THE question as to who owns a mine site in Palawan is still unresolved, Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) said Wednesday.

PGMC was reacting to a disclosure with regulators in which publicly-traded Oriental Peninsula Resources said “there are no legal impediments to prevent it from starting mining operations in Palawan.”

“The company is this well poised to commence large-scale mining operations over its 1,408 hectares of its mineral production sharing agreement [MPSA] contract area,” Oriental has said in a filing.

“They have no basis in saying that there are no legal impediments,” PGMC said in a statement reacting to Oriental’s filing. “Cases are still pending before different bodies, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Office of the President, Regional Trial Court of Palawan, Court of Appeals (CA) and the Supreme Court.”

Also, PGMC added, the resolution of a panel of arbitrators that Oriental claimed to have become final and executory had been nullified by the Court of Appeals in a decision dated November 20, 2007.

Oriental’s subsidiary Citinickel Mines and Development Corp., PGMC said obtained a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court against the implementation of the CA decision.

But, PGMC said, in granting Oriental’s unit for a TRO, the SC did not nullify the November 20, 2007 decision of the lower court.

Likewise, even if Oriental got hold of a MPSA for mines sites in Palawan’s Narra and Sofronio Española municipalities, PGMC said the Provincial Council or Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution asking the DENR to recall the MPSA since it was “based on unauthorized use of endorsements given to another company PGMC.” 

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Ownership fight over mine still rages

THE question as to who owns a mine site in Palawan is still unresolved, Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) said Wednesday.

Due Dilgencer: Retired shares.