.
“While currently transitioning from the discovery phase, I am incredibly excited to work with Rui and the team on our Silver Sand Project and other initiatives in the region,” Dr. Cruise said. “The coming months will be exciting for both management and shareholders as we deliver on various near to medium term catalysts and execute on our shared vision to crease the next major silver developer,” he said.
After budgeting for 55,000 metres of drilling this year in selected areas at Silver Sand, the company hopes to be in a position to announce a NI 43-101-compliant initial resource estimate by the end of this year. Areas designated for drilling included prospects showing good silver grades.
In an August 27, 2019 press release, New Pacific said assays from a third batch of 20 drill holes continue to show wide intervals of silver mineralization, including 165.5 metres at 204 g/t silver from 73.8 metres to 239.3 metres, including 93.5 metres of 336 g/t silver from 73.8 metres to 167.3 metres.