- Gabriel Resources has lost its arbitration trial looking for compensation against the Romanian government
- The Romanian government had a 20 per cent stake in the stalled project, and Gabriel Resources was seeking at least US$4.4 billion in damages
- The World Bank Tribunal awarded Romania approximately US$10 million in legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with its defence of the arbitration
- Gabriel Resources Ltd. last traded at $0.87 a share
Gabriel Resources (TSXV:GBU) has lost its arbitration trial looking for compensation against the Romanian government.
Gabriel’s plan to build Europe’s largest open cast gold mine in the western Romanian town of Rosia Montana failed. The Romanian government had a 20 per cent stake in the stalled project and Gabriel Resources was seeking at least US$4.4 billion in damages when the government filed its claim at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
The Tribunal awarded Romania approximately US$10 million in legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with its defence of the arbitration.
The London, U.K.-based resource company issued a release on Monday calling the tribunal’s decision “deeply flawed and a travesty of justice.” The company criticized the decision, saying it “blatantly ignores or intentionally misconstrues the vast body of evidence” that was presented to demonstrate that Romania’s decision to deny necessary permits and claims this move was politically motivated and without any substantive or objective regulatory basis.
The cabinet of Socialist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in a statement, “The Romanian government salutes this decision and thanks everyone involved in defending the interests of the Romanian state.”
In an earlier update on this decision, the company’s CEO, Dragos Tanase, said “Gabriel’s shareholders invested hundreds of millions of dollars to deliver a transformational mining project that would have brought very significant social and financial benefits to the Romanian people, not only in Rosia Montana but across Romania. We regret that Romania, its economy and its citizens, have missed the opportunity to benefit from this mining project. We will be studying the tribunal’s decision in detail before evaluating our next steps.”
Gabriel Resources’ principal business consists of exploration and development of the Rosia Montana gold and silver project in Romania, where it has held concession rights since 1999. Rosia Montana consists of gold deposits, which are situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania.
Gabriel Resources Ltd. last traded at $0.87 a share. In the past year, Gabriel Resources’ stock has risen 171.88 per cent.
Join the discussion: Find out what everybody’s saying about this stock on the Gabriel Resources Bullboard, and check out the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.