Portofino Receives and Rejects Notice of Termination FOR Yergo Property Agreement
Suite 520 – 470 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, CANADA V6C 1V5
Telephone: 604-683-1991
Fax: 604-683-8544
www.portofinoresources.com
PORTOFINO
RESOURCES INC.
NEWS RELEASE
PORTOFINO RECEIVES AND REJECTS NOTICE OF TERMINATION FOR
YERGO PROPERTY AGREEMENT
Vancouver, B.C., September 22, 2022. PORTOFINO RESOURCES INC. (TSX-V: POR) (OTCQB: PFFOF) (FSE:
POTA) (“Portofino” or the “Company”) announces that it has received a Notice of Termination (the
“Notice”) from Mr. Fabian Bertetto, the claim owner and Optionor of the Yergo Project in Catamarca ,
Argentina, regarding the April 2019 Binding Letter Option Agreement and the May 2021 Binding Letter
Agreement Addendum (collectively the “Agreements”).
The Notice purports to terminate the Agreements. The Company has immediately and forcefully
responded to Mr. Fabian Bertetto that claims made in the Notice are completely unsubstantiated,
inaccurate, false, and malicious, and the Company rejects the purported termination as baseless and
having no merit whatsoever.
Portofino has not breached the Agreement s and will defend its legal rights vigorously. As previously
disclosed, the Company has spent over 15 months working closely with the Catamarca Ministry of
Environment and Min ing related to the development of an environmentally and socially responsible
exploration plan for inclusion in the drill permit application. Portofino has not breached the Agreements
with respect to payments required to keep the Agreements in good standing and has further completed
all required work on the property to advance the Yergo property from a completely greenfield project to
one that has the potential to deliver significant value to the Province of Catamarca, Mr. Bertetto and
Portofino.
Among other things, t he Agreements provide that Mr. Bertetto shall not initiate or sol icit or entertain
any expressions of interest or proposals from any person or take any action to facilitate the purchase or
sale or option of all or any interest in the Yergo Project. In the event that such provision has been
breached, the Company reserves the right to additionally pursue Mr. Bertetto and the counterparty, or
counterparties, causing the contractual breach. Portofino will seek cost recovery and damages from Mr.
Bertetto and all parties that induced, or attempted to induce, Mr. Bertetto to breach the Agreements.
Prior to receipt of the Notice, Mr. Bertetto made no complaint against Portofino. Portofino has kept Mr.
Bertetto updated on all property related activities. Mr. Bertetto's regular involvement has included
submission of all filings with the provincial mining ministry and detailed participation and support in the
furtherance of a drilling permit application for the project. Additionally, the Company met with Mr.
Bertetto in Catamarca 3 days prior to receipt of the Notice to discuss further revisions to the drilling
permit application, and at no time during this meeting did Mr. Bertetto provide any indication verbally
or in writing of any concerns related to Portofino or the Agreements.
A property payment due to be paid to Mr. Bertetto by October 1 3, 2022 (which includes a 60 day
curative period from the original payment date of August 14, 2022) , will be set in reserve until all legal
issues have been settled to Portofino’s satisfaction.
In defence of its rights, Portofino has engaged legal counsel in both Buenos Aires and Catamarca, filed
an objection to the Notice with the Ministry of Mining in the Province of Catamarca and is currently
pursuing formal avenues of dispute resolution in the Province of Catamarca.
Yergo Project Activity to Continue
Irrespective of the Notice, and p ursuant to the rights conferred to the Company under the Agreement s,
Portofino is proceeding with revisions to the drill permit application as requested recently by the
Catamarca Ministry of Mining . Assuming these revisions meet the requirements of the Ministry, and a
drill permit is issued, the Company will proceed with site preparation and the planned drill program
immediately thereafter.
David Tafel, CEO of Portofino, commented:
“This is a very surprising and unfortunate development, and seemingly timed to coincide with the
near-term commencement of our next phase of exploration. Based on the facts and discussions with
our legal consultants, we believe we have an extremely strong position, and we will aggressively work
towards a quick resolution.
Our team of geologists, biologists , drilling services and site logistics consultants have spent an
inordinate amount of time preparing and filing required and requested documents and dialoguing
with the various Catamarca ministries to advance exploration efforts in an environmentally sensitive
and conscientious manner.
We intend to proceed with filing final amendments to the drill permit application and will continue to
advance our other projects in Salta Province (Argentina) and Northern Ontario (Canada).”
About Portofino Resources Inc.
Portofino is a Vancouver -based Canadian company focused on exploring and developing mineral
resource projects in the Americas. Portofino has an opportunity to earn a majority interest in multiple
lithium projects in Salta, Argentina and up to 100% of the Yergo Lithium property in Catamarca. The
properties are situated in the heart of the world -renown Argentine Lithium Triangle and in close
proximity to multiple world-class lithium projects. The Company also has the right to earn 100% interest
in three northwestern Ontario, Canada lithium projects : Allison Lake North, Greenheart Lake and
McNamara Lake.
Portofino’s South of Otter and Bruce Lake projects are in the historic gold mining district of Red Lake,
Ontario, Canada proximal to the Dixie gold project discovered by Great Bear Resources and now owned
by Kinross Gold Corp. In addition, Portofino holds three other northwestern Ontario gold projects; the
Gold Creek property located immediately south of the historic Shebandowan mine, as well as the
Sapawe West and Melema West properties located in t he rapidly developing Atikokan gold mining
camp.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“David G. Tafel”
Chief Executive Officer
For Further Information Contact:
David Tafel CEO,
Director 604-683-1991
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release contains "forward -looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Al l
statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward -looking statements.
Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements 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 may contain statements that certain actio ns, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward -looking information and forward -
looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements rega rding: the merits of the claims
made in the Notice and the effectiveness of the Notice; the Company’s connection to the matters under dispute; the
Company’s intention to defend itself with respect to the claims made in the Notice and the purported terminat ion
of the Agreements ; the potential value of the project; the Company's intention to pursue parties in relation to the
claims made in the Notice and the purported termination of the Agreements and to seek cost recovery and
damages from such parties; the Company's intention to set a property payment in reserve until all issues have been
resolved to the Company's satisfaction; the Company's intention to proceed with revisions to its drill permit
application; the Company's intention to proceed with site preparation and planned drill program; and the
Company’s future business plans. Forward -looking information in this news release is based on certain assumptions
and expected future events, namely: t he ability of the Company to defend itself against the claims set out in the
Notice; the Company’s ability to challenge the purported termination of the Agreements; and the growth and
development of the Company’s business as currently anticipated. These st atements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential for the
claims set out in the Notice and the purported termination of the Agreements to have in a n adverse material
impact on the Company; the potential for damage to the Company’s reputation or commercial relationships as a
result of the claims set out in the Notice and the purported termination of the Agreements ; and the uncertainty as
to the outcome and timing of the claims set out in the Notice . Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not
exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can
be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information,
although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual
results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward -looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company’s expectations as of the date hereof and
are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward -looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or
to explain any material differe nce between subsequent actual events and such forward -looking information, except
as required by applicable law.