https://www.miningweekly.com

Beowulf considering 'all legal options' over stalled Swedish project

13th February 2020

By: Mariaan Webb

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

Exploration and development company Beowulf Mining is considering “all options to take legal action” against the government of Sweden, but said on Thursday that it had not taken a decision yet.

CEO Kurt Budge confirmed that the board of Beowulf met in Stockholm this week and that they were updated by the company’s legal advisers.

The company has been lobbying the Swedish government to secure the concession for Kallak North, which it believes will create several hundred jobs, but it has been waiting for years to hear what government has decided.

"How can any mining company consider Sweden a low risk jurisdiction for investment, when looking at the Kallak process? Beowulf has been allowed to invest SEK80-million over almost 13 years and the government sits on the application since July 2017, offering nothing in terms of transparency and predictability of process and timeline to a decision,” said Budge.

He added that Sweden’s reputation as a low-risk mining jurisdiction was being damaged by the Kallak process.

“Investor confidence can only be restored if the government honours the investments and work done by companies applying for licences and concessions, in accordance with the laws of the country.”

Analysts at London-based SP Angel say that the Kallak case is not the first in which "goalposts have been moved" after a company has made significant investment in developing a mineral project.

It cites the case of London-listed Aura Energy, which is seeking compensation over the uranium ban introduced in Sweden in August 2018, and the financial losses that it incurred as a result of the ban.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION