London, England (FSCwire) - Further to its announcement of June 29, 2017, Gabriel Resources Ltd. (“Gabriel” or the “Company”)[1] confirms that on June 30, 2017 it filed its statement of claim (the “Memorial”) against Romania before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID"), in accordance with the provisions of the Canada-Romania and UK-Romania bilateral investment treaties (together the “Treaties”). Gabriel seeks compensation for all of the losses it has incurred as a result of Romania’s breaches of the Treaties in an amount equivalent to $5.7 billion[2].
The move to arbitration follows exhaustive and diligent efforts by Gabriel to comply with all Romanian legal requirements in respect of the development of the Projects, complemented by the Company’s substantial contributions to the region’s social, environmental and historic preservation needs. Since January 2015, Gabriel has sought amicable resolution of this dispute.
As a member of the World Bank and a party to the ICSID Convention, Romania is bound by the terms of Treaties. Romania’s treatment of Gabriel and its investments has clearly breached its obligations set forth in the Treaties. The three-member tribunal constituted to hear the ICSID arbitration claim against Romania (“ICSID Arbitration Claim”) will determine the liability of Romania and any compensation due to Gabriel. The Memorial is subject to the confidentiality provisions of Procedural Order No.3 which can be found on the ICSID website[3]. Gabriel anticipates that the Memorial will be published in due course in accordance with those provisions and the determination of the Tribunal as appropriate.
By failing to comply with its obligations, the Romanian Government has caused harm to Romania’s national economy. Romania has sought, and badly needs, foreign direct investment. The Roșia Montană Project alone represented one of the largest proposed foreign direct investments in Romania, with the potential to contribute US$24 billion[4] into the country’s economy. The Romanian Government’s actions will likely be viewed with apprehension by prospective investors.
In addition to injecting badly needed economic stimulus into the poverty-stricken Apuseni region of Romania by providing crucially needed, long-term jobs, the Projects, if developed, were designed to help revive the area through desperately needed environmental clean-up and infrastructure investment. The Apuseni region, in which Roșia Montană is situated, has suffered, and continues to suffer, severe environmental degradation caused by historic and current State-owned mining operations. Through the utilization of modern mining technologies and a commitment to invest significantly in remediating pollution left behind by the State’s past unregulated mining operations, the Projects would have had a positive impact on the environment in and around Roșia Montană. Gabriel has also spent and committed more funds for preservation of cultural heritage than the Romanian Government has offered to this languishing region.
[1] The Company, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gabriel Resources (Jersey) Ltd. (“Gabriel Jersey”) are claimants in the arbitration claim. For the purposes of this release both the Company and Gabriel Jersey are designated as “Gabriel” or the “Company”.
[2] The claim, based on a damages assessment performed by an independent expert, seeks compensation in the amount of US$4.4 billion, the Canadian dollar equivalent uses the closing foreign exchange rate on June 27.
[3] https://icsid.worldbank.org/en/Pages/cases/casedetail.aspx?CaseNo=ARB/15/31
[4] At an assumed gold price of US$1,200/oz
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.
