Pacific Rim Mining Corp.: CAFTA Hearing on Preliminary Objection Underway
31 5월 2010 - 9:30PM
Marketwired
Pacific Rim Mining Corp. (TSX: PMU)(NYSE Amex: PMU) -
A hearing on the Preliminary Objection filed by the Government
of El Salvador ("GOES") in relation to an action commenced by Pac
Rim Cayman LLC ("PacRim") in April 2009 under the Dominican
Republic-United States-Central America Free Trade Agreement
("CAFTA") commenced today Monday May 31, 2010 and is scheduled to
conclude tomorrow Tuesday June 1, 2010. Under CAFTA Article 10.20,
the 3-person Arbitral Tribunal hearing this case is to rule on the
Preliminary Objection on an expedited schedule and is expected to
issue a decision by September 2010. The hearing is taking place at
the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes
("ICSID") in Washington, DC.
"It's very unfortunate we must resort to arbitration to protect
our rights," says Tom Shrake, President and CEO. "The global
economic crisis has reduced U.S.-based foreign investment in El
Salvador by almost 60%. The unemployment rate continues to climb
and the people of El Salvador continue to suffer, especially in
Cabanas, the poorest department in El Salvador. Hundreds of direct
and indirect exploration jobs have already been lost. We are doing
everything in our power to right this wrong, reinstate the
exploration jobs and move forward with the mine development, which
will create hundreds of new jobs. Exploration and development
projects conducted, or contributed to, by our exploration team
throughout their careers has led to the creation of thousands of
jobs and well over a billion dollars in foreign investment to six
Latin American countries. We want to invest our skills hand in hand
with Salvadorans to help build an economy with responsible mining
as we did in Chile in the 1990s."
Pursuant to Article 10.21.2, ICSID is live video streaming the
hearing proceedings, which commence at 9:30 am Eastern time each
day. The proceedings will be transmitted in both English and
Spanish, and will be available in high speed (256 kbps) and low
speed (56 kbps) to accommodate different bandwidth
capabilities.
For the hearing in English, click here:
mms://wbmswebcast1.worldbank.org/live1
For the hearing in Spanish, click here:
mms://wbmswebcast1.worldbank.org/live2
To access the live stream you will need Windows Media Player,
which is available for download at www.windows.com.
BACKGROUND
Pac Rim Cayman LLC is a Nevada corporation and a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Pacific Rim Mining Corp. ("Pacific Rim"). On April
30, 2009, PacRim filed international arbitration proceedings
against the GOES under CAFTA in its own name and on behalf of its
two wholly-owned El Salvadoran enterprises, Pacific Rim El
Salvador, Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable ("PRES") and Dorado
Exploraciones, Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable ("DOREX")
(collectively, the "Enterprises").
Since acquiring the El Dorado project in El Salvador in 2002,
PacRim and the Enterprises have operated in full compliance with
Salvadoran law, including the country's environmental, mining and
foreign investment laws, and have met or exceeded all applicable
standards while conducting business in El Salvador. Ample evidence,
however, demonstrates that the GOES has failed to fulfill its
obligations.
PacRim's claims under CAFTA are based on the GOES's breaches of
international and Salvadoran law arising out of the GOES's improper
failure to finalize the permitting process in accordance with
Salvadoran law. This conduct by the GOES has resulted in a
significant loss to PacRim, the shareholders of Pacific Rim and to
the local communities, and has unnecessarily delayed normal
development of these valuable deposits.
Pacific Rim's mandate to its shareholders is to build a gold
mining company that explores and develops gold deposits in an
environmentally responsible manner. In meeting its
responsibilities, a mine design for the Enterprises' El Dorado gold
project located in the department of Cabanas, was submitted to the
GOES in its final form more than two and a half years ago. Despite
strong local support and the inclusion of carefully engineered and
reliable environmental protections for the proposed El Dorado Mine,
the Government has not met its responsibility to issue the
Enterprises the permits necessary to advance the project to the
final step of full production.
On January 4, 2010, the GOES filed Preliminary Objection to
PacRim's claims under CAFTA and El Salvador's Investment Law.
Copies of PacRim's original CAFTA claim, the GOES's Preliminary
Objection filing and PacRim's response to the GOES Preliminary
Objection are available on Pacific Rim's website
(www.pacrim-mining.com). PacRim believes that El Salvador's
Objection is not only completely without merit, but is also
frivolous, and that GOES filed it purely as an attempt to stall the
arbitration proceedings. PacRim fully expects that the Tribunal
will reject the Preliminary Objection and proceed with the
arbitration claim.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Pacific Rim is an environmentally and socially responsible
exploration company focused exclusively on high grade,
environmentally clean gold deposits in the Americas. Pacific Rim's
subsidiary PacRim is the owner of the high grade, vein-hosted El
Dorado gold project in El Salvador. Through its subsidiaries,
Pacific Rim owns several similar grassroots gold projects in El
Salvador and the Company is actively seeking additional assets
elsewhere in the Americas that fit its project focus. All
references to "Pacific Rim" or "the Company" encompass the parent
corporation, Pacific Rim Mining Corp, and its U.S. and Salvadoran
subsidiaries, Pac Rim Cayman LLC ("PacRim"), Pacific Rim El
Salvador, S.A. de C.V. ("PRES"), and Dorado Exploraciones, S.A. de
C.V. ("DOREX"), inclusive.Pacific Rim's shares trade under the
symbol PMU on both the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the NYSE
Amex.
On behalf of the board of directors,
Thomas C. Shrake, President and CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Information set forth in this document may involve
forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking
statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of
which are beyond Pacific Rim's control, including: the outcome of
ICSID's ruling on the GOES's Preliminary Objection filing to
PacRim's CAFTA claim; the continuation of the CAFTA claim; the
outcome of PacRim's CAFTA claim should it continue to completion;
and the number of job opportunities that may be created by the El
Dorado operation. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used
in the preparation of such information, although considered
reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise
and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on
forward-looking statements. Pacific Rim's actual results, programs
and financial position could differ materially from those expressed
in or implied by these forward-looking statements.
The TSX and NYSE Amex have neither reviewed nor accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts: Pacific Rim Mining Corp. Barbara Henderson
604-689-1976 or 1-888-775-7097 604-689-1978 (FAX)
general@pacrim-mining.com www.pacrim-mining.com
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