Colombia not liable to pay $736 mln to miner Eco Oro-gov't

Eco Oro Minerals

10/09/2021 18:57

BOGOTA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Colombia's government said on
Friday a World Bank tribunal has ruled it is currently not
liable to pay $736 million in damages to Eco Oro Minerals Corp
 EOM.CD  after the Canadian mining company alleged that the
Andean nation's prohibition on mining in high-altitude wetlands
constituted an indirect expropriation.
    Eco Oro pulled out of the Angostura gold concession in 2019
after the project in Santander province was cut in half by a
constitutional court ruling and new regulations that expanded
wetland protections. It said the change made the project, in
which it had invested some $250 million, impossible.
    The legal case, where the company alleged the restrictions
amounted to indirect expropriation of its investment, has been
ongoing since 2016.
    Colombia's National Agency for Judicial Defense of the State
said in a statement that the International Center for Settlement
of Investment Disputes tribunal recognized that the measure was
not discriminatory toward Eco Oro shareholders and was an effort
to legitimately protect the environment.
    "The tribunal recognized the fundamental role of the
wetlands as sources and regulators for the water cycle, amid
global phenomena like climate change," the agency said.
    Eco Oro did not immediately respond to a call and an email
seeking comment.
    The case will continue however, the agency said, because the
tribunal did find Colombia in violation of international norms
that regulate how countries should treat foreign investors.

 (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta
Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Mark Porter)
 ((julia.cobb@thomsonreuters.com; +57-316-389-7187))