Almaden Minerals Escalates Ixtaca Case to CPTPP Body

Almaden Minerals has initiated international arbitration against Mexico under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The company alleges that Mexico breached its CPTPP obligations through actions that blocked the development of the Ixtaca project and retroactively terminated the company’s mineral concessions, resulting in the loss of its investments in Mexico.

The arbitration claim follows a failed consultation period and a meeting with Mexico that did not lead to a resolution. Almaden Minerals said it had filed notice of its intention to submit a claim to arbitration against Mexico on Mar. 14, 2024, and has now filed its Request for Arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). “This is clearly not a desirable outcome for our tremendous discovery back in 2010. With the announcement of the feasibility study in 2018, the Ixtaca project was poised to become a significant success for shareholders, local communities, and Mexico. The company followed best international standards and practices, including through the adoption of dry stack filtered tailings, ore-sorting, and water management plans that could have improved water availability for local communities,” said Duane Poliquin, Chair, Almaden Minerals.

Poliquin stressed that the company’s human rights due diligence was second to none, keeping pace with the technical evolution of the project. This culminated in a Human Rights Impact Assessment completed to the highest international standards. He emphasized that Almaden Minerals sought to resolve each challenge presented by Mexico, demonstrating its commitment to addressing concerns. However, efforts were thwarted by the Mexican government's decision to cancel Almaden’s concessions, leaving the company with no alternative but to pursue international arbitration. “We regret this outcome for shareholders, who may still see some benefit from the discovery as we pursue this arbitration. However, I lament most heavily this outcome for local people, whom we have worked very closely with over the past two decades,  and who have become our friends. They now stand to gain nothing from the Ixtaca project which was developed and designed with their assistance,” he added.

According to Almaden Minerals, the Ixtaca project was projected to have substantial economic contributions, including job creation and tax revenue. Almaden Minerals is pursuing this arbitration with Almadex Minerals and their Mexican subsidiaries, seeking damages of no less than US$200 million, in the aggregate.

The arbitration process will include submitting an initial and preliminary estimate of the damages claimed. Almaden Minerals expects to appoint a quantum expert to prepare a professional damages assessment for review by the arbitration tribunal and will update shareholders as the process evolves.