Berkeley seeks $1 bln in damages from Spain over uranium mine dispute (updated)
28/05/2024 10:45
(Adds details from paragraph 2 onwards)
MADRID, May 28 (Reuters) - Australian mining group
Berkeley Energia BKY.L said on Tuesday it had filed a request
for an arbitration to seek $1 billion in damages from the
Spanish government after it refused to give final approval for
its uranium mine project.
The Retortillo project, Berkeley's main asset, received
preliminary approval in 2013, but Spain's Energy Ministry
refused to approve the project located near the central city of
Salamanca first in 2021 and again in 2023.
A spokesperson for the Energy Ministry said the government
blocked the project based on a report from the country's Nuclear
Security Council but declined to comment on the arbitration.
Berkeley filed an arbitration at the World Bank's
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the
company said in a filing to the Madrid stock market regulator.
It accuses the government of infringing on its rights under
an international agreement known as the Energy Charter Treaty,
designed to promote energy security through the operation of
more open and competitive energy markets.
Berkeley said it was still committed to the project and was
ready to collaborate with Spain for a resolution and hopeful for
near-term discussions.
The company has said in the past the mine would require a
250-million-euro ($271.85 million) investment and would have
created more than 2,500 jobs.
Shares in Berkeley were up 5.4% following the arbitration
disclosure.
($1 = 0.9196 euros)
(Reporting by Marta Serafinko; Edited by Inti Landauro, Jan
Harvey and Bernadette Baum)
((Marta.Serafinko@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 66 00;))