Centamin has welcomed a favourable ruling in the long-running legal challenge to its permit for the Sukari gold mine in Egypt and said it will now apply to have the writ set aside entirely.
Proceedings were initiated in 2011 in Egypt’s Administrative Court against the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (MoP) and Mineral Resource Authority (EMRA ) to by a non-related third party to challenge Centamin’s concession agreement.
The latest judgement, however, has upheld Law 32 as constitutional, a law which decrees that non-related third parties cannot challenge contractual agreements with the Egyptian government.
As a result, Centamin said subsidiary PGM will now submit an application to the Administrative Court to resume appeal proceedings and request it to reject the original case in its entirety in accordance with the provisions of Law 32
“Today's judgment on the constitutionality of Egyptian Law No. 32 is most welcomed,“ said Martin Horgan, Centamin’s chief executive.
“We are delighted to now be in a position to apply to set aside the 2011 third-party challenge to the validity of the Exploitation Licence issued under the Sukari concession agreement."
Operations at the Sukari gold mine remain unaffected and continue as normal, said Centamin's statement.