The second-instance State Commission gave the long-awaited response – a complaint by Canadian company Euromax Resources was rejected, meaning the company was definitely not granted a permit to mine the ore from the Ilovica-Stuka mine.
This clearly shows that the mine will not be built, but it also poses a serious risk that the concessionaire, Euromax Resources will sue the state, seeking millions of damages.
Euromax Resources confirmed to Portal Factor that the company had already received a decision rejecting the complaint, but said that it was too early to talk about whether to file a lawsuit and what the next steps were.
“We analyze the details outlined in the Solution, as well as the implications that arise from it. At this point, it is too early to say what the decision will be about our next steps. Therefore, we do not wish to comment further on this topic. However, in the near future, once the final decision is made, you will be informed of our future steps,”Euromax Resources said.
According to unofficial information, the Canadian company will not rush with the lawsuit, but will probably try to use other methods it has available beforehand. The information also shows that there is a legal team that should give an opinion on the matter within the legal deadline.
If even the remaining steps fail, the lawsuit would be a logical outcome. How difficult it will be is speculated so far, but it is certainly a million-dollar amount, given that the company planned to invest around € 340 million in the mine.
Although the deadline for adopting the decision was 25 months, the State Commission “broke ground” much earlier, and the appeal of concessionaire Euromax Resources was dismissed as early as September 5. The company filed a complaint after a request for a mining permit was denied.
The Ministry of Economy confirmed this information.
“Acting on an appeal against the decision refusing the application for a license, the second-instance authority issued a decision on September 5, 2019, dismissing the appeal as unfounded,” the ministry said.
The ministry has confirmed that no form of lawsuit by Euromax Resources has been received so far.
Source: fakor.mk