Emerita Resources Announces Favourable Ruling ON the Aznalcóllar Project Appeal, Spain
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EMERITA RESOURCES ANNOUNCES FAVOURABLE RULING ON THE
AZNALCÓLLAR PROJECT APPEAL, SPAIN
Toronto, Ontario, October 4, 2019 – Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX-V: EMO) (the “Company” or
“Emerita”) is pleased to announce that five judges of the Appellate Court of Seville (the “Appellate
Court”) have unanimously ruled in favour of Emerita’s appeal of the lower court’s decision to dismiss
a criminal case against the Andalusian government panel (the “Panel”) responsible for awarding the
Aznalcóllar project (the “Project”) and the former Director of Mines of the Government of Andalucía
(collectively, the “Accused”). The Project was the subject of a multistage public tender process that
the Appellate Court has concluded, based on a lengthy and detailed police investigation, was wrongfully
awarded to Minorbis-Grupo Mexico (“Minorbis-GM”). According to Spanish Counsel, laws relating
to public tenders in Spain stipulate that if ther e is commission of a crime in the awarding of a public
tender the bid shall be disqualified and the tender will be awarded to the next qualified bidder. In the
case of the Project , Emerita is the only qualified bidder. Among other points raised in the lengthy
ruling by the Appellate Court were the following:
• Minorbis-GM was patently in breach of the requirements of the first phase of the
tender, for various reasons, such that their bid should have been disqualified and not allowed
to proceed to the next phase. The Panel committed an illegal act in allowing the incomplete
bid to proceed to subsequent steps in the process.
• Refers to facts as ‘patent illegality' and 'gross and crude illegality’, in that Minorbis was nothing
more than an instrument for delivering the Project to a third party for financial consideration,
in a manner contrary to the law and that members of the P anel were aware of this maneuver
from the beginning.
• In addition, the Appellate Court indicates there is ample evidence of not only the crime of
prevarication, but that of influence peddling, fraud, bribery and embezzlement . The last of
which is important because it states that Emerita's bid was the most beneficial offer in terms
of higher return with respect to taxes, social fees and benefits, and improvements for the
community and that the Panel choosing the worst offer would be an illegitimate use of public
resources which is a criminal offence.
David Gower P.Geo., CEO of Emerita , states: “We are highly satisfied with the detailed ruling
presented by the Appellate Court and agree in full with the findings. It is unfortunate that the Project
has been delayed as a result of the illegal actions of those implicated during the public tender. It is also
important to acknowledge that these crimes occurred under the previous political regime and we look
forward to working with the present administration to develop this important resource, with the utmost
care for the local environment and for the safety of the community and the workers employed on the
Project. The ruling in its entirety is lengthy and detailed and the Company continues to consult with
counsel and will consult with government officials to fully understand the process going forward and
will report further as information becomes available.”
Joaquin Merino P.Geo., President of Emerita notes : “Emerita remains fully committed to responsibly
developing the Project and working closely with all of the stakeholders. Our approach to the pub lic
tender was very serious and included approximately $1,000,000 spent on technical studies to articulate
65 Queen Street West, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5H 2M5
the most effective and responsible way to develop the Project into a modern and safe operation. The
detailed submission which amounted to almost 10,000 pages puts Emerita in an excellent position to
advance the Project efficiently as a significant amount of work and planning has already been completed
by the Company. We look forward to working with the government and community in the development
of the Project.”
The Appellate Court has ordered that the lower court reconsider and investigate the claims against the
Accused as well as ordered the lower court to investigate certain representatives of Minorbis-GM, the
party that was ultimately awarded the Project. This is the second time that the Appellate Court has
ordered the lower court to reopen its investigation. The Appellate Court reiterated its findings from its
original decision, namely that there is st rong evidence of gross negligence and misconduct by the
Accused and that it is necessary to continue investigating whether criminal acts were committed by the
Accused, but also added that Minorbis-GM failed to comply with the requirements of the first stage of
the tender process and should never have been eligible to participate in the second stage of the tender.
