Potash in Khemisset: Emmerson raises $11 million to finance its dispute with Morocco

Thursday 02nd January 2025 06:03 AM

The Khemisset site which will be operated by the British company Emmerson. DR

As part of its dispute with the Moroccan government, the British mining company Emmerson PLC announced that it had obtained nearly 11 million dollars (M$) from a litigation financing company.

The funding will be used to advance the dispute between the two parties, under a bilateral investment treaty, an agreement between Morocco and the United Kingdom, to promote and protect investments.

For legal partner, The company confirmed the appointment of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP as litigation counsel, an American law firm based in New York. A long-term management incentive program was also put in place, in order to retain key members of the company’s management, essential to the resolution of the dispute.

As a reminder, on October 14, Emmerson received an unfavorable recommendation for its potash project in Khemisset. This is the verdict of the Unified Regional Investment Commission (CRUI), which examined the environmental and social assessment of the potash project.

Based on the agreement signed between the two countries, Emmerson thus resorted to arbitration at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) dependent on the World Bank.

At the beginning of December, the British company announced that it had raised nearly $1 million from a core of investors experienced in financing litigation procedures, in order to assert its rights against Morocco. On December 12, Emmerson rewarded three members of its management by distributing 12 million shares to them, while the company announced last October and assured that the Board of Directors and management would not receive any remuneration to protect the balance sheet. of society.