China Minerals Seeks Court Order for Document Production as Province Suddenly Reverses Agreement with First Nation
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2017 / China Minerals Mining Corp. (TSXV: CMV) (OTC Pink: HWTHF) ("China Minerals" or the "Company"), through its legal counsel, McMillan LLP, filed an application in BC Supreme Court to be heard on January 4, 2017, asking for the Court to order the Province of British Columbia (the "Province") to disclose additional documents related to the pending judicial review of the government's decision to transfer certain lands to a First Nation owned company, in an area where China Minerals holds subsurface mineral tenures.
"We made this application because we have learned, through Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act ("FOI") requests, that there are other materials that we consider highly relevant which were withheld from the government's materials and have not yet been disclosed to the Court," said Ling Zhu, Executive Chairman. Mr. Zhu further commented: "We are deeply concerned that the government took more than nine months to process this FOI request, that it heavily censored the release, and yet we still learned of relevant documents that have not been disclosed to the Court. It makes us wonder what else is out there that government is fighting so hard to keep secret."
China Minerals commenced a judicial review petition on January 25, 2016 seeking to challenge the Province's decision to transfer certain parcels of land to a Kaska Dena company as part of an incremental treaty agreement entered into in 2013, without any consultation with China Minerals. The parcels of transferred land overlap certain key sections of the Cassiar Gold Project - a project that China Minerals has spent more than $36 million acquiring and advancing. As a direct result of the Province's decision to transfer the land parcels, China Minerals has lost opportunities to enter into financing and joint venture agreements and has faced general uncertainty with respect to advancing the Cassiar Gold Project. The judicial review is scheduled to be heard on January 17, 2017.
Recently disclosed information on the government's website indicates that, around the same time the FOI materials were finally released, it announced a previously undisclosed July 2016 agreement with the Kaska Dena to reverse the transfer of these lands from the First Nation to the Province. China Minerals is pleased by this unprecedented development, but believes it is not sufficient to properly address the above-referenced adverse effects the Province has caused the Company nor does it reverse very problematic positions the Province is on record as taking to date. China Minerals therefore has every intention of proceeding with the judicial review, unless and until a satisfactory resolution of all issues is reached with the Province.
The agreement between the Province and the Kaska Dene reversing the land transfer can be found at: www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/consulting-with-first-nations/agreements/kaska_ita_amend_agreement_-_executed_version_-_dec_2016.pdf.
The Company supports reconciliation between the Province and aboriginal groups - provided existing third party rights are protected or properly compensated.
Further Information on the Company's Legal Action
For further information on the legal action see the Company's news releases dated: January 25, 2016, March 9, 2016, May 25, 2016, August 29, 2016 and October 18, 2016, copies of which are available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
About China Minerals Mining Corporation
China Minerals Mining Corp. is a Canadian based exploration and development company with offices located in Vancouver, B.C. and Beijing, China. China Minerals' goal is to build an international mining company.
For more information on China Minerals, please contact the Company at 1-888-629-1505 or the Company at (604) 629-1505, or visit the Company's website at www.chinamineralsmining.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
"signed by Ling Zhu"
Ling Zhu
Executive Chairman
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Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information
Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in China Mineral's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "appear", "should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: (i) the expected date of the judicial review application and (ii) other statements that are not facts.
Although China Minerals has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and China Minerals disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.
SOURCE: China Minerals Mining Corp.
