Gabriel Resources Ltd. Corporate Update

Rhea-AI Summary

Gabriel Resources faces challenges as its ICSID arbitration claims against the Romanian Government were dismissed, leading to a Cost Order of approximately US$10 million. The company plans to evaluate the possibility of challenging the decision and is in discussions to secure additional funds for its future strategic objectives. However, there is a significant risk that sufficient financing may not be available, impacting the company's financial condition.

Positive

• None.

Negative

• The dismissal of Gabriel Resources 's ICSID arbitration claims against the Romanian Government and the subsequent Cost Order of approximately US$10 million pose financial challenges for the company.
• There is a risk that the company may not be able to secure sufficient additional financing, which could negatively impact its financial condition and ability to continue operations.

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 4, 2024 / Gabriel Resources Ltd. (TSXV:GBU) ("Gabriel" or the "Company") announced on March 8, 2024 that the Company's ICSID arbitration claims against the Romanian Government were dismissed by a two to one majority of the tribunal members ("Tribunal"), who also awarded Romania approximately US$10 million in legal fees and expenses ("Cost Order"). The Cost Order incurs simple interest from the date of the award at the 3-month US Treasury rate.

Following further analysis of the Tribunal's decision with its professional advisers, the Company continues to believe that the Tribunal's decision is deeply flawed. Accordingly, the Company is evaluating the possibility of challenging the decision through the annulment process prescribed by the ICSID Convention. Any annulment application must be filed within 120 days of the date of the Tribunal's decision.

The Government of Romania has requested the Company and its co-claimant in the ICSID arbitration, Gabriel Resources (Jersey) Ltd., ("Gabriel Jersey") to settle the Costs Order and noted that they will take action to enforce the same. In this regard, from public records, it appears that the Romanian State has sought precautionary measures in Romania to impose restrictions on the sale or transfer of the shares held by Gabriel Jersey in its Romanian subsidiary, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation S.A., pending settlement of the Cost Order. The Company believes that these actions are premature and suffer from procedural infirmities. Gabriel will vigorously defend its rights and interest in Romania and elsewhere.

The Company currently has available funds of approximately C$2.0 million (US$1.5 million) and would expect such balance to be exhausted in the normal course of business by the end of May 2024. Gabriel continues to manage its cash resources and its current and future financial obligations carefully. The Company is in discussions with existing investors and other interested parties to source additional funds to finance its future strategic objectives (which may include, as appropriate, costs of any potential annulment proceedings) and for general working capital purposes. There is a significant risk that sufficient additional financing may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms, or at all. The failure to raise funds as and when needed would have a negative impact on the Company's financial condition and its ability to continue as a going concern.

For information on this press release, please contact:

Dragos Tanase President & CEO Phone: +40 730 399 019 dt@gabrielresources.com

Richard Brown Chief Financial Officer Mobile: +44 7748 760276 richard.brown@gabrielresources.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Gabriel

Gabriel is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company's principal business had been the exploration and development of the Roșia Montană gold and silver project in Romania. The Roşia Montană Project, one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Europe, is situated in the South Apuseni Mountains of Transylvania, Romania, an historic and prolific mining district that since pre-Roman times has been mined intermittently for over 2,000 years.

The exploitation license for the Roşia Montană Project is held by Roșia Montană Gold Corporation S.A., a Romanian company in which Gabriel owns an 80.69% equity interest, with the 19.31% balance held by Minvest Roșia Montană S.A., a Romanian state-owned mining company.

Following issuance of the exploitation license in June 1999, the Group focused substantially all of its management and financial resources on the exploration, feasibility and subsequent development of the Roşia Montană Project. Gabriel invested over US$760 million to develop the Roşia Montană Project and to define two promising gold, silver and porphyry copper-gold mineral deposits in the Bucium concession area located in the vicinity of Roșia Montană ("Bucium Projects" and together with the Roşia Montană Project, the "Projects").

