Almaden Obtains Provisional Injunction Relating to Decision of Ministry of the Economy

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almaden Minerals Ltd. (“Almaden” or “the Company”; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to report that the Mexican Federal Administrative Court (the “Court”) has granted a provisional injunction to Almaden’s Mexican subsidiary, Minera Gorrión (“MG”), relating to the submission issued by Mexico’s Ministry of the Economy (“Economia”) to the district court (the “District Court”) which is overseeing the implementation of the February 2022 decision of Mexico’s Supreme Court (“SCJN”) requiring indigenous consultations prior to the granting of mineral titles to the Ixtaca project (see Company press releases of February 22 and April 13, 2023).

Economia’s submission to the District Court (“Economia Submission”) was made in February 2023 and aims to deny the two mineral title applications to the Ixtaca project which were first made by Almaden in 2002 and 2008, and which in turn led to the grant of mineral titles in 2003 and 2009, respectively. As previously reported, these mineral titles were reduced to application status as a result of the February 2022 decision of the SCJN.

The Economia Submission claims that, despite Economia’s previous statements to the contrary, its acceptance of the mineral title applications and its grant of the mineral titles in 2003 and 2009, the applications contain technical faults which preclude the grant of the mineral claims. The Economia Submission therefore seeks to deny the grant of the mineral claims regardless of the indigenous consultation ordered by the SCJN and welcomed by both the Company and surrounding communities. The Economia Submission was accepted by the District Court as complying with the February 2022 SCJN decision (see press release of April 13, 2023), and this District Court decision is currently being appealed by the Company (the “Compliance Appeal”).

In the meantime, MG initiated separate legal proceedings in the Mexican Federal Administrative Court (the “Legal Proceedings”) to contest the Economia Submission on technical and procedural grounds. The Court has admitted the Legal Proceedings and, as a first step, has granted a provisional injunction in favour of MG. This provisional injunction prevents Economia from releasing the mineral rights covered by the Company’s mineral title applications while the Legal Proceedings are ongoing. It is expected that the Court will decide on the grant of a permanent injunction within the coming weeks, which if received would continue in effect until the Court has ruled on the revocation of the Economia Submission.