Constitutional Court of Ecuador Dismisses Anti-Mining Petition in Azuay
Vancouver, British Columbia, February 25, 2020 – Lucky Minerals Inc. (“Lucky” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the government of Ecuador “reaffirmed its commitment to promote responsible, regulated and controlled mining in all Ecuadorian territory”[1] as a foundation for economic development. This followed a favorable decision by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador to deny a second petition requesting a local referendum to consider the prohibition of mineral development activities within the province of Azuay, Southern Ecuador.
The province of Azuay contains part of Lucky Minerals’ 100% owned Fortuna project, particularly the epithermal gold targets identified on the Fortuna 8, 9 and 10 concessions. Lucky’s twelve concessions cover 55,000 Ha. within the provinces of Azuay, Zamora Chinchipe and Morona Santiago in Southern Ecuador.
By this ruling the Constitutional Court denied the petition by which they requested a referendum consisting of two questions:
Do you agree with the prohibition, with no exception, of prospection, exploration and exploitation in metal mining artisanal, small, medium and large scale in water sources, recharge zones, discharge and hydric regulation, moorlands, marshes, protected forests and fragile ecosystems, in the province of Azuay?
Do you agree with the cancellation of metal mining concessions, given prior to this popular consult, in water sources, recharge zones, discharge and hydric regulation, moorlands, marshes, protected forests and fragile ecosystems, in the province of Azuay?
Lucky CEO, Adrian Rothwell, stated, This is an important step in favour of legal security and development in the country and the mining sector has been united and a strong working group has been created. Lucky Minerals is fully supportive and follows responsible exploration and mining practices as established by local, Ecuadorian and international standards. We seriously consider our operational impact over environmental and social matters, with the objective of minimizing local land use and water quality disturbance.”
The questions were denied on procedural and constitutional grounds. Due to the new questions raised by this particular petition, the Constitutional Court has provided a specific ruling and arguments to reinforce the legal rights of existing mining concessions by denying retroactive application of any future petition for a referendum. The Court also mentioned that the questions did not meet the minimum requirements established by the Court in previous cases.
In our opinion, this decision, in conjunction with the previously rejected petitions of a similar nature in both the Imbabura and Azuay provinces, set a strong precedent for any future petitions for consultation to consider changes to the constitution of Ecuador.
About Lucky
An exploration and development company targeting large-scale mineral systems in proven districts with the potential to host world class deposits. Lucky owns a 100% interest in the Fortuna and Emigrant Projects.
The Company’s Fortuna Project is a royalty-free 550km2 (55,000 Ha, or 136,000 Acres) exploration concession. Fortuna is located in a highly prospective, yet underexplored, gold belt in southern Ecuador.
The Emigrant Creek Project covers a 15 km2 area in an intensely altered and mineralized porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum system in southern Montana.
The Qualified Person as per NI 43-101 is Mr. Victor Jaramillo, P.Geo. who is responsible for the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
“Adrian Rothwell”
Chief Executive Officer
Further information on Lucky can be found on the Company’s website at www.luckyminerals.com and at www.sedar.com, or by contacting Adrian Rothwell, President and CEO, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (866) 924 6484.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
[1] Statement made by Ecuador’s Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Adjacent Properties and Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the future operations of the Company and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “will”, “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects” and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related exploration and development; the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; changes in economic conditions or financial markets; increases in input costs; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological or operational difficulties or inability to obtain permits encountered in connection with exploration activities; and labor relations matters. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Company’s forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations also include risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations.
The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities law.