TORONTO, Canada — December 17, 2025 — Leads & Copy —
Emerita Resources Corp. (TSXV: EMO) will petition the Administrative Court of Andalucia to complete its ruling regarding alleged irregularities in awarding the Aznalcollar public tender. The company will not appeal the recent criminal case ruling after reviewing alternatives with Spanish legal counsel.
According to CEO David Gower, the company believes focusing on the legal battle to be awarded the rights to develop the Aznalcollar project is important to best serve shareholders. Spanish counsel considers Emerita’s case strong, demonstrating that significant administrative errors were made in awarding the public tender, due to the detailed police investigation and evidence collected during the criminal trial.
Emerita’s complaint filed with the Administrative Court includes alleged errors supported by rulings from Provincial Court No. 7 of Seville:
The Minorbis consortium did not meet the requirements of the first stage of the Public Tender and should not have been eligible to participate in subsequent stages.
The Minorbis bid was incomplete or non-compliant and failed to meet the tender’s defined criteria.
The scoring/evaluation criteria were potentially interpreted and applied to the bids incorrectly.
The concession was ultimately accepted by Minera Los Frailes (MLF), an entity that did not participate in the public tender, instead of the bidding entity, Minorbis-Grupo Mexico (Minorbis). This substitution of the bidder is incompatible with Spanish administrative and European Union procurement law unless very strict conditions are met, which allegedly were not met.
Among a number of other potential procedural errors in the process.
Emerita aims to acquire the right to develop the Aznalcollar project. Appealing the criminal court ruling is unlikely to achieve that goal, as the awarding of the public tender should be resolved in the Administrative Court. An appeal of the Criminal Case to the Supreme Court would be on technicalities related to the legal process and unlikely to deliver a change in the sentencing, which would be a required outcome in order to impact the ruling of the Administrative Court, in Spanish legal counsel’s view. The appeal process would likely delay the Administrative Court by at least 18-24 months.
Emerita Resources Corp. is focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Europe, primarily in Spain. The company’s corporate office and technical team are based in Sevilla, Spain, with an administrative office in Toronto, Canada.
Ian Parkinson
+1 647 910-2500 (Toronto)
info@emeritaresources.com
Source: Emerita Resources Corp.
