Panthera claim against India to go through arbitration panel

(Sharecast News) - Panthera Resources said on Thursday that an arbitration panel had agreed to hear jurisdictional objections alongside the merits of its $1.58bn claim against India over the cancellation of its Bhukia gold project licences, in a move the company said should speed up proceedings.

The AIM-traded explorer said its Australian subsidiary Indo Gold was alleging that India breached the bilateral investment treaty between India and Australia by frustrating its rights to a prospecting licence over the Bhukia project in Rajasthan, resulting in the total loss of its investment.

It said the panel had ordered that the first phase of the proceedings would address jurisdiction, the merits of the claim and the general principles of compensation, with the precise quantum of damages to be assessed in a second phase.

Panthera said such an approach would allow for a "speedy resolution" of jurisdictional issues without incurring the costs of calculating compensation until the principles are determined.

India would now need to respond to the first phase of the claim, with Panthera to provide an update on the procedural timetable once available.

Panthera said it had claimed $1.58 billion in damages net of Indian taxes, and secured up to $13.6m in non-recourse litigation funding from LCM Funding to pursue the case.

It cautioned there could be no certainty as to the outcome of the treaty claim.

At 1501 BST, shares in Panthera Resources were down 1.46% at 11.82p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.