London, England (FSCwire) - Gabriel Resources Ltd. (“Gabriel” or the “Company”)[1] plans to file a statement of claim (the “Memorial”) tomorrow in its arbitration case against Romania seeking an amount equivalent to $5.7 billion[2] as compensation for the losses it incurred as a result of Romania’s investment treaty violations.
By licensing and then blocking the implementation of the Projects[3], without due process and without compensation, Romania has deprived Gabriel entirely of the use, benefit and value of its investments in Romania, including its rights to develop the Projects. Gabriel’s claim is based on violations by Romania of several provisions of the Treaties, including due to:
- the expropriation of its investments in Romania without compensation;
- the failure to accord to its investments fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security; and
- the impairment of its investments by discriminatory and unreasonable measures.
The Memorial will detail factual and legal arguments supporting Gabriel’s claim against Romania and the quantum of the damages sustained due to Romania’s violation of the Treaties. It will be submitted to the arbitral tribunal constituted under the auspices of the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"). The next steps in the current schedule of the ICSID proceedings include:
- Romania to file its response to the Memorial (“Counter-Memorial”) by February 15, 2018.
- Gabriel to file a reply to the Counter-Memorial (“Reply”) by September 5, 2018.
- Romania to file its response to the Reply (“Rejoinder”) by February 19, 2019.
- A hearing on the merits of the claim before the Tribunal, scheduled to occur from September 9 to 20, 2019.
Jonathan Henry, Gabriel’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“For over two decades, Gabriel has operated in good faith and has complied with all applicable Romanian and European Union legal and regulatory requirements to obtain the requisite permits for the Projects. The Company has developed and committed to a comprehensive plan of investment for the sustainable development of the Roșia Montană region and all stakeholders, including protections for cultural heritage and cleaning up the widespread environmental damage caused by historic State mining activities. Gabriel’s plan for Roșia Montană has always had the support of the majority of local residents.
“The Romanian Government unlawfully blocked the permitting of the Roșia Montană Project and then acted in manifest disregard of Gabriel’s agreement with the State and existing license rights. The actions of the Romanian Government are tantamount to expropriation of Gabriel’s investments in Romania. As Gabriel’s requests for conciliation and negotiation have been completely ignored by the Romanian Government, the only recourse left to the Company is to vigorously pursue this arbitration to its conclusion. Tomorrow we plan to file a robust, detailed statement of claim and seek compensation in the amount of $5.7 billion.”
[2] The claim, based on a damages assessment performed by an independent expert, will be filed in US dollars for the amount of US$4.4 billion, the Canadian dollar equivalent uses the closing foreign exchange rate on June 27.
[3] For the purposes of this release the Roșia Montană gold and silver project (the “Roșia Montană Project”) and the prospective gold, silver and porphyry copper deposits in the neighbouring Bucium concession area are referred to collectively as the “Projects”.
About Gabriel
Gabriel is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed Canadian resource company. The Company’s principal focus has been the exploration and development of the Roșia Montană Project. The Roșia Montană Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Europe, is situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, an historic and prolific mining district that since pre-Roman times has been mined intermittently for over 2,000 years. The exploitation license (“License”) for the Roșia Montană Project is held by Roșia Montană Gold Corporation S.A., a Romanian company in which Gabriel owns an 80.69% equity interest, with the 19.31% balance held by Minvest Roșia Montană S.A., a Romanian state-owned mining company. It was anticipated that the Roșia Montană Project could bring over US$24 billion (at US$1,200/oz gold) to Romania as potential direct and indirect contribution to GDP and have generated thousands of employment opportunities.
Since the grant of the License in June 1999, the Company has focused substantially all of its management and financial resources on the exploration, feasibility and subsequent development of the Roșia Montană Project. Despite the Company’s fulfilment of its legal obligations and its development of the Roșia Montană Project as a high-quality, sustainable and environmentally-responsible mining project, using best available techniques, Romania has blocked and prevented implementation of the Projects without due process and without compensation. Accordingly, the Company’s current core focus is the ICSID Arbitration Claim.
For more information please visit the Company’s website at www.gabrielresources.com.
[5] at an assumed gold price of US$1,200/oz
