Emerita Provides Update on Aznalcollar Legal Case

TORONTO, March 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerita Resources Corp. (TSX – V: EMO; OTC: EMOTF) (