Business
BacTech Environmental Announces Investment Protection Agreement Signing with Government of Ecuador
Groundbreaking agreement guarantees investor rights and pledges investment stability; Financial protection and 12-year income tax exemption secured for Tenguel
About this update from Bactech Environmental Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":" Groundbreaking agreement guarantees investor rights and pledges investment stability; Financial protection and 12-year income tax exemption secured for Tenguel project TORONTO, ON - TheNewswire - May 2, 2022 - BacTech Environmental Corporation (CNSX:BAC.CN) (OTC:BCCEF) (FSE:0BT1) (“BacTech” or the “Company”), a commercially proven, environmental technology company delivering eco-friendly bioleaching and remediation solutions for precious metal and critical mineral recovery, is pleased to announce a historic Investment Protection Agreement (\"IPA\") for its Tenguel gold recovery/arsenic stabilization project has been signed with the Government of Ecuador. This groundbreaking agreement was signed and executed by Julio José Prado, Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment & Fisheries on April 28, 2022, in Quito. Countersigning on the Company’s behalf was Bernardo Brito, BacTech’s Country Manager. The IPA terms explicitly cover both BacTech’s prior and forthcoming investment commitments in Ecuador of up to US$95.5 million in plant construction and gold production activity through 2024. The agreement also extends to any additional investments made by BacTech during the term, including potential plant and operations expansion. Under the IPA agreement, the Ecuadorian State has granted BacTech and its 100% owned Ecuadorian subsidiary, BacTechverde S.A.S., the applicable protections and guarantees in accordance with the Organic Code of Production, Trade and Investments and Organic Law for Productive Promotion, Investment Attraction, Employment Generation, and Fiscal Stability. Specific protections relate to investor rights and guarantees such as: guarantee of non-discrimination; right to property; freedom of production and marketing of goods and services, free transfer abroad of profits, freedom of import and export operations; tax stability, including exemption from Income Tax for 12 years; and arbitration for dispute resolution. The process of entering into this IPA comes on the heels of BacTech recently receiving official plant construction permit approval from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, and was greatly accelerated under the leadership of Guillermo Lasso´s administration, particularly following the issuance of Decree 151, which defined the national Mining Action Plan. It involved direct negotiations ...