Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX-V: EMO) (the
“Company” or “Emerita”) is pleased to announce that the Supreme
Court of Spain has rejected the appeal by the Junta of Andalusia
and reaffirmed the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Andalusia
(“the High Court”) with respect to Emerita’s challenge of the
awarding of the public tender for the Paymogo Zinc Project (the
“Project”) in Huelva Province, Andalusia Region in southern
Spain. The Project which occurs within the famous Iberian
Pyrite Belt volcanogenic massive sulfide terrane, hosts two zinc
deposits (see below for details). The Project was subject to
a public tender process in February 2014. Subsequent to the
awarding of the tender to a competing participant, Emerita filed an
appeal of the process due to irregularities with respect to the
scoring of the bids. When the bids were initially scored, the
Junta awarded points to a competing bid in categories that were not
part of the tender process. As such, other participants in
the public tender were disadvantaged as they did not address these
points in their submissions.
The ruling by the High Court confirmed Emerita’s
assertion and annulled the awarding of the tender indicating that
the bid results should be recalculated excluding the offending
criteria (categories C and H). Following is a summary of the
hearings:
- In September 2017, the High Court annulled the awarding of the
Project to Matsa and stated that the bids should be recalculated
but excluding categories C and H, which were illegal.
- In October 2017, the Junta of Andalusia appealed the High
Court’s ruling to the Spanish Supreme Court.
- In this most recent ruling, the Spanish Supreme Court dismissed
the Junta’s appeal and reaffirmed the High Court’s ruling.
- If the bids are recalculated excluding categories C and H, as
directed by the High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court,
Emerita has 34.46 points and Matsa has 29.37, and Emerita is the
clear winner of the Public Tender (see table below).
Original Calculation by Panel |
|
Calculation Based on Supreme Court Ruling |
|
Matsa Bid |
Emerita Bid |
|
|
Matsa Bid |
Emerita Bid |
a |
6.97 |
10 |
|
|
6.97 |
10 |
b |
7.4 |
8.1 |
|
|
7.4 |
8.1 |
c |
4 |
1 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
d |
5 |
5 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
e |
0 |
5 |
|
|
0 |
5 |
f |
5 |
5 |
|
|
5 |
5 |
g |
5 |
1.36 |
|
|
5 |
1.36 |
h |
10 |
0.24 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
TOTAL |
43.37 |
35.7 |
|
|
29.37 |
34.46 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joaquin Merino, P.Geo, President of Emerita stated: “Emerita is
very happy with the decision of the Supreme Court. We are
prepared to meet immediately with the Mining Authorities in Huelva
and finalize the awarding of the Paymogo Public Tender to
Emerita. We look forward to working with them to initiate the
work program for the Project as soon as possible. The Company
will conduct its exploration program to the highest environmental
standards and with full regard for the health and safety of the
community and our employees.”
David Gower, P.Geo., CEO of Emerita stated: “The
Company is excited by the outcome and prepared to begin work on the
Paymogo project as soon as the tender can be finalized, in line
with the instructions from the courts. We are highly
encouraged by public statements from senior officials of the new
Government in Andalusia that they will abide by the rulings of the
court and that they look forward to seeing the economic activity
and potential job creation such a project can generate. The
Paymogo project is highly prospective in our view and we are
excited to work on its development.”
About the Paymogo Project
The Paymogo project occurs within the famous
Iberian Pyrite Belt, one of the most highly mineralized
volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) terranes in the world. The
Project is located in the western part of the belt, adjacent to the
border with Portugal, approximately 70 km west of Seville and 50 km
from the port city of Huelva (Figure 1). The Project extends
along a strike length of approximately 18 km. Access is
excellent via paved and all-weather gravel roads. Within the
Project area, several base metal occurrences have been identified
by previous exploration, the most significant of which are the
Romanera and the La Infanta base metal deposits.
Figure 1. Location of the Paymogo
Project. https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d4e5cbf8-d9ee-4852-ba63-ff6584692c3d
The Romanera deposit was drilled primarily by
Minera Rio Tinto in the 1990s and is reported to contain 34 million
tonnes grading 0.42% copper, 2.20% lead, 2.3% zinc 44.4g/t silver
and 0.8 g/t gold within which there is a higher grade resource of
11.21 million tonnes grading 0.40% copper, 2.47% lead, 5.50% zinc,
64.0 g/t silver and 1.0 g/t gold (The Volcanic Hosted Massive
Sulphide Deposits of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, Garcia-Cortes ed.,
2011). A qualified person, as defined in National Instrument
43-101, has not done sufficient work on behalf of Emerita to
classify the historical estimate reported above as current mineral
resources or mineral reserves and Emerita is not treating the
historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral
reserves. The historical estimate should not be relied upon. The
deposit extends from surface to approximately 350 meters depth
based on historical drilling. The mineralization remains open
for further expansion down dip beyond the limits of the existing
drilling.
The La Infanta mineralized zone has been drilled
from surface where it outcrops to a depth of approximately 100
meters. Numerous high-grade intercepts (see table below) occur
within the zone and it remains open for expansion at shallow
depths. Drilling was completed by Phelps Dodge in the mid
1980s. La Infanta is located approximately 8 km to the east
of the La Romanera deposit.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90cb75e6-7d68-4cb6-adcd-a1cc3127ffcc
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this
news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Joaquin Merino,
P.Geo, President of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined
by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities
Administrators.
About Emerita Resources
Corp.
Emerita is a natural resource company engaged in
the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties
in Europe, with a primary focus on exploring in Spain. The
Company’s corporate office and technical team are based in Sevilla,
Spain with an administrative office in Toronto, Canada.
For further information, contact:
Helia Bento
+1 (416) 566-8179 (Toronto)
Joaquin Merino
+34 (628) 1754 66 (Spain)
info@emeritaresources.com
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking
information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without
limitation, statements regarding the Company’s ability to be
awarded the Project, the mineralization of the Project, the
Company’s ability to develop the Project, the prospectivity of the
Project, the Company’s ability to complete a NI 43-101 resource
estimate and feasibility study, the timing of legal processes in
Spain and the Company’s future plans. Generally, forward-looking
information can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is
expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”,
“intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”,
or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain
actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or
“will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward- looking
information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of Emerita, as the case may
be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking information, including but not limited to:
general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social
uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration
activities; risks associated with operation in foreign
jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate the purchased
properties; foreign operations risks; and other risks inherent in
the mining industry. Although Emerita has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in forward-looking information,
there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that
such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking information. Emerita does not undertake
to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance
with applicable securities laws.
NEITHER 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.
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