Last checked at 17 Dec 2015 07:00
Embargoed: 0700hrs 17 December 2015
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
("Pathfinder" or "the Company")
Withdrawal of VAT Claim by HMRC
Pathfinder is pleased to announce that yesterday it was advised by HMRC that:
· HMRC has rescinded its decision to cancel the Company's VAT registration and to demand the repayment of £1,071,891 of refunded VAT, together with interest;
· it has withdrawn its related assessment; and that
· it will refund the Company's VAT repayment claims that had been suspended since December 2014.
Although no provision for the claim was made in the Company's financial statements, it was noted in the Directors' Report and in the Contingent Liability note in the 2014 Annual Report and again as a Contingent Liability in the 2015 Interim Report.
The Board of Pathfinder is pleased that its continuing efforts to recover its expropriated mining licences will no longer be overshadowed by a contingent liability of such magnitude.
Enquiries:
Pathfinder Minerals Plc
Nick Trew, Chief Executive
Tel. +44 (0)20 3440 7775
WH Ireland Limited (Nomad and Broker)
Paul Shackleton or Mark Leonard
Tel. +44 (0)20 7220 1666
Vigo Communications
Ben Simons or Ali Roper
Tel. +44 (0)20 7016 9595
Email. pathfinderminerals@vigocomms.com
Notes to Editors:
Pathfinder Minerals Plc is incorporated in England & Wales and is admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Companhia Mineira de Naburi S.A.R.L., a subsidiary of Pathfinder Minerals, 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.