Further, the Appellate Court has ordered the lower court to investigate whether the Accused committed
fraud, bribery, influence peddling, abuse of power and embezzlement.
Emerita was the only qualified bidder in the Aznalcóllar tender process and under Spanish law should
be awarded the Project. Emerita remains committed to working with the community of Aznalcóllar to
develop the Project in an environmentally responsible manner to benefit all stakeholders.
About the Aznalcollar Project
Emerita was one of only two companies to qualify for the final round of bidding for the Project. The
Government of Andalusia and the Province of Seville announced the public tender for the past
producing property (Concurso público para la adjudicación de la explotación de la reserva de
Aznalcóllar en la provincia de Sevilla) in 2014 (see news release dated May 22, 2014). On December
16, 2014, Emerita submitted a de tailed technical proposal, which was the final requirement for the
public tender process.
The Aznalcóllar Project is a past producing property within the famous Iberian Pyrite Belt that hosted
the Aznalcóllar and Los Frailes open pit zinc-lead-silver mines (see Figure 1).
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Historical Estimates
Figure 1. Iberian Pyrite Belt . Aznalcóllar Location Map.
The focus of the Project is re-development of the Los Frailes deposit which was developed in the mid
1990s. The historical estimate as calculated by the previous operator of the mine was estimated to be
71 million tonnes grading 3.86% zinc, 2.18% lead, 0.34% copper and 60 ppm silver (see Figure 2).
65 Queen Street West, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5H 2M5
Figure 2: Deposit locations at the Aznalcóllar Project. The Los Frailes deposit is the mineralized
zone in the center of the model and comprises the historical resources referred to herein.
Reports by the operation’s mine department and a review of the diamond drilling data for the mine
indicate the existence of a higher -grade portion of the historical estimate that was estimated by the
previous operator to contain 20 million tonnes grading 6.66% zinc, 3.87% lead, 0.29% copper and 84
ppm silver. The Aznalcollar and Los Frailes deposits are open for further expansion by drilling at depth,
as historical drilling was primarily constrained to depths accessible by open pit mining. 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. A
summary of the historical resource estimate is available from the Government of Andalucía in a report
prepared by the prior operator of the Aznalcóllar Project entitled “Proyecto de Explotacion Yacimiento
Los Frailes, Memoria Andaluza de Piritas, Boliden- Apirsa, Octubre 1994” (Los Frailes Development
project Report, Boliden-Apirsa, October 1994) along with subsequent resource estimate updates, the
latest being from 2000. The Los Frailes operation was only in production for approximately 1.5 years
when a tailings dam failure along with low metal prices caused the former operator to shut down the
Project. The Government subsequently completed reclamation and took ownership of the site.
Emerita would be prepared to commence work immediately upon receiving appropriate permits to carry
out drilling on the property and complete an NI 43- 101 mineral resour ce estimate required for the
completion of a feasibility study in support of development of a mining operation at the site.
The Company developed the technical proposal based on a database collected from a number of sources
including data provided by the Government of Andalucía comprising drill hole information,
environmental data, and geotechnical and metallurgical data. Emerita understands the importance of
community support for the project and had presented its proposal to the local community of Aznalcóllar,
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local and national union representatives, the Andalusia business community and local and national
government agencies, among other institutions during the public tender process.
According to Joaquin Merino, P.Geo, Emerita’s President : “Emerita’s team has a great deal of
experience with deposits similar to the Aznalcóllar deposits, including successful mine developments
in the Matagami and Bathurst mining camps in Canada. We have a strong technical team that put
together an excellent proposal incorporating the most innovative technology and processes available to
the industry globally. The Company paid close attention to the technical aspects but more importantly
also the social and environmental aspects of the project. Emerita’s team is confident that Aznalcóllar
can be developed in a responsible manner that benefits all stakeholders.”
No current mineral resources have been estimated on the property. In addition, it should be noted that
mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
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 Nationa l
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)
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”,
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“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; foreig n 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 f actors
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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