Emerita Provides Update on Aznalcollar Court Proceedings, Spain
June 24 2021 - 6:00AM
Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX – V: EMO; OTC: EMOTF)
(the “Company” or “Emerita”) announces that the Provincial Court
No. 3 in Seville (the “Provincial Court”) has ruled with respect to
appeals filed by the accused parties and by Emerita in February of
this year regarding the ongoing dispute over the tender process for
the Aznalcollar property. At that time, the accused, who had been
charged by the lower court only with the crime of prevarication
which is considered the lowest form of corruption under the law,
filed an appeal to prevent the case from proceeding to the
sentencing phase of the trial. The lower court judge had also
excused seven individuals of the fourteen originally implicated.
Emerita filed a counter appeal and the Provincial Court has
accepted Emerita’s appeal such that the fourteen original accused
will proceed to the sentencing phase of the trial. The Provincial
Court has determined that certain individuals will face more
serious charges which include embezzlement due to unfair
administration of the process, influence peddling, prevarication
and fraud. These more serious charges open the door to sentences
that could include incarceration and demonstrate the seriousness of
the criminal activities in this case. The other important result of
the Provincial Court ruling is that the investigation is closed and
has been completed and no additional evidence may be submitted nor
appeals heard that could further delay the legal process proceeding
to formal trial of the accused parties.
According to Emerita’s external Spanish legal
counsel this is a very important step since trials in Spain do not
typically proceed to this stage without a high certainty of guilt
and it is very rare that accused are found not guilty at this
stage. In this trial there are 14 accused individuals. In this
phase, the judge will review the body of evidence that has led to
this point and rule on the various accusations against the fourteen
defendants. It is important to note that three levels of courts in
Spain have determined that crimes were committed during the tender
process and have ruled that the accused must stand trial.
With respect to the title to the Aznalcollar
property, Emerita’s external Spanish legal counsel has advised the
Company that under Spanish law if there is commission of a crime in
awarding a public tender that bid must be disqualified and the
tender must be awarded to the next qualified bidder. Emerita is the
only qualified bidder in this particular tender. Further, the
Provincial Court, in reviewing the case during the previous appeal
process, has indicated that the other bid did not meet the
requirements laid out in the tender process and should have been
disqualified on that basis alone. In the title dispute related to
the Iberia Belt West project which was settled last year in
Emerita’s favour, the court’s ruling included very specific
instructions with respect to rectifying the awarding of the public
tender. In that case it resulted in Emerita obtaining the rights to
the project. Joaquin Merino, P.Geo., President of Emerita states,
“We are entering the final stage of this legal odyssey. The years
of investigations have been concluded, the crimes are serious, the
judge is expected to set a trial date in the near future and based
on the evidence and numerous decisions by the Spanish courts to
date we are confident that the accused will be found guilty of one
or more crimes.”
David Gower, P.Geo., Emerita’s CEO noted, “We
are very determined to complete the process to acquire the
Aznalcollar project. Emerita is the company best positioned to
develop the project quickly. It has already completed approximately
$1 million in engineering studies, that amounted to almost 10,000
pages including detailed plans and maps for the project
development. Management has been involved with development of these
types of deposits for decades and understands them well. Emerita
has strategic financial backing that is prepared fund the project
to make sure it is executed to the most modern standards for mine
development as demonstrated by the financings in support of
developing the IBW project. The Company will be fully transparent
with the communities as the development work proceeds and will work
to the highest environmental and health and safety standards for
its employees and the surrounding communities.”
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:
Joaquin Merino+34 (628) 1754 66 (Spain)
Helia Bento+1 (416) 566 8179
(Toronto)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 legal processes in Spain, the
likelihood of the Company obtaining the rights to the Aznalcollar
project 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.
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SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE
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ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
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