Dar es Salaam. Another Canadian mining company, Montero Mining & Exploration, has confirmed a hearing date on an investment dispute in which it is seeking Sh168 billion ($90 million) in compensation against the United Republic of Tanzania.
Following submissions from both parties, a hearing was scheduled for December 3 and 4, 2023 with the same lead counsel who represented Indiana and Winshear on the plaintiff’s side.
Speaking to The Citizen, Tanzania’s Attorney General Boniphace Luhendi confirmed that a date had been set for the hearing, without elaborating on whether they wanted to settle the matter out of court.
Last week, Tanzania and Canadian mining company Winshear Gold Corp agreed to suspend arbitration over the expropriation of the SMP gold project in southwest Tanzania after both sides reached a conditional agreement.
The Vancouver-based company said there was no guarantee that the conditional settlement agreement would be completed in a case where the plaintiff initially sought compensation of more than Sh250 billion.
The lawsuit filed by Montero with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) was a result of the cancellation of the holding license for rare earth mining at Wigu Hill in 2018.
According to the mining company’s CEO and president Tony Harwood, the company has invested approximately 15.5 million Canadian dollars in the Wigu Hill rare earth project since 2008.
However, in 2018, the Tanzanian government revoked the project’s retention licenses under the new Mining (Local Content) Regulations 2018. Montero said the development amounted to expropriation.
“The company has repeatedly unsuccessfully attempted to work with the Tanzanian government to reach an amicable settlement, while the discovery and development of the Wigu Hill project has created significant value for Tanzania,” Harwood said.
The company’s shares have fallen by around 58 percent in the last 12 months. Earlier this month, shares fell to a two-year low of four Canadian cents per share.
Two other companies, including Winshear Gold Corporation and Indiana Resources, have filed claims with the ICSID against the Tanzanian government for similar reasons totaling just over C$250 million, Montero said.
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