Emerita Announces Completion of Hearings to Resolve Criminal Charges Related to the Awarding of Aznalcóllar Public Tender
TORONTO, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX – V: EMO; OTCQB: EMOTF; FSE: LLJA) (the “Company” or “Emerita”) announces that the Third Section of the Provincial Court of Seville (the “Court”) has completed the hearings for the criminal trial on the alleged crimes committed during the process of awarding the Aznalcóllar tender (the “Trial”). The hearings commenced on March 3, 2025 and were completed on July 15, 2025. The Trial judges, Angel Márquez Romero (President of the Court), Luis G. de Oro-Pulido Sanz and Carmen Pilar Caracuel Raya, will now prepare their rulings on the criminal allegations.
The Trial judges listened to and reviewed the testimonies and arguments of each of the defendants, plaintiffs and intervenors in the context of the volume of evidence that has been collected to support the charges against the defendants. The verdicts will be delivered in the form of a written resolution that will be delivered to the legal counsel of the parties involved. This is a large trial with 16 defendants and Emerita believes that this process will likely not conclude until sometime after the summer shut down, in the fall.
The 16 defendants, include members of the panel responsible for evaluating and awarding the tender, as well as proprietors of a Spanish company, Minorbis S.L., face potential prison sentences, financial fines and bars from being employed in the public service, for the alleged rigging of the Aznalcóllar mining public tender, including accusations of influence peddling, fraud, embezzlement and prevarication.
David Gower, P.Geo., CEO of Emerita, states: “Emerita looks forward to the resolution of the trial now that the hearings have been completed. We will not speculate on the outcome of this important, and ongoing legal process, however the Company feels it was strongly represented. We do not believe the testimony from the accused or their supporting witnesses refute previous court rulings that led to the various charges being levied. In our experience through the extensive appeals leading to the Trial, as well as the Company’s experience in the legal process to obtain its Iberian Belt West project in Spain, the Spanish judiciary have been completely independent and we expect justice will prevail. Emerita’s goal has consistently been, and continues to be, to develop the Aznalcóllar property as a modern, long-life mining operation that will operate at the highest standards of environmental stewardship, employee and community safety.”
About Emerita Resources Corp.
Emerita is a natural resource company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Europe, with a primary focus on exploring in Spain. The Company’s corporate office and technical team are based in Sevilla, Spain with an administrative office in Toronto, Canada.
For further information, contact:
Ian Parkinson
+1 647 910-2500 (Toronto)
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the prospectivity of Aznalcóllar, the awarding of the public tender, results, timing and impact of the Aznalcóllar litigation and administrative processes and the Company’s future plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Emerita, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; risks associated with operation in foreign jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate the purchased properties; foreign operations risks; and other risks inherent in the mining industry. Although Emerita has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Emerita does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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