Last checked at 20 Sep 2017 07:00
Embargoed: 0700hrs 20 September 2017
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
("Pathfinder" or the "Company")
Company Update
Pathfinder announces the following update on the process to recover the areas previously licensed to the Company in Mozambique under mining concessions 760C and 4623C (the "Licences").
Legal proceedings in Mozambique
As previously announced, Pathfinder continues to await information from the Mozambique Courts on pending judgments. In particular, Pathfinder is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court, principally on whether it will recognise the English High Court's 2012 ruling that Pathfinder is the valid owner of Companhia Mineira de Naburi S.A.R.L. (the entity from which the Licences were appropriated). Pathfinder is confident it will be successful in this recognition application based upon relevant precedent. However, the Company has no visibility over the timing of which Mozambique court decisions will be forthcoming.
Alternative steps to achieving a resolution
Also as previously announced, Pathfinder continues to seek an alternative resolution which does not rely on the courts. The Company is pleased to report encouraging progress on this strategy. The Company's regional representative is leading discussions on the Company's behalf with the two principal parties to a would-be resolution: the Mozambique Government and Jacinto Veloso (the Company's former local partner into whose control the Licences were transferred).
While the content of such discussions is sensitive, Pathfinder is pleased to report that it is currently preparing with its legal counsel the framework of an agreement with Jacinto Veloso that would, if successful, result in the restoration of the Licences to Pathfinder's control.
The terms attached to such discussions remain fluid and there is no certainty of a successful outcome. As Pathfinder is able to control only its role in such discussions, the Company has no visibility over the timing of which a resolution may be achieved. The Board is, however, encouraged by the progress being made towards an alternative resolution and is optimistic that one can be concluded. Any material updates will be reported through the regulatory news service.
Enquiries:
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
Nick Trew, Chief Executive
Tel. +44 (0)20 3440 7775
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Joint Corporate Broker)
Paul Shackleton or James Bavister
Tel. +44 (0)20 7220 1666
Beaufort Securities Limited (Joint Corporate Broker)
Jon Belliss or Elliot Hance
Tel. +44 (0)20 7382 8300
Vigo Communications (Public Relations)
Ben Simons or Ali Roper
Tel. +44 (0)20 7830 9700
Email. pathfinderminerals@vigocomms.com
Notes to Editors:
Pathfinder Minerals Plc is incorporated in England and is admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
CMdN, a subsidiary of Pathfinder, was issued mining concession licences 760C and 4623C on 13 September 2004 and 13 July 2011 respectively, each for a period of twenty-five years. Taken together, these mining concessions cover approximately 32,000 hectares of land on the Indian Ocean coast of the Zambezia province of Mozambique, known to contain the heavy minerals, ilmenite, rutile and zircon.
As announced on 3 February 2012, ownership of these licences is being disputed.