Lupaka may seize Peru assets over $67M ruling

Lupaka Gold (TSXV: LPK) may consider seizing Peruvian state-owned assets unless the South American government pays the company its arbitration award, chairman Gordon Ellis told Bloomberg.

In June, the Canadian junior won $65 million in an arbitration case against Peru for the government’s failure to curb community protests in 2018 that ultimately forced the closure of the company’s main gold project Invicta. Accrued interest has since added $2 million, the company said. 

Lupaka has identified overseas assets such as Peru’s national petroleum company Petroperu as a potential target as well as ships, real estate and debt payments on Peru’s sovereign bonds, Ellis said in an interview posted on Monday. 

Shares in Lupaka Gold have more than tripled since the World Bank unit’s ruling to C25¢ apiece in Toronto on Monday, valuing the company at C$5.72 million. 

Blocade

The arbitration was launched in late 2019, with Lupaka alleging that the state had supported the protests that blockaded access to Invicta, 120 km north of Lima, the capital.

Before the situation started, Lupaka had completed 3,000 metres of underground workings, agreements with the community of Lacsanga and a 29-km access road sufficient to handle 40-tonne ore trucks.

The project was forecast to produce 185,000 gold-equivalent oz. over a six-year life.