Antilles Gold

Arbitration Award for Antilles Gold’s Subsidiary

Antilles Gold Limited (“Antilles Gold” or the “Company”) (ASX: AAU, OTCQB: ANTMF) advises that an Award has been issued by the Tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) which conducted Arbitration proceedings to determine several Claims by wholly owned subsidiary, EnviroGold (Las Lagunas) Limited (“EVGLL”), against the Government of the Dominican Republic (‘the Government”, or “the State”).


The Claims relate to the Las Lagunas Gold Tailings Project which involved EVGLL recovering approximately 5.0 million tonnes of 3.5g/t gold tailings stored in a dam at Las Lagunas in the Dominican Republic, which originated from the adjacent Pueblo Viejo mine, and then oxidising the toxic sulphide tailings before producing a gold dore for refining overseas, and the sale of bullion.

The Project operated from July 2012 to December 2019, and was carried out under the terms of a Contract between EVGLL and the State dated 28 April 2004.

ICSID, which is based in Washington DC, and is a Unit of the World Bank, has been conducting the Arbitration through a three-member Tribunal established on 5 August 2020. The Award was issued on 24 April 2024, and received by EVGLL on 25 April 2024 following a final hearing in early June 2023.

EVGLL has been awarded US$4,070,283.85 (~A$ 6,308,940 at an exchange rate of A$1:00 = US$0.65) including interest to 24 April 2024. Simple interest continues to accrue at 7.3% pa.

The attached “Review Of Arbitration Award” details the Claims made, and the reasons for certain adverse decisions by the Tribunal which are perplexing, and in the Company’s view, unreasonable.

The result is disappointing, and is primarily as a result of the Tribunal rejecting EVGLL’s principal Claim of US$15.5 million for additional costs, and reduced gold production that resulted from the State’s failure to meet its contractual obligation to provide a site for the construction of a tailings storage facility into which reprocessed tailings could be deposited.

As a consequence, the reprocessed tailings had to be redeposited back into the Las Lagunas Dam behind substantial rock retaining walls at a considerable cost.

The Tribunal found that EVGLL had preferred to redeposit the reprocessed tailings back into the Las Lagunas Dam, and despite acknowledging the State’s breach of contract, ruled that EVGLL had effectively waived the State’s obligation to provide a site for the construction of a new dam.

In the opinion of the two Executive Directors of EVGLL involved in the Project, the Tribunal failed to take into account, or believe, their sworn Witness Statements, and oral testimony which reinforced EVGLL’s rights, and commitment to build a new tailings dam had the site been provided by the State.

A positive element of the Award was the Tribunal ordering the State to compensate EVGLL for the State’s breach of EVGLL’s entitlement to a special compensatory and fiscal regime, and to lift illegal garnishments that have prevented EGVLL from selling plant and equipment stored at Las Lagunas since October 2019, and to not reimpose them.

This will allow EVGLL to sell approximately A$3.0 million to A$4.0 million of surplus assets. While the State was directed to reimburse EVGLL for the Jurisdictional Phase of the Arbitration settled in EVGLL’s favour on 31 March 2022, the Award in relation to legal costs for the Merits

Phase of the Arbitration is based on EVGLL having to pay for 86% of the total of both parties legal costs, after winning only 14% of the total amount of its Claims. EVGLL will reimburse the State ~US$1,500,000 of its legal costs, plus simple interest accruing at 7.3%pa.

The A$6.3 million awarded to EVGLL is expected to be received in the near term, and will assist the Antilles Gold Group to fund the outstanding US$2.0 million of its farm-in to a 50% shareholding in Cuban joint venture company, Minera La Victoria, and the development of its first project, the Nueva Sabana gold-copper mine.

The Chairman of Antilles Gold, Mr Brian Johnson, commented that“the Tribunals’ reasons for rejecting the main Claim are difficult to comprehend, but there is no right of appeal. The Company would not have expended so much time and money on arbitration of this Claim if the Board, and its legal advisors had not thought it to be both genuine, and justified.

