ORR in a bit of trouble?There was a Dispute Court judgement that nullified all mining titles
granted by the mining authority in the Cumbaratza area which include
Nambija Condominio Norte and Condominio Sur.
Will there be any fallout on us?
Oromonte Resources Inc. - Adverse Ecuador Tribunal Ruling under Review
20:44 EDT Thursday, September 28, 2006
CALGARY, Sept. 28 /CNW/ - (TSX-V:ORR, FRA:0F6) Oromonte Resources Inc. ("Oromonte" or the "Corporation"), a Canadian corporation with offices in Calgary, Alberta and Loja, Ecuador, advises that management of the Corporation has been informed by its Ecuadorian legal counsel of a decision which has come to their attention relating to a ruling by the Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo of Guayaquil, an administrative dispute court (the "Dispute Court"), against the Ecuadorian Ministry of Energy and Mines.
The dispute, commenced by Cumbaratza S.A., to which Oromonte is not a party nor of which it was aware until being advised by Ecuadorian legal counsel, involves approximately 30,000 hectares of the Cumbaratza mining area located in Zamora, an area of Ecuador which also contains the Corporation's Nambija mining operations. The Dispute Court issued a judgement (the "Order") to:
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1. declare null all of the mining titles that have been granted by the
mining authorities over the Cumbaratza area, including Nambija 1
Condominio Norte and Condominio Sur;
2. grant in favour of Cumbaratza S.A. all of the mining rights in
Cumbaratza mining concession, including the rights over the Nambija 1
Condominio Norte and Condominio Sur;
3. order the property registrar of Zamora County (the "Property
Registrar") to cancel all mining titles and mining rights over the
Cumbaratza area, including all of the rights in the Nambija 1
Condominio Norte and Condominio Sur.
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Unless and until the Property Registrar acts on the Order, the rights to mining concessions and titles will not be altered and it is the Corporation's intention to continue to carry on its mining operations at Nambija.
The Corporation has been advised by its counsel that they understand the Attorney General of Ecuador has commenced an appeal of the Dispute Court Order. This appeal does not automatically suspend any action being taken by the Property Registrar due to the Order. Oromonte is currently collecting further facts on the background of the Order and actions taken or which may be taken by government authorities. In addition, Oromonte is reviewing with its counsel various legal options, as an interested party, or through other parties having interests in the region, to commence proceedings to suspend the applicability of the Order until such time as any and all appeals are finalized and to support or participate in other actions to protect its interests.
Oromonte's Ecuadorian counsel's preliminary assessment is that the Dispute Court Order violates Ecuadorian mining law and the guarantees of due process under Ecuador's constitution.
In an unrelated matter, the Corporation advises that it has received the resignation from Brian Usher-Jones as a director of the Corporation.