Winshear Gold Corp. (TSXV: WINS) (‘Winshear’, the
‘Company’, or the ‘Claimant’), formerly Helio Resource Corp.,
provides the following update on the recent move in its share
price, which is related to the Company’s fully funded arbitration
proceedings against the Tanzanian Government to recover its
investment and damages for the expropriation of its SMP Gold
Project in Tanzania.
Richard Williams, CEO of Winshear,
stated: “We learned this morning that ASX listed Indiana
Resources has been awarded US$109.5 million in its international
arbitration case against Tanzania in addition to an order for
Tanzania to repay US$3,859,161 in legal costs and expenses. It is
reassuring that the ICSID tribunal in the Indiana case against
Tanzania recognised the damage done to shareholders, investors and
Indiana when the Tanzanian government decided to abolish Retention
Licences without consulting the investor community. Indiana’s
arbitration was conducted through the World Bank’s International
Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID) and concluded
two weeks prior to Winshear’s arbitration proceedings at ICSID
against Tanzania in February 2023. We look forward to receiving the
outcome of our case against Tanzania.”
Winshear and Indiana are separately seeking to
recover costs and damages from the government of Tanzania, through
the ICSID arbitration process, for the expropriation of Retention
Licenses that covered their respective flagship exploration
projects. The ICSID Convention has been ratified by 158 States,
including Tanzania. An award issued by an ICSID tribunal is
enforceable in any one of those 158 member States as if it were a
judgment of one of their own courts.
Background to Winshear’s Claim
In July 2017, the Government of Tanzania amended
the Mining Act 2010 by, inter alia, abolishing the Retention
Licence classification. The Company’s SMP Mineral Resource was
wholly contained within four Retention Licences.
On 10 January 2018, Tanzania published the new
Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations 2018, which cancelled all
Retention Licences at which point they ceased to have any legal
effect. The rights over all areas under Retention Licences,
including the Retention Licences held for the SMP Gold Project,
were immediately transferred to the Government of Tanzania.
During the time from January 2018 to December
2019, the Company actively engaged with the Tanzanian Ministry for
Minerals and the Mining Commission in an effort to resolve a
suitable tenure mechanism for the Project Licence to be reinstated,
without success.
On 19 December 2019, the Mining Commission of
Tanzania announced a public invitation to tender for the joint
development of areas covered previously by Retention Licences. The
invitation provided that the successful bidder should compensate
the previous Retention Licence holder.
On 20 December 2019, the Mining Commission of
Tanzania announced a revised public invitation to tender, which
removed the condition that the successful bidder compensate the
previous retention licence holder.
Through the measures described above, Tanzania
has removed the ownership of the Project from the Claimant, and the
Claimant alleges that Tanzania, in doing so, has breached its
obligations to the Claimant under the Canadian-Tanzania BIT and
international law. These include, but are not limited to:
-
Tanzania’s obligation not to nationalise or expropriate the
Claimant’s investments or subject them to measures having effect
equivalent to nationalisation or expropriation without prompt,
adequate and effective compensation under the BIT; and
-
Tanzania’s obligation to accord fair and equitable treatment and
full protection and security to the Claimant’s investment and not
to impair by unreasonable or discriminatory measures the
maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal of the Claimant’s
investment under the BIT.
Under the BIT, the evidentiary hearing in
Washington was video recorded and is available to the public for
review. Winshear has provided a link to the video in the April 4,
2023, press release on its website.
Winshear is represented by the same
international law firms that represented Indiana in the arbitration
process: LALIVE LLP and Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Both firms
specialise in international arbitration with Winshear seeking
compensation in excess of CDN$130M for the loss of its investment
in Tanzania (including interest which continues to accrue). In
addition, the Winshear is seeking reimbursement of its arbitration
costs and fees by Tanzania.
A litigation funding facility for US$3.3M is in
place with Delta Capital Partners Management (“DELTA”), a firm out
of headquartered in Chicago Illinois that specializes in litigation
funding. This funding facility covers all legal costs associated
with arbitration and is only repayable in the event of a successful
award that is recovered from the United Republic of Tanzania.
About Winshear Gold Corp.
Winshear Gold Corp. is a Canadian-based minerals
exploration company advancing the Gaban Gold Project in the Puno
region of Peru. Gaban is a possible hard-rock source for the
modern-day alluvial gold rush underway in the Madre de Dios basin
downstream.
The Company is in the process of concluding
fully funded arbitration proceedings against the Tanzanian
Government to recover its investment and damages for the
expropriation of its SMP Gold Project in Tanzania.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
“Richard D. Williams”Richard Williams, CEO
For more information, please contact Irene
Dorsman at +1 (604) 200 7874 or visit www.winshear.com
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.
Cautions Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain statements
and information that may contain forward-looking information within
the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements
in this news release, other than statements of historical facts,
are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking
information.
Generally, forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases
or statements that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "should", "would" or "occur". Forward-looking statements
are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the
date such statements are made and they are subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of
the Company to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking
information, including the risks normally associated with
arbitration cases. Although management of the Company has attempted
to identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements or forward-looking information, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. There can be no assurance that such statements 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
statements and forward-looking information. The Company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference
herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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