arbitration / adr news
Montero seeks C$90 million in damages from the Tanzanian government for expropriation of the Wighill Project 28 July 2022
Toronto, July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. (TSX-V: MON) (“Montero” or “Company”) Provides up-to-date information on the arbitration process for a wholly-owned investment in the United Republic of Tanzania (“Tanzania”) regarding the expropriation of the Wighill Rare Earth Element Project in front of the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”), Part of the World Bank Group. Montero submitted a monument to the ICSID Arbitration Court in May 2022 (“Monument”) on the merit, according to a time schedule agreed by the parties and the court. The memorial includes evidence of C $ 90 million in compensation for Montero, including interest up to May 2022. This interest will continue to accrue. The alleged damages are due to the illegal expropriation and abuse of Montero’s investment by Tanzania, which violates the agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of Tanzania on the promotion and mutual protection of investment ()“a bit”) Signed in 2013. Dr. Tony Harwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Montero, commented: “Montero has filed a $ 90 million claim for damages with ICSID. We have worked with the Government of Tanzania many times to reach a friendly reconciliation, but with no success. .. The discovery and development of the Wigu Hill project has brought great value to Tanzania. We are committed to pursuing fair treatment of shareholders and the return of large investments in time and money in Tanzania through a fully funded arbitration process managed by ICSID, which is part of the World Bank. “ Claim background Montero began exploration of the Wighill Rare Earth Element Project under a prospecting license in March 2008, spending more than $ 15.5 million on the discovery and development of the project. In 2015, the Tanzanian government granted the property a five-year retention license. The Wigu Hill retention license was confiscated by the Government of Tanzania in 2018 when the Mining (Local Content) Regulations cancelled all previously issued retention licenses. Since then, Montero has repeatedly tried to reach a friendly solution with the government, but with no success. Montero filed a request for arbitration with ICSID on January 8, 2021. On February 9, 2021, ICSID registered Montero’s request to an arbitration proceedings body to resolve the illegal expropriation issue. The arbitral tribunal consisted of the appointment of the President on November 18, 2021 and the appointments from Montero and Tanzania. Montero holds Thierry Lauriol of Jeantet AARPI as a legal advisor and Dr. Neal Rigby of SRK Consulting (US) Inc. as a quantum expert. Laurior has extensive experience in international arbitration and has an excellent track record of achieving successful results for African clients. Dr. Riggby has acted in this position and has served as an expert in the mining and valuation of many international mining disputes settled through ICSID arbitration. Montero also secured conflict funding from Omnibridge Way, the world’s leading conflict funding provider. Montero is one of many companies that have filed arbitration proceedings with ICSID against the Government of Tanzania for expropriation of retained licenses. This includes Winshear Gold Corp., which charges $ 124 million for losses on the SMP Gold project (https://winshear.com), and A $ 127 million for losses on Ntaka Hill. Includes Indiana Resources Limited. Nickel project (https://indianaresources.com.au). Next step According to the first arbitration court proceedings order dated 18 February 2022, Tanzania will respond to the Montero monument by October 2022, after which a new round of written submission will be in the second quarter of 2023. Continue to the third quarter. For more information, see Montero’s recent press releases (PR134 dated April 12, 2022, PR132 dated November 29, 2021, and PR119 dated January 8, 2021) and the ICSID website. .. (Https://icsid.worldbank.org/services/arbitration/convention/process/overview). Qualified person’s statement This press release has been reviewed and approved by Mike Evans, M.Sc. Pr.Sci.Nat. , Qualified for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. It has also been reviewed by Thierry Lauriol. avocat à la cour (Paris, France). About Montero Montero is a junior exploration company focused on finding, exploring and advancing globally important gold, silver and base metal deposits in Chile. Montero’s board and management have a great track record of successfully discovering and advancing precious metal and copper projects. Montero is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol MON, with 38,647,485 issued shares. Source: Eminetra |
