No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsBusinessGold mining company that sued Costa Rica files for bankruptcy 

Gold mining company that sued Costa Rica files for bankruptcy 

The Canadian gold mining company at the center of a decade-long fight with Costa Rica over a controversial open-pit mining concession has ceased operations.

Infinito Gold Ltd. released a statement Wednesday saying “all of the directors of the Company and all of the officers of the Company have resigned from their respective positions with the Company effective immediately.”

Infinito listed more than $160 million in working capital deficit including loan principle and interest, according to the statement published on the Canadian commercial newswire service CNW.

“The Company has concluded that it will not be possible for it to continue operations,” the statement concluded.

Infinito’s financial troubles were well known. It’s deficit led some critics to call it a “zombie company.”

Infinito’s most recent clash with the Costa Rican government came last year when it brought a request for arbitration before the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The company originally said it would sue Costa Rica for $1 billion in lost profits, claiming that the country violated the Costa Rica-Canada Bilateral Investment Treaty when an Administrative Appeals Court revoked its mining concession in San Carlos, Alajuela in 2010. That amount was lowered to $94 million to recoup money lost in the development of the project.

In February 2014 Costa Rica’s then-Environment Minister René Castro said that Costa Rica would countersue for $5 million in damages.

Now that Infinito has folded, the status of that case is unclear. A search of the case on the ICSID website on July 15 listed the proceedings as pending.

The Tico Times contacted Costa Rica’s Foreign Trade and Environment Ministry for comment but did not receive a response before close of business Wednesday.

In 2008 Infinito obtained a concession to build an open-pit gold mine from the administration of President Óscar Arias. But an Administrative Appeals Court later ordered the Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation of the president for signing off on the project when environmental studies were still pending. That case has since been closed.

In November 2010 the appeals court revoked Infinito’s gold-mining concession. The company exhausted its legal recourse in Costa Rica after it lost its appeal before the Supreme Court’s Civil and Administrative Law Branch in November 2011.

In April 2013 the company announced that it would take its case to the World Bank’s arbitration body if the two sides were unable to resolve the issue during the six-month window required under the investment treaty.

Trending Now

Costa Rica and Panama Face Pivotal Matches in World Cup Qualifying Round

Six Central American national teams, including Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras, will seek to strengthen their chances of reaching the 2026 North American World...

Learning Spanish in Costa Rica: Lessons Beyond the Textbook

Learning a new language later in life requires patience, perseverance, and the understanding that, no matter how fluent you become, you'll probably never reach...

Costa Rica’s Bold Plan to End Plastic Pollution by 2040

On World Environment Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for action to tackle plastic pollution, a crisis clogging rivers, oceans, and wildlife worldwide. “By...

The Cocos-Galapagos Swimway Will Create a Legacy for Costa Rica and the World!

At the UN Oceans Conference in Nice, France, which Costa Rica is co-sponsoring, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles has an opportunity to make history by...

Costa Rica’s Ocean Forecasting System Protects Cocos Island Marine Life

Costa Rica has rolled out a new ocean forecasting system on Cocos Island, aiming to improve marine safety, support conservation, and strengthen the country's...

Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras Advance to Final Round of 2026 World Cup Qualifiers

Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras advanced early this Saturday to the final round of the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 North American World Cup,...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica