Minera IRL says it's moving on from internal wrangling

Latin American precious metals mining firm Minera IRL was doing its level best on Tuesday to convince the market it was moving past internal wrangling, and accusations of mismanagement in Peru.

The former AIM-traded firm said the main stipulations of the memorandum of understanding published in February have been complied with by all parties involved.

“In practice this means that the critical internal legal suits and the relevant counter cuits have been withdrawn, and minority shares transferred to a mutually respected third party have unified the company and its subsidiaries into a consolidated corporate entity,” the board said in a statement.

It said the findings of the forensic investigations, triggered by whistleblower accusations by Baker Tilly Peru, were delivered on 24 May and disclosed that there was no credible evidence of wrongdoing or criminal misconduct by Diego Benavides or other management team members.

“Accordingly, his authority to manage the affairs of the company in Peru have been fully reinstated.

“The report, which was a key issue for the company’s auditors, was accepted and the 2015 audited financial statements have now been approved and are in the process of being filed with the regulators,” the board explained.

It added that this step, together with some statutory compliance documentation, is the final step leading to a petition to the Ontario Exchange Commission for lifting its ‘cease trading’ order.

Concurrently, the company said it is coordinating with the Peruvian Superintendency of the Securities Market to comply with the requirements, which included the lifting of the Ontario cease trade order, to commence trading on the Lima Stock Market.

It is also applying to restore the full listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and is weighing the possibility to regain its AIM listing in London.