VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TriMetals Mining Inc. (TSX: TMI, OTCQX: TMIAF), (the “Company”), reports the release of its condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2018 and the related management’s discussion and analysis of financial position and results of operations (“MD&A”). In this press release, all amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

As at June 30, 2018, the Company had cash of $0.32 million.  During the six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company reported net earnings of $2.32 million ($0.01 per share) compared with net earnings of $0.40 million ($0.00 per share) for the six months ended June 30, 2017.  During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company reported net earnings of $1.30 million ($0.01 per share) compared with net loss of $1.51 million ($0.01 per share) for the three months ended June 30, 2017.

During the six months ended June 30, 2018, the TSX closing price of the Class B shares (a liability in the financial statements) decreased by Cdn. $0.025 (2017 – decreased by Cdn. $0.025) per Class B share, combined with a favourable movement in the USD:CAD exchange rate for the same period ended June 30, 2018, resulted in a non-cash gain of $3.17 million (2017 –$1.52 million), which was the primary factor impacting net earnings.

The Company continued to reduce its level of operations from previous years and manage its costs structure which resulted in general and administrative expenses, excluding non-cash share-based payments, marginally decreasing from $0.77 million to $0.72 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Exploration spending during the six months ended June 30, 2108 decreased to $0.87 million from $1.26 million incurred in the first six months in 2017. The 2018 costs included $0.61 million incurred at Gold Springs and $0.26 million incurred at the Escalones property in Chile.

The Company continues to seek a partner to help advance Escalones towards development.

Subsequent to June 30, 2018 the Company gave notice to the convertible note holders, with a balance of $1.73 million, exercising the right to extend the maturity date from Jul 23, 2018 to July 23, 2020

Arbitration against the Government of Bolivia
On July 12, 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal informed the Parties that it had completed the award, that it had been transmitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”), that the award was being translated and that it expected to issue the award by no later than August 2018. 

On August 2, 2018, one of the arbitrators advised that he had seriously fallen ill and was unable to continue with the arbitration.  On August 7, 2018, TMI’s wholly owned subsidiary South American Silver Limited (SASL) wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal seeking confirmation that this illness would not affect the expected timing for the issuance of the award.  On August 12, 2018, Bolivia wrote to the PCA requesting that a replacement arbitrator to be appointed and that the reconstituted Tribunal consider the possible repetition of the hearing and subsequent stages of the arbitration.  In response, on August 14, 2018, SASL wrote to the PCA and to the Arbitral Tribunal objecting to Bolivia’s requests and noting that, if necessary, Articles 14(2) and 34(4) of the 2010 UNCITRAL Rules expressly permit the two other arbitrators to sign and issue the award.

The President of the Tribunal responded to both Bolivia and SASL on August 14 requesting that the Parties refrain from presenting further submissions on this matter without prior instructions from the Tribunal and indicating that the Arbitral Tribunal will revert to the Parties shortly.

TMI will provide additional information as it becomes available.

Outlook
The priorities of the Company for 2018 continue to be:

• Focus the Company’s efforts toward the historic Gold Springs project in southern Utah and Nevada,  and advance the exploration and geologic understanding of the project to expand the gold resource and mitigate technical risk;
   
• Seek an appropriate strategic partner with specific skills and experience in South America and in copper exploration to increase resources and move forward toward development of the Escalones copper‑gold porphyry-skarn project in Chile;
   
• Participate with the Company’s legal team to pursue and finalize the international arbitration against Bolivia and recover full compensation based on the fair market value for the Malku Khota project; and
   
• Actively manage the business of the Company to preserve cash, efficiently and effectively invest in meaningful activities, and pursue accretive and strategic capital raising opportunities.

Change in Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary
The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Killian Ruby as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company, effective August 15, 2018. Mr. Ruby is the President & CEO at Malaspina Consultants Inc. in Vancouver and focuses on clients in the resource and junior public sector. Mr. Ruby advises clients on matters related to financial management and public company reporting and is particularly adept at handling complex issues and multiple stakeholders with a collaborative, team-based approach.

Prior to joining Malaspina, Mr. Ruby was an Assurance Partner at Wolrige Mahon LLP working predominantly with resource and other junior public companies, and formerly was a Senior Manager with KPMG LLP working on a range of public companies and reporting issuers. He holds a BSc. (Accounting) from University College Cork, Ireland, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Corporate Treasury from Dublin City University, Ireland, and received his Chartered Accountant designations from Canada and Ireland in 2010 and 2002, respectively. Mr. Ruby’s appointment comes with the resignation of Ms. Rebecca Moriarty.

About TriMetals Mining Inc.
TriMetals Mining Inc. is a growth focused mineral exploration company creating value through the exploration and development of the near-surface, oxide, heap-leachable Gold Springs gold project in mining friendly Utah and Nevada USA, and the Escalones copper-gold skarn/porphyry deposit in Chile.  The Company combines a track record of discovery and advancement of large projects, mining and exploration supportive jurisdictions, low political risk areas, key operational and process expertise, and a focus on community relations and sustainable development. Management has extensive experience in the global exploration and mining industry.

The Company’s common shares and Class B shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols “TMI” and “TMI.B” and the common shares and Class B⁽¹⁾ shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol “TMIAF” and “TMIBF”.  Additional information related to TriMetals Mining Inc. is available at www.TriMetalsmining.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward-looking Statements
Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as “expect”, “plan”, “seek”, “continue”, “typical”, “will”, “intention”, “creating”, “and similar expressions. These forward- looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Factors that could cause results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, risks of the mineral exploration industry which may affect the advancement of the Gold Springs project, including possible variations in mineral resources or grade, recovery rates, metal prices, availability of sufficient financing to fund further required work in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, availability of equipment and qualified personnel, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and other risks more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form filed and publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The assumptions made in developing the forward-looking statements include: the accuracy of current resource estimates and the interpretation of drill, metallurgical testing and other exploration results; the continuing support for mining by local governments in Nevada, Utah and Chile, the availability of equipment and qualified personnel to advance the Gold Springs project; and the execution of the Company's existing plans and further exploration and development programs for the Gold Springs Project, which may change due to changes in the views of the Company or if new information arises which makes it prudent to change such plans or programs.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.

(1) the Class B shares have no interest in the properties or assets of the Company. The Class B shares are only entitled collectively to 85% of the net cash, if any, (after deducting all costs, taxes and expenses and the third-party funder's portion thereof) received by TMI from award or settlement in relation to the Company’s subsidiary South American Silver Limited’s arbitration proceeding against Bolivia for the expropriation of the Malku Khota project in 2012.