Appointment of Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Miles is a Chartered Accountant with a B.Sc. in Geology who has over 20 years experience in a large multinational corporate environment, primarily with Cominco Ltd. While with Cominco, he held various positions in corporate finance and was most recently Exploration Controller, responsible for the financial reporting of the corporation's eight international exploration subsidiaries as well as reporting for Canadian based exploration. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Miles was the corporate controller for Quest Capital Corp. (formerly Viceroy Resource Corporation). Mr. Miles is currently the CFO of Esperanza Silver Corporation, Nevgold Resource Corp., Lara Exploration Ltd. and Colombian Mines Corporation.
The Company would like to thank Mr. Watt for his contribution to the growth and development of Inca Pacific.
The Company also announces that pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan, 242,500 incentive stock options exercisable at $0.19 per share for a period of five years have been granted to certain officers, employees and consultants.
INCA PACIFIC RESOURCES INC.
Signed: "Michael D. Winn"
CEO & Director
For further information contact:
Investor Relations
Julia Maxwell
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
Inca Initiates Magistral Arbitration
MACSA has initiated the arbitration in response to the seizure by Activos Mineros of a US$3 million bond in October 2009 and the follow-on termination in December 2009 of the Mining Concession Transfer Agreement between Activos Mineros and MACSA ("Transfer Agreement") which governs the five core mining concessions within the Magistral Project. The Company has suffered significant damage from the actions of Activos Mineros and will be seeking monetary damages of approximately US$195 million. The Company will continue to work with the local community in Conchucos in seeing the Magistral Project through to a positive conclusion for the Company and our stakeholders.
Magistral Dispute
Under the Transfer Agreement, MACSA posted a bank guarantee of US$3 million as a performance bond in connection with MACSA's investment commitment for expenditures to be incurred at Magistral for the year ending February 2009. Over the course of 2009, MACSA and Activos Mineros disputed the amount spent. The 2009 expenditures were audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers which found that Inca Pacific and MACSA together had spent approximately US$15 million, compared with a commitment to spend US$12 million. Activos Mineros claimed that only US$4.6 million had been spent, since expenses incurred by Inca Pacific could not be considered for purposes of the Transfer Agreement. Activos Mineros also claimed that MACSA had failed to incur certain specific expenditures committed for the year ending February 2009. This dispute led to Activos Mineros calling the performance bond without any justification or support. Activos Mineros further demanded the immediate posting of a bond for $24 million for expenditures in 2009.
MACSA responded by asserting that Activos Mineros is in breach of the Transfer Agreement. MACSA demanded that Activos Mineros remedy its breach and reimburse the US$ 3 million. Furthermore, MACSA advised Activos Mineros that, as long as the breach was in place, MACSA would suspend the fulfillment of any other obligations under the Transfer Agreement, as permitted under Peruvian law.
In response to our demand for reimbursement of the US$3 million and notice of arrears, Activos Mineros notified MACSA that it had terminated the Transfer Agreement on the grounds of a non-existent breach by MACSA and had registered such contract termination in the public registration records of the mining concessions referred to in the Transfer Agreement.
For the past three months the Company attempted to find a legal and commercial solution to the Magistral dispute. The lack of progress in finding a commercial solution with Activos Mineros and ProInversion has left the Company no choice but to start arbitration. The Company has initiated the arbitration with a request that the Transfer Agreement be terminated for causes attributable to Activos Mineros, and that the Company be compensated for resulting damages.
Arbitration Proceedings
Disputes under the Transfer Agreement are handled through arbitration and are governed by the Arbitration Regulations of the National Institute of Mining and Petroleum Law. Each party selects an arbiter with the two arbiters selecting a third arbiter. It is anticipated that once the arbitration panel has been named, the arbitration proceedings could last up to 12 months. However, the Transfer Agreement dictates that the arbitration procedure must not take more than 120 days, something the Company will look to enforce. All decisions by the arbitration panel are final and no appeal can be filed to contest the arbitration panel's decision.
Damages Claimed
The Company is seeking monetary damages of US$195 million. The amount of damages reflect the US$3 million performance bond seized, the Company's investment in Magistral to date of approximately US$40 million, and the loss of the project which has a net present value (NPV) based on the Company's Feasibility Study of US$152 million (at prices of US$1.50/lb copper and US$12/lb molybdenum). The Feasibility Study was accepted and approved by Activos Mineros in 2008.
The disputed concessions are five of the twenty-six contiguous concessions held by MACSA in the Magistral Project area. While the five disputed concessions contain the bulk of the known copper/molybdenum mineralization, the other concessions have several other mineral occurrences which MACSA will continue to evaluate.
The Company will continue to seek a commercial resolution with government representatives as we believe that an agreement that allows the project to be developed in the short term is in the best interest of all the stakeholders. In addition, the Company will continue its community relations program in the Conchucos region.
INCA PACIFIC RESOURCES INC.
Signed: "Michael Winn"
CEO and Director
For further information contact: Michael Winn
Phone: 604-687-3727
Email: michael@terrasearch-inc.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statement - Some of the statements in this news release contain forward-looking information that involves inherent risk and uncertainty affecting the business of Inca Pacific Resources Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements
Inca Pacific Notified Of Cancellation Of Magistral Contract
The Company does not agree with the position that Activos Mineros has taken as to the cancellation of the Contract, as well as to the seizing of the US$3 million letter of credit as reported in the Company's release on November 4, 2009. The Company will continue to work with Activos Mineros to resolve this situation while at the same time considering all options to protect the interests of Inca Pacific and its shareholders.
INCA PACIFIC RESOURCES INC. Signed: "Michael Winn" |
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For further information contact: Bill Galine |
Inca Pacific Grants Options
INCA PACIFIC RESOURCES INC. Signed: "Anthony Floyd" |
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For further information contact: Bill Galine |
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Inca Pacific Appoints Andre Gauthier as President
Andre Gauthier has over 30 years experience in the mining industry. He was head of Cambior's operations in Peru from 1993-2005. Mr. Gauthier played a key role in the creation of a junior market on the Lima Stock Exchange. He has been a director of the Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía in Peru and was a founding member and vice-president of the Canada-Peru Chamber of Commerce. Since 2005 Mr. Gauthier has been president of Maxygold, a company actively exploring in China and Peru. He is also chairman of the China International Mining Group, an association of foreign mining companies investing in China.
Anthony Floyd, Chairman of Inca Pacific said, "Andre Gauthier is a respected member of the mining industry in both Canada and Peru. Through his involvement in the huge La Granja copper project he had extensive dealings with key people in both government and industry. I believe this experience will be invaluable as we continue to seek an extension from the Government of Peru for the deadline for bringing our Magistral project into production, currently set at December 31, 2011."
INCA PACIFIC RESOURCES INC. Signed: "Anthony Floyd" |
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For further information contact: Bill Galine |