EVGLL will collect its entitlement to A$6.3M, and the Group will move on with its projects in Cuba.”


Click here for the full ASX Release

This article includes content from Antilles Gold, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.

AAU:AU
Antilles Gold Limited

Antilles Gold Limited Investor Kit

  • Corporate info
  • Insights
  • Growth strategies
  • Upcoming projects

GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT

The Conversation (0)
Antilles Gold Limited

Antilles Gold Limited


Keep reading...Show less
Astral Resources (ASX:AAR)

Astral Resources NL (ASX: AAR) – Reinstatement to Quotation

Description

The suspension of trading in the securities of Astral Resources NL (‘AAR’) will be lifted immediately following the release by AAR of an announcement regarding the outcome of an application to court by the Company seeking orders in relation to the Company’s inadvertent failure to lodge a cleansing notice under section 708A(5)(e) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) within the prescribed 5 day period after the issue of shares on 9 April 2024.

Keep reading...Show less
Warriedar Resources

First Diamond Drilling Results at Ricciardo Deliver High-Grade Gold Extensions

Warriedar Resources Limited (ASX: WA8) (Warriedar or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on drilling progress and release the first results from diamond drilling undertaken at the Ricciardo deposit within its Golden Range Project, located in the Murchison region of Western Australia (Figure 1).

Keep reading...Show less
  Tartana Minerals Limited

Tartana Minerals


Keep reading...Show less
Gold bars.

Endeavour Pours First Gold at Lafigué Mine, Looks for More Côte d’Ivoire Opportunities

Endeavour Mining (LSE:EDV,TSX:EDV,OTCQX:EDVMF) said on Monday (July 2) that it has completed the first gold pour at its Lafigué mine in Côte d’Ivoire ahead of schedule, 21 months after construction began.

“We are proud to have achieved our first gold pour at Lafigué, which, alongside the first gold pour at the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX expansion that we achieved in April, marks the successful completion of the recent phase of investment and growth that we started in Q2-2022,” said CEO Ian Cockerill in a release shared by the company.

“We now begin a new phase of increased free cash flow generation, de-levering and enhanced shareholder returns."

Keep reading...Show less

Exploration Success, Capital Investment and Reserve Growth to Sustain Kibali's Production Profile

All amounts expressed in US dollars unless stated otherwise

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD)(TSX:ABX) – Africa's largest gold mine, Kibali, continues to deliver growth as its strong record of replenishing reserves and resources, and further investment in technology and capacity, position it to sustain its 750,000 ounces annual production past the current 10-year horizon to 15 years and beyond.

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

RETRANSMISSION: Prospector Announces Strategic Equity Investment By B2Gold

Prospector Metals Corp. ("Prospector" or the "Company") (TSXV: PPP) (OTCQB: PMCOF) (FSE: 1ET) is pleased to announce that B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) (NYSE American: BTG) (NSX: B2G) ("B2Gold") has agreed to complete a strategic investment into the Company. Pursuant to the transaction B2Gold has agreed to subscribe for an aggregate of 5,578,720 common shares of the Company (the "Shares") at a price of C$0.163 per Share for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $909,311.36 (the "Offering").

Rob Carpenter CEO and Director of Prospector said "We are excited to have B2Gold as a keystone shareholder in Prospector Metals and our team is looking forward to their technical input on our flagship ML Project, Yukon. B2Gold is a major global gold producer with a strong commitment to communities, sustainable mining and employee safety. This investment and technical partnership will allow Prospector to advance the ML project more efficiently and it represents an endorsement of our exploration philosophy and targeting methods."

News Provided by Newsfile via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
Antilles Gold Limited

Antilles Gold Limited Investor Kit

  • Corporate info
  • Insights
  • Growth strategies
  • Upcoming projects

GET YOUR FREE INVESTOR KIT

Latest Press Releases

Related News

×