8th Jan 2016 09:04
LONDON (Alliance News) - Metminco Ltd Friday said the Supreme Court in Chile has upheld a prior ruling that is preventing the miner from accessing its Mollacas copper mine, leaving the company evaluating its options, but said it has secured potential new partners for its Los Calatos project.
A lower court in the country had initially granted Metminco's subsidiary, Minera Hampton Chile Limitada, access to the mine but this was then overturned by the Court of Appeal of Region IV, forcing the company to take the case to the Supreme Court.
However, it has been unsuccessful as the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal's decision to overturn the grant of access, and Metminco now plans to "evaluate other alternatives to secure mining access rights". The miner did not state why the mining rights have been refused so far, or what other alternatives it may have.
"Given the Supreme Court's decision, the company will continue to evaluate other options to resolve this mining access dispute, and in so doing, facilitate the development of the Mollacas project," said Managing Director William Howe.
Importantly, the decision does not affect the other concession rights or the existing access rights that Metminco's subsidiary has secured.
"In relation to the company's 100% owned Los Calatos copper molybdenum project the process of securing a strategic partner for Los Calatos is progressing with parties working through their due diligence. Although the process is taking longer than initially anticipated, due mainly to current market conditions, but also the requirement to secure a deal that reflects real value for shareholders, a number of new parties entered the process in late 2015," added Howe.
Metminco shares were trading down 8.6% to 0.160 pence per share on Friday morning.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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