By Cameron French
TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Canada's Breakwater Resources is considering reopening its Langlois zinc mine in Quebec, but is also facing fire damage and a possible strike at its Myra Falls mine in British Columbia, company officials said on Friday.
The company, whose shares were down 4 percent on Friday, also said this week that Chief Executive George Pirie had resigned effective Thursday, and has been replaced by board member David Petroff.
Speaking on a conference call, Petroff said the company would also review its strategic direction, and acknowledged that major changes such as selling assets or the company itself are possible.
'I think everything's on the table right now,' he said.
He said the fire at Myra Falls broke out on Wednesday on a production hoist, but was contained quickly and caused no injuries. It did, however, destroy an electric switch gear that the company must replace or rebuild before it can get the hoist working again.
'We are assessing the impact on the damage and its effect on near-term production and costs,' he said.
Production at Myra Falls may be about to be disrupted anyway, as unionized workers at the zinc mine served the company strike notice on Wednesday. The workers could be in a position for a legal strike on Saturday, Petroff said, adding that the two sides are not currently in talks.
Orest Wowkodaw, an analyst at Canaccord Adams, said the management change was a surprise, but said the fire and potential strike shouldn't have a huge impact on the company's performance.
'The issues at Myra are a setback, but Myra's their highest cost operation, so having it go down is not that material to the company's financials,' he said.
Regarding Langlois, Petroff said the company was now actively reviewing the economics of reopening the operation, which was suspended last November due to weak zinc prices.
After making such a decision, it would take six months of preproduction development work to get it up to speed, he said.
Breakwater's shares, which are routinely among the most actively traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, were down 1-1/2 Canadian cents at C$37 Canadian cents on volume of just under 5 million shares.
The company produced about 280,000 tonnes of zinc and 35,000 tonnes of copper at four mines in 2008, but is on a weaker pace this year due to the suspension of Langlois.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: BREAKWATERRESOURCES/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Canada's Breakwater Resources is considering reopening its Langlois zinc mine in Quebec, but is also facing fire damage and a possible strike at its Myra Falls mine in British Columbia, company officials said on Friday.
The company, whose shares were down 4 percent on Friday, also said this week that Chief Executive George Pirie had resigned effective Thursday, and has been replaced by board member David Petroff.
Speaking on a conference call, Petroff said the company would also review its strategic direction, and acknowledged that major changes such as selling assets or the company itself are possible.
'I think everything's on the table right now,' he said.
He said the fire at Myra Falls broke out on Wednesday on a production hoist, but was contained quickly and caused no injuries. It did, however, destroy an electric switch gear that the company must replace or rebuild before it can get the hoist working again.
'We are assessing the impact on the damage and its effect on near-term production and costs,' he said.
Production at Myra Falls may be about to be disrupted anyway, as unionized workers at the zinc mine served the company strike notice on Wednesday. The workers could be in a position for a legal strike on Saturday, Petroff said, adding that the two sides are not currently in talks.
Orest Wowkodaw, an analyst at Canaccord Adams, said the management change was a surprise, but said the fire and potential strike shouldn't have a huge impact on the company's performance.
'The issues at Myra are a setback, but Myra's their highest cost operation, so having it go down is not that material to the company's financials,' he said.
Regarding Langlois, Petroff said the company was now actively reviewing the economics of reopening the operation, which was suspended last November due to weak zinc prices.
After making such a decision, it would take six months of preproduction development work to get it up to speed, he said.
Breakwater's shares, which are routinely among the most actively traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, were down 1-1/2 Canadian cents at C$37 Canadian cents on volume of just under 5 million shares.
The company produced about 280,000 tonnes of zinc and 35,000 tonnes of copper at four mines in 2008, but is on a weaker pace this year due to the suspension of Langlois.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: BREAKWATERRESOURCES/ (cameron.french@thomsonreuters.com; 416-941-8199: Reuters Messaging: cameron.french.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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