Emerita expects Aznalcollar award to be rescinded
2015-09-17 08:17 ET - News Release
Mr. Joaquin Merino reports
EMERITA PROVIDES UPDATE ON APPEAL OF THE AZNALCOLLAR PUBLIC TENDER IN SPAIN
The investigation into the tender process for the Aznalcollar mine has indicated that corruption may have occurred, and seven government officials, including the Director of Mines, that have been imputed by the court in relation to prevarication charges will be required to make statements in September to defend their role in the decision.
After the Aznalcollar public tender was awarded to another bidder in February, 2015, Emerita Resources Corp. appealed the decision, and court No. 3 of Seville initiated an investigation of the tender process. This investigation included the participation of the UDEF (Unidad de Delitos Economicos y Fiscales), which is the special police unit created to prosecute economic crimes such as corruption. The UDEF compiled a full report that alleges that several crimes of corruption occurred in the Aznalcollar tender process, including prevarication. The conclusion of the UDEF's report was that the Aznalcollar tender was fraudulently granted to Minorbis-Grupo Mexico. The UDEF continues to investigate certain aspects of the tender process, but the conclusions in its report are final.
Based on the UDEF's report, Patricia Fernandez, the judge in charge of court No. 3 of Seville, issued a resolution in which seven senior government officials directly involved in the tender process were imputed in relation to the crime of prevarication as it pertains to the public tender process. Among those named was Maria Jose Asensio, the Director of Mines of the regional government (see Emerita's news release dated Aug. 10, 2015). The public prosecutor of Seville participated in the investigation and concurs with the conclusions of the judge regarding the charges of prevarication against the seven officials.
Following the issuance of judicial findings, there was a major outcry in the Spanish media and local social media from political opposition parties and others expressing concern about the lack of transparency of the tender process. Subsequently, the Junta de Andalusia relieved the Director of Mines of her duties.
The judicial process continues, and the seven officials will be required to make statements under oath in court along with other witnesses on Sept. 18. Emerita's legal representatives are entitled to participate in this judicial process.
Upon completion of the judicial investigation, it is expected that the judge will issue a final resolution detailing all the charges and all the individuals being charged. Emerita's chief executive officer, Joaquin Merino, commented: "The investigation to date has been managed by the authorities in a diligent manner, and we anticipate the process to conclude in the coming months and do not foresee any circumstances that would lead to a serious delay. As a consequence of this, we expect the resolution awarding the Aznalcollar project to the other bidder will be rescinded. Emerita remains committed to the bid it has submitted and believes that it has the technical expertise and financial means to restart the Aznalcollar mine, providing numerous jobs in the region and providing a substantial boost to the local economy."
According to Ramon Escudero Espin, Spanish legal counsel for Emerita: "Spanish mining law states that as long as there is one bidder that has fulfilled all the requirements of the tender, the tender cannot be declared invalid and the tender must be awarded to the next qualified participant. In this case, the only remaining participant in the process is Emerita Resources."
The company is also pleased to announce that it has appointed Damian Lopez as the corporate secretary of the company. Mr. Lopez is a corporate securities lawyer who works as a legal consultant to various Toronto Stock Exchange- and TSX Venture-listed companies. Mr. Lopez previously worked as a securities lawyer at a large Toronto corporate law firm. He obtained his JD degree from Osgoode Hall and received a bachelor of commerce from the University of Toronto.
Qualified person
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Joaquin Merino, PGeo, president and chief executive officer of the company, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
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