Arc Minerals Regulatory News (ARCM)

Ortac Resources Ltd / Epic: OTC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining & Exploration

17 March 2017

ORTAC RESOURCES LTD

("ORTAC" OR THE "COMPANY")

Update - Slovakia

Ortac Resources Ltd, the AIM listed mineral exploration company operating in Europe and Africa, reports that Slovakia subsidiary, ORTAC s.r.o the developer of the Šturec Gold Project, has been re-issued with an underground mining permit (the "permit") by the District Mining Bureau in Banská Bystrica ("DMB"). This decision follows on from the announcement released on the 7 December 2016, when ORTAC s.r.o was notified that the Regional Court in Banská Bystrica ("RC") had revoked the previously issued underground mining permit.

Vassilios Carellas, Ortac's CEO, commented: "We are naturally pleased that the DMB has re-issued the permit, which has been amended to consider the points raised by the RC. This decision, whilst welcome, does allow for an appeal process to be made by potential complainants, within a period of approximately one month from the issue of this permit, which if triggered, would result in a final judgement on the permit being undertaken by the Slovak Central Mining Bureau ("CMB").

Background

In a court proceeding on the legality of the CMB Decision regarding the issuance of the permit (the "Decision") issued to the Company in 2014, the RC decided against the CMB and revoked the Decision.

In a lengthy judgement, the RC did not object to issuance of the permit but rather criticised insufficient reasoning given by the CMB in justifying the grant of it.

The DMB has reviewed the ruling of the RC and amended the original permit to address the insufficient reasoning that the RC felt was lacking in the issuance of the original underground mining permit in 2014.

Under the terms of the Kremnica Mining License Area ("KMLA"), if the Company does not formally carry out any mining activity for a period of three years, the mining license area reverts back to the Slovak State. As a result of the recent judicial proceeding and ruling against the CMB Decision to issue the Company a permit, the Company has not been able to carry out any mining activity since it suspended mining activities in July 2014. However, following the recent re-issue of the permit by the DMB, the Company is now back on track to re-start mining activity by July this year. 

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**