VANCOUVER, Aug. 12, 2014 /CNW/ - Bear Creek Mining (TSX Venture: BCM)
("Bear Creek" or the "Company") announces that it intends to commence
an arbitration proceeding against the Republic of Peru ("Peru")
pursuant to Article 824 of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and
the Republic of Peru (the "Canada-Peru FTA"). Bear Creek has submitted
the formal request on August 11, 2014 and is completing the required
formalities to commence the arbitration proceedings. While Bear Creek
remains committed to continuing discussions with the government of Peru
to resolve and settle the dispute relating to the Santa Ana mining
project, commencing the arbitration proceedings is necessary to
preserve the Company's rights under the Canada-Peru FTA. Commencing
the arbitration proceedings against Peru does not preclude Bear Creek
from continuing to participate in settlement negotiations with the
government of Peru, which Bear Creek intends to do.
Bear Creek delivered to the Peruvian Minister of Economy and Finance, on
February 6, 2014, a Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration
("Notice of Intent"), under the Canada-Peru FTA (see news release dated
February 7, 2014). The filing of the Notice of Intent initiated a
six-month consultation period between the parties during which time the
Company continued to attempt to amicably settle the dispute. No
settlement was reached during that six-month period. The dispute
arises, inter alia, out of the enactment by the government of Peru on June 25, 2011, of
Supreme Decree 032 rescinding the Company's rights to operate the Santa
Ana mining project and which resulted in a complete stoppage of
activities at Santa Ana and significant damages to the Company.
Andrew Swarthout, CEO and President, stated "while I would characterize
the settlement discussions to date as being productive and significant
progress has been made towards an agreement, the protracted discussions
have not yet produced a final settlement agreement within the mandated
timeframe under the Treaty and the Company is required to take this
action which fully protects Bear Creek's rights. The government of
Peru continues to send a clear message that it wishes to resolve this
matter and it has committed to maintain the momentum in our
negotiations. We too remain committed to working towards an amicable
final resolution of the dispute which we hope will occur in the
near-term."
Mr. Swarthout added, "the permitting process at Bear Creek's Corani
silver-lead-zinc project, which represents the majority of the
Company's value, continues to make good progress. Detailed engineering,
including project optimization, are progressing solidly towards permit
applications in Q1 2015 and community relations remain on very solid
ground. Interaction with the Government with respect to Corani
continues to be positive."
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Cautionary Note regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This document contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning
of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to
herein as "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this
news release or as of the date of the effective date of information
described in this news release, as applicable. Forward-looking
statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect
current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding
future events and include, without limitation, statements with respect
to (i) the Company's plans to continue discussions with the Peruvian
government and local communities for a settlement of the dispute in
relation to the Santa Ana Project, (ii) the Company's plans to pursue
any claims with regard to its projects in Peru, including, without
limitation, any claims before an international tribunal, (iii) the
Company's intentions to complete any environmental and social impact
assessment or permitting application, and (iv) the planned development
of the Corani and Santa Ana projects, including the timing thereof. Any
statements that express or involve discussions with respect to
predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans",
"projects", "estimates", "envisages", "assumes", "intends", "strategy",
"goals", "objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will"
be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms
and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may
be forward-looking statements.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks
and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that
estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements
will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future
experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause
the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans,
objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and
intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk
factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and
estimates expressed above do not occur, but specifically include,
without limitation, risks relating to variations in the mineral content
within the material identified as mineral reserves and mineral
resources from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and
extraction; developments in world metals and minerals markets; risks
relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar relative to other
currencies; increases in the estimated capital and operating costs or
unanticipated costs; difficulties attracting the necessary work force;
increases in financing costs or adverse changes to global market
conditions and the terms of available financing, if any; tax rates or
royalties being greater than assumed; changes in development or mining
plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, changes
in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks relating
timing and to receipt of regulatory approvals; adverse changes to
government approval processes; the effects of competition in the
markets in which the Company operates; operational and infrastructure
risks; and the additional risks described in the Company's Annual
Information Form, annual financial statements and management's
discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2013 and in the
feasibility study entitled "Corani Project, Form 43-101F1 Technical
Report, Feasibility Study" filed by the Company on December 22, 2011
filed on the SEDAR website in Canada (available at www.sedar.com). The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not
exhaustive.
When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others
should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties
and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made
from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as
required by law.
SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation
