And I thought US courts were slow...Some will die of old age The company has been engaged in a lengthy litigation process since 2015 related to the public tender for the Aznalcllar Project. A number of indictments relating to irregularities in the Aznalcllar tender process have been issued by the Spanish courts.
According to Spanish legal counsel, laws relating to public tenders in Spain stipulate that if there is commission of a crime in the awarding of a public tender, the bid shall be disqualified, and the tender awarded to the next qualified bidder. In the case of the Aznalcllar Project, Emerita is the only other qualified bidder. The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Seville has set March 3, 2025 as the date for the criminal trial on the alleged crimes committed during the process of awarding the Aznalcllar tender. The trial is an oral hearing that is expected to be completed on July 15, 2025. The Court has also reserved up to 40 sessions including days in March, April, May, June and July 2025. The 16 defendants face sentences totaling up to 348 years in prison for the alleged rigging of the Aznalcllar mining tender, including accusations of influence peddling, fraud, embezzlement and bribery. Emerita remains committed to working with the community of Aznalcllar to develop the Project in an environmentally responsible manner to benefit all stakeholders.
With a successful acquisition, Emerita would commence work immediately upon receiving appropriate permits to carry out drilling on the property and complete an NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate required for the completion of a feasibility study in support of development of a mining operation at the site.