VANCOUVER, Dec. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Bear Creek Mining
Corporation (TSX Venture: BCM) announces that the Tribunal of
arbitrators hearing the Company's Santa Ana arbitration claim (the
"Arbitration") at the International Centre for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes ("ICSID") has rendered an Award (the "Award")
of approximately US$ 30.4 million in
favor of the Company, which Award includes interest and arbitration
costs (including attorneys' fees).
Anthony Hawkshaw, President and
CEO of Bear Creek states, "With the Arbitration concluded, we look
forward to accelerating the advancement of our Corani project in
conjunction with the Government of Peru and the Corani communities."
The Arbitration was initiated by the Company in 2014 and arose
from, among other things, the Peruvian Government's issuance of
Supreme Decree 032 in June 2011,
which nullified Bear Creek's rights to operate at the Santa Ana
project. A comprehensive summary of the history of the Santa Ana
dispute is provided in the Company's Annual Information Form dated
April 19, 2017 (available at
https://bearcreekmining.com/investors/annual-information-form/).
As detailed in the Award, the Tribunal agreed with the vast
majority of Bear Creek's arguments. It concluded that the
Government of Peru breached its
obligations to the Company under the Canada-Peru Free Trade
Agreement. In particular, the Tribunal held that Supreme
Decree 032 constituted an unlawful expropriation of the Santa Ana
Project. The majority of the Tribunal also concluded that Bear
Creek had complied with all legal requirements regarding its
outreach activities to the local communities, which Peru approved, supported and endorsed.
"Ethical conduct and full compliance with Peruvian laws and
regulations is a cornerstone of Bear Creek's corporate principles,"
states Andrew Swarthout, Bear
Creek's Executive Chairman. "We have always, and will
continue to, operate under these tenets."
The Award, from which there is no appeal, is binding upon the
parties and payment is due promptly. Article 52 of the ICSID
Convention provides the opportunity, within 120 days and under
limited grounds, for either party to request annulment of the
Award.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Anthony Hawkshaw
President and CEO
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information
This
news release refers to documents that contain forward-looking
information and forward-looking statements related to future events
or future performance and reflecting current estimates,
predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events
regarding timing of full payment of the Award; the
potential for the Government of Peru to seek an annulment of the Award and the
timing and outcome of any such request; the Company's intended use
of proceeds of the Award; and the timing and outcome of the Corani
development pathway. Certain of these forward-looking statements
are contingent upon various assumptions, including: that the Award
will be paid in full to the Company; that the Company will be
successful in the event the Award is challenged by the Government
of Peru; that all necessary
permits for the Corani project will be secured in a timely manner;
and, that adequate project financing for the Corani project will be
secured at the appropriate time(s) and on reasonable terms. This
forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news
release, or the effective date of the documents referred to in this
news release, as applicable, and reflects estimates, predictions,
expectations or beliefs regarding future events and is based on the
Company's or its consultants' beliefs at the time the statements
were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information
currently available to them. Although management considers these
assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it,
they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature,
forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and
uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that
estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking
statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they
are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a
number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to
differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These
risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the
assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur, but
specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to
variations in the mineral content within the material identified as
mineral reserves and mineral resources from that predicted;
variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in
world metals and minerals markets; risks relating to fluctuations
in the Canadian dollar relative to other currencies; increases in
the estimated capital and operating costs or unanticipated costs;
difficulties attracting the necessary work force; increases in
financing costs or adverse changes to global market conditions and
the terms of available financing, if any; tax rates or royalties
being greater than assumed; changes in development or mining plans
due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, changes
in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; risks
relating timing and to receipt of regulatory approvals; adverse
changes to government approval processes; the effects of
competition in the markets in which the Company operates;
operational and infrastructure risks; and the additional risks
described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, annual
financial statements and management's discussion and analysis and
in the feasibility study entitled "NI43-101 Technical
Report, Corani Project Detailed Engineering Phase 1
(FEED)"dated effective September 13,
2017.The foregoing list of factors that may affect
future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our
forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and
potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be
made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company,
except as required by law.
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.
SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation