Emerita Resources petitions court on Aznalcollar tender dispute

Emerita Resources Corp. (TSXV: EMO) will petition the Administrative Court of Andalucia to complete its ruling regarding alleged irregularities in the Aznalcollar public tender award. The company announced it will not appeal the recent criminal case ruling after consulting with Spanish legal counsel.

The Toronto-based natural resource company expects the Administrative Court to issue its resolution within 2-3 months based on counsel's past experience, though no firm timeline was provided.

Emerita's complaint to the Administrative Court alleges several administrative errors in the tender process, supported by rulings from Provincial Court No. 7 of Seville. The company claims the Minorbis consortium did not meet first-stage requirements and should not have been eligible for subsequent stages. Additional allegations include that the Minorbis bid was incomplete or non-compliant with tender criteria and that scoring criteria were potentially misapplied.

The company also contends that the concession was accepted by Minera Los Frailes, an entity that did not participate in the public tender, rather than the bidding entity Minorbis-Grupo Mexico. Emerita argues this substitution violates Spanish administrative and European Union procurement law.

"Spanish counsel considers that Emerita's case is very strong to demonstrate that significant administrative errors were made in awarding the public tender," said CEO David Gower.

The company stated that appealing the criminal court ruling would be unlikely to accomplish its objective of acquiring development rights to the Aznalcollar project, as the tender award should be resolved in the Administrative Court. An appeal to the Supreme Court would focus on legal process technicalities and could delay the Administrative Court proceedings by 18-24 months.

Emerita operates as a natural resource company focused on mineral property acquisition, exploration and development in Europe, primarily in Spain.

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