To: LoneClone who wrote (5580 ) 11/10/2022 3:48:17 PM From: Frankly Speaking 2 RecommendationsRecommended By
Read Replies (1) | Respond to Here is the response to an email I sent recently.No doubt it sounds like you have been an SVB shareholder for some time and are aware of the blockade by Mineros Nortenos at the Sierra Mojada project for almost three years. Unfortunately, despite court rulings that clearly determined the blockade was illegal and should be removed there has been no action taken by the appropriate government authorities. Access to the site remains blocked and more recently our partner, South32 elected to exit the JV having lost patience with the situation and Mexico more generally. It is unfortunate and frustrating to say the least. Having said all this we continue to try and progress some sort of dialogue that can create some positive momentum with the Mineros Nortenos. Over the past 12 months we have had a number of engagements with them in Mexico and more communications. Unfortunately, the common theme is that what is agreed or understood in person gets reversed back to the original position after a followup internal meeting they have. That position is that they demand that the production royalty which they retain be paid out in full, now. There is no operating mine, and no cashflow and thus nothing owing (as agreed by the court) but despite this they continue to revert to this position. We are not, nor are we able to pre-pay almost US$7m for a future royalty. With the recent departure of South32, there is another measure that demonstrates to Mineros Nortenos the ongoing blockade is only continuing to hurt all stakeholders, particularly local communities. We hope this will bring about a more consistent communication from them. We are engaged in communications with them and do have some additional ideas but it will need a rational partner on the other side. Overall, there is a very substantial silver-zinc resource here but this can only be advanced with rule of law being followed and the blockade being removed. We are motivated to get this settled but it has to be reasonable. Additionally, the community is also keen as they have been missing out now for 3 years on activities at the project. Lastly, we are open to and over the past few months have been evaluating other project opportunities to provide another “leg to the stool” for SVB. This won’t be in Mexico however. We remain hopeful for a reasonable outcome to this blockade situation but cannot handicap a timeline at this point.
