Alamos Gold Announces US$1 Billion Investment Treaty Claim Against the Republic of Turkey - Seite 2

In its effort to secure the renewal of its mining licenses, the Company has attempted to work cooperatively with the Turkish government, has raised with the Turkish government its obligations under the Treaty, has sought to resolve the dispute by good faith negotiations, and has made considerable effort to build support among stakeholders and host communities. The Turkish government has failed to provide the Company with a reason for the non-renewal or a timeline for renewal of its licenses.

The failure to renew the Company’s mining licenses will result in the loss of over a half a billion dollars in future economic benefits to the Republic of Turkey, including tax and other revenues, and thousands of jobs within Turkey. In addition to the lost job opportunities, this will also have a lasting impact on the local population through the disruption of ongoing investments into community projects.

“Alamos began investing in Turkey in 2010, warmly welcomed by the Turkish government through its foreign investment office. After 10 years of effort and over $250 million invested by the Company we have been shut down for over 18 months in a manner without precedent in Turkey, despite having received all the permits required to build and operate a mine. The Company has worked in Turkey to the highest standard of conduct with respect to social and environmental best practices. Despite this effort, the Turkish government has given us no indication that relief is in sight, nor will they engage with us in an effort to renew the outstanding licenses. We are hopeful that the arbitration process will bring about the engagement that we have sought from the Turkish state, and lead to an equitable resolution to this impasse,” said John A. McCluskey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alamos Gold.

Alamos and the Subsidiaries are being represented by the leading Canadian law firm Torys LLP, with a team that includes John Terry and former Canadian Supreme Court Justice, the Hon. Frank Iacobucci. The Company is also being supported by its strategic advisor John Baird, former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senior Advisor to Bennett Jones LLP.

Bilateral investment treaties are agreements between countries to assist with the protection of investments. The Treaty establishes legal protections for investment between Turkey and the Netherlands. The Subsidiaries directly own and control the Company’s Turkish assets. The Subsidiaries invoking their rights pursuant to the Treaty does not mean that they relinquish their rights to the Turkish project, or otherwise cease the Turkish operations. The Company will continue to work towards a constructive resolution with the Republic of Turkey. If required, Alamos and the Subsidiaries are confident in the Subsidiaries’ ability to recover and enforce any favourable judgement pursuant to this Treaty, which will be rendered by three independent international arbitrators. Although timelines with respect to bilateral investment treaty arbitration can vary depending on procedural steps and delay tactics employed by nation states, it is estimated to have finality within five years. A portion of the cost of such an arbitral process is expected to be recovered as part of the arbitration process.