Canada NewsWire
VANCOUVER, Oct. 6, 2016
VANCOUVER, Oct. 6, 2016 /CNW/ - Nevsun Resources Ltd. ("Nevsun") (TSX: NSU) (NYSE MKT: NSU) advises that the British Columbia Supreme Court has refused to permit a claim against Nevsun to proceed as a common law class action. The court did permit the lawsuit by the three named plaintiffs to continue.
Today's court decision addresses only preliminary legal challenges to the action raised by Nevsun. The judgment makes no findings with respect to the plaintiffs' allegations, including whether any of them were in fact at the Bisha Mine. The judge also emphasized that the case raises novel and complex legal questions, including on international law, which have never before been considered in Canada.
Nevsun is studying the court's decision and considering an appeal of the decision that the action can proceed at all.
Nevsun remains confident that its indirect 60%-owned Eritrean subsidiary, Bisha Mining Share Company ("BMSC") operates the Bisha Mine according to international standards of governance, workplace conditions, health, safety and human rights. There are contractual commitments in place that strictly prohibit the use of national service employees by BMSC's contractors and subcontractors.
BMSC is committed to managing the Bisha Mine in a safe and responsible manner that respects the interests of local communities, workers, stakeholders and the natural environment. Nevsun's and BMSC's commitment to corporate social responsibility is detailed in Nevsun's 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility report, available at this link: https://nevsuncsr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NevsunCSR-2015_Digital.pdf. Nevsun and its partner, Eritrean National Mining Corporation, also commissioned a 2015 human rights audit of the Bisha Mine which is available at this link: https://nevsuncsr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Bisha-HRIA-Audit-2015.pdf
About Nevsun Resources Ltd.
Nevsun Resources Ltd. is the 60% owner of the high grade Bisha Mine in Eritrea. Bisha has over nine years of reserve life, generating revenue from both copper and zinc concentrates containing gold and silver by-products. Nevsun has a strong balance sheet with no debt and pays a peer leading quarterly dividend. Nevsun is well positioned to grow shareholder value through exploration at Bisha and the newly acquired Serbian assets that include the high-grade copper-gold Timok Project.