The Roşia Montană Project had the potential to be a flagship development project in Romania presenting opportunities to:

• boost the Romanian economy through direct and indirect contributions to GDP;
• create several thousand of much-needed direct and indirect jobs in an area that has record unemployment, thus ensuring Roşia Montană's sustainable economic development;
• make Romania the leading producer of gold and silver in the European Union;
• remediate, through significant investment in infrastructure and environmental rehabilitation, the severe environmental degradation that besieges Roşia Montană's landscape today as a consequence of unregulated historical State mining operations; and
• add further significant investments to the preservation and restoration of Roşia Montană's important cultural heritage (beyond the significant investments already made by Gabriel).

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" (also referred to as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's operating environment. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the ability of the Company to source further capital.

In this press release, forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that may cause the Company's actual financial results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied herein.

Some of the material factors or assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the uncertainties associated with: any challenge to the recent decision of the ICSID tribunal, actions by the Romanian Government, conditions or events impacting the Company's ability to fund its operations (including but not limited to the completion of further funding noted above) or service its debt, exploration, development and operation of mining properties and the overall impact of misjudgments made in good faith in the course of preparing forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors including those set out below, that may never materialize, prove incorrect or materialize other than as currently contemplated which could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "is of the view", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events, conditions or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Numerous factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including without limitation:

• the duration, costs, process and outcome of any challenge to the Award;
• access to funding to support any challenge to the Award and/or the Group's operating activities in the future;
• the impact on financial condition, business strategy and its implementation in Romania of: any allegations of historic acts of corruption, uncertain fiscal investigations; uncertain legal enforcement both for and against the Group, unpredictable regulatory or agency actions and political and social instability;
• changes in the liquidity and capital resources of Gabriel, and/or the group of companies of which it is directly or indirectly parent;
• equity dilution resulting from the conversion or exercise of new or existing securities in part or in whole to Common Shares;
• the ability of the Company to maintain a listing on the TSX Venture Exchange or any regulated public market for trading securities;
• Romania's actions following the inscription of the "Roşia Montană Mining Landscape" as a UNESCO World Heritage site;
• regulatory, political and economic risks associated with operating in a foreign jurisdiction including changes in laws, governments and legal regimes and interpretation of existing and future fiscal and other legislation;
• global economic and financial market conditions, including inflation risk;
• the geo-political situation and the resulting economic developments arising from the unfolding conflict and humanitarian crisis as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict;
• pandemics such as COVID‐19 may affect the Company's operations and/or the anticipated timeline for the ICSID Arbitration
• volatility of currency exchange rates; and
• the availability and continued participation in operational or other matters pertaining to the Group of certain key employees and consultants.

This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements.

Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and investors should not infer that there has been no change in the Company's affairs since the date of this press release that would warrant any modification of any forward-looking statement made in this document, other documents periodically filed with or furnished to the relevant securities regulators or documents presented on the Company's website. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subject to the Company's disclosure obligations under applicable Canadian securities regulations. Investors are urged to read the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory agencies which can be viewed online at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE: Gabriel Resources Ltd.

View the original press release on accesswire.com

FAQ

What decision was made regarding Gabriel Resources 's ICSID arbitration claims against the Romanian Government?

The arbitration claims were dismissed by a two to one majority of the tribunal members, who also awarded Romania approximately US$10 million in legal fees and expenses.

What is the current available funds of Gabriel Resources ?

The company currently has available funds of approximately C$2.0 million (US$1.5 million) which are expected to be exhausted by the end of May 2024.

What action has the Government of Romania taken regarding the Costs Order?

The Government of Romania has requested the company and its co-claimant to settle the Costs Order and noted that they will take action to enforce the same.

What risk does Gabriel Resources face regarding additional financing?

There is a significant risk that sufficient additional financing may not be available to the company on acceptable terms, or at all, which could have a negative impact on its financial condition.

Who can be contacted for information on this press release?

For information on this press release, please contact Dragos Tanase, President & CEO at dt@gabrielresources.com or Richard Brown, Chief Financial Officer at richard.brown@gabrielresources.com.