Deal #3105

The area consists of 14 Mining titles granted by the Agencia Nacional de Minería. Nevertheless, the company has also purchased some holdings for the extraction of the minerals found in the mine. During the last years, due to the legal uncertainty of the project related to the arbitration process started by Eco Oro against the Republic of Colombia and the forthcoming delimitation of the Páramo boundaries in the area, Eco Oro has allowed some mining titles to expire and has sold some properties to a new player in the area, which relates to the United Arab Emirates. The intended size in this deal relates to all the concession permits for exploration and exploitation. The size under contract refers to the acquisition (purchase of land) that has been occurring during the last years. It is uncertain the exact date of this purchase. They entail 25 different plots. According to the official mining institution of Colombia, all contracts mentioned below started a phase of extraction, that's why their sizes are considered in the intended size. Again, the company has purchased approximately 3700 hectares of land. Source 4 Source 5: Page 9, Page 6 Source 6 Source 2: Page 21

Estimate initial capital cost of US$ 529 Million. Source 1

The company has been awarded by the Colombian authorities the permission to explore and extract minerals from Colombian soil. The interest of the company is to extract gold and silver in the area of influence. For the extraction of the minerals the company requires the acquisition of some land holdings on the surface, which can be done by purchasing the land. According to the company, it owned 3700 hectares of land by 2015. Although the company has allowed (or were forced by the government) some mining titles to expire and the existence of an ongoing arbitration process, the company has stated the remaining interest to exploit the mine. At the very first the idea was to build an open pit mine, but due to the pressure of the inhabitants of Bucaramanga and environmental groups, the company desisted and offered and underground mine, which would raise the costs. The investment entails several concerns due to the existence of a highly relevant and fragile ecosystem necessary for the conservation of water sources. Source 2 Source 6 Source 5 Source 7

The company has been present since 1990 in the area, although during the last decades it has extended their mining titles over time and the area of influence. Some of the mining titles have expired, due to either the allowance of the company for them to expire of the decision taken unilaterally by the Agencia Nacional de Minería. The date refers to the concession contracts for exploration. The company has purchased more than 3700 hectares of land. It is uncertain at which point in time they bought it. It is logic to assume that they bought them after they obtained the permission to explore the land. Source 5 Look at Catastro Minero

According to the Catastro Minero of the Agencia Nacional de Minería, some of the awarded mining titles are being already extracted. Source: http://www.cmc.gov.co:8080/CmcFrontEnd/consulta/index.cmc

The leasing fees depend on the type of mining title that the company holds. The two aspects affecting the value per hectare is the size of the title and the duration of the company having it. For more details see Source 2 (Page 25). Additionally to this, the company has to pay a royalty of 5% out of the 80% of the value of the extracted minerals. According to the government, the company has paid USD 10931160 until now for royalties. Source 7.