Emerita Resources Provides Update ON the Aznalcollar Court Proceedings, Spain
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EMERITA RESOURCES PROVIDES UPDATE ON THE AZNALCOLLAR COURT PROCEEDINGS, SPAIN
Toronto, Ontario, November 12, 2020 – Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX-V: EMO) (the “Company” or
“Emerita”) is pleased to announce that important progress has been made towards the resolution of
the ongoing Aznalcóllar legal proceedings in Spain which appears to be entering the final stages after
more than five years. The Superior Court judges responsible for the case have concluded that further
investigations are not required as they now have sufficient evidence to establish that crimes were
committed in the awarding of the Aznalcóllar public tender to Minorbis-Grupo Mexico (“Minorbis”).
There have been two appeals heard in the case already and these have been systematically denied by
the Superior Court which has been consistent in its rulings throughout the process; that is they have
ruled consistently that there is the existence of criminal acts. The final step in the judicial process will
be to turn the case over to a judge that will apportion the crime or crimes to the accused individuals
and determine the sentences. Typically, this part of the legal process is relatively brief as it is based
on the existing evidence and does not require further lengthy investigation s. In addition , in a
unanimous resolution by five Superior Court judges (see news releases dated October 4, 2019 and
October 29, 201 9 ) it was stated that the Minorbis bid was incomplete and should have been
disqualified as it did not meet the requirements of the public tender process.
According to Emerita’s external Spanish legal counsel the key point with respect to Emerita’s pursuit
of the Aznalcóllar project is that the laws governing public tenders in Spain are clear; in the event that
a crime is committed by a bidder in the awarding of a public tender, that bidder shall be automatically
disqualified, and the tender shall be awarded to the next qualified bidder in the process. Emerita is
the only other qualified bidder in this public tender process.
David Gower, P.Geo., CEO of Emerita, comments, “Our team eagerly awaits the successful outcome
of the legal process. We have been committed to developing the Aznalcóllar project since the public
tender was originally announced and remain determined to its development. Emerita took the tender
process very seriously and invested approximately $1,000,000 in putting a detailed proposal for all
aspects of the project including mine plan, mill development plan, environmental and water
management plans, societal and community impact studies, in a nearly 10,000 page submission laying
out a modern, safe and environmentally responsible project. By virtue of having al ready completed
this work the Company is best positioned to advance the project efficiently.”
ABOUT THE AZNALCOLLAR PROJECT
On December 16, 2014, Emerita submitted its detailed technical proposal, which was the final
requirement for the public tender process. The regional government panel was expected to take up
to three months to evaluate the project proposals submitted by Emerita and th e other bidder and
under the prescribed process award the tender by March 16, 2015. Emerita was one of only two
65 Queen Street West, Suite 800, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5H 2M5
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) . Subsequently , the Project was awarded to Minorbi s, a
company that clearly did not have a competitive bid relative to the Emerita proposal and Emerita
requested that the authorities launch a criminal investigation for corruption into the awarding of the
tender. Following several years of detailed police investigation and two appeals to the Superior Court
wherein at each appeal a panel of judges unanimously agreed with Emerita’s case the process is finally
nearing a conclusion.
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 The focus of the project is re -
development of the Los Frailes deposit which was developed in the mid 1990s. The historical open pit
mineral resource 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 1).
Figure 1: 3D model of the Aznalcóllar Project mineralized zones. The historical resources referred
to above are entirely within the past producing Los Frailes mine which is the large central lense
above. The mineralization outcrops in the former open pit and is open for expansi on below
approximately 350 meters below surface.
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 resource that is estimated to contain 20 million
tonnes grading 6.66% zinc, 3.87% lead, 0.29% copper and 84 g/t silver. The Aznalcóllar 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
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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 on the Government of Andalucia’s web site in a report prepared by the
prior operator of the Aznalcóllar Project entitled “Proyecto de Explotacion Yacimiento Los Frailes,
Memoria Andaluza de Pirit as, 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 y ears 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. Since the mine was
only in production for a short period, mo st of the deposit remains intact for future development.
Emerita submitted a detailed technical proposal for a conceptual underground mining operation that
covers all aspects of the future project development, including a major focus on the environment and
water management, exploration, mine development, beneficiation and social impact and
improvements. The comprehensive submission comprises 17 volumes of technical documentation
and 16 volumes of maps and site plans. The work was completed by a team of 80 p eople including
Emerita technical personnel, as well as leading Spanish and international consulting companies.
Should the Company be awarded the project, Emerita intends to commence work immediately upon
receiving appropriate permits to carry out drillin g on the property and complete an NI 43 -101
compliant mineral resource estimate required for the completion of a feasibility study in support of
development of a mining operation at the site. The proposed mining method would be cut and fill
with paste back-fill to return mine waste to the voids created by the underground mining. The backfill
process would prevent the construction of new waste dumps. The environmental improvements
incorporated into the proposal include the improvement of the existing water treatment plant, the
construction of a new water treatment plant, restoration of the Aznalcóllar open pit and dumps and
recovery of animal and plant habitats. The Company developed the technical proposal based on a
database collected from a number of sources including data provided by the Government of Andalucia
comprising drillhole information, environmental data, and geotechnical and metallurgical data.
Emerita understands the importance of community support for the project and presented the
proposal to t he local community of Aznalcóllar, local and national union representatives, the
Andalusia business community and local and national government agencies, among other institutions
during the initial tender process . The Company would remain committed to maintaining open
communication with all stakeholders.
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 M atagami and Bathurst mining camps in Canada. Our technical team put together a
development proposal incorporating the most innovative technology and processes available to the
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industry globally. The Company dedicated the required economic and human resourc es to prepare
what we considered the best possible proposal for the Project and to understand technical aspects
and as importantly the social and environmental aspects of the project.”
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 ongoing legal proceedings regarding the Aznal cóllar project, the prospectivity of the Aznalc óllar
project, the Company’s ability to complete a NI 43 -101 resource estimate and/or feasibility study at
the Aznalcóllar 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 wo rds 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 cau se 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
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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 n ot 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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