The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) has announced that Falcondo has now completed submitting the documentation required by Law 100-13 for the Dominican government to authorize the restart of operations of the company, now under Americano Nickel Limited (ANL). Minister of Energy and Mines Antonio Isa Conde made the announcement during a press conference yesterday, Thursday 21 April 2016, in the presence of the company’s top executives. The Ministry recently stopped a shipment of four freight containers loaded with nickel from Haina Port by the company. The Ministry of Energy and Mines argued that the shipment had been stopped on the grounds that the company was not authorized to operate in the country because it had not yet fulfilled the documentation requirements.
Minister Isa Conde said that the documentation would be reviewed and if found to be in compliance with the law the Ministry will issue the authorization for Falcondo to restart operations without any further delay.
Isa Conde said that the information submitted includes the company’s mining plan for the next five years, excluding the proposed Loma Miranda mining operation because the company does not have the required environmental permits and social licenses.
Seven months have passed since the transfer of shares of Falcondo under Glencore Canada Corporation to Americano Nickel Limited.
The documentation also includes the corporation’s financial guarantees and certificates of solvency, the board members’ professional profiles and environmental permits.
“We have asked Global Special Opportunities, the parent company of Americano Nickel Limited, to make a formal commitment for them to be 100% responsible for the present and future obligations of Falcondo, including the payment of capital gains taxes to the Tax Agency (DGII), given the share transfer,” said the Minister. He said that once the documents are analyzed and approved, the information would be posted on the Ministry’s institutional website as part of its transparency practices.
The press conference was attended by Falcondo general manager Ioannis Moutafis, vice president, Apostolos Peppas, Mining director Alexander Medina, Mining deputy minister Edgar Mejia, and MEM legal advisor Maria Susana Gautreaux de Windt.
In August 2015, Glencore Canada Corporation sold all its shares in Falcondo to Americano Nickel Limited. The Ministry of Energy and Mines notified the new owners that they would need to comply with legislation in order to fully operate in the country.
http://americanonickel.com
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=474890
http://www.listindiario.com/economia/2016/04/22/416474/falcondo-entrega-a-cartera-documentos-para-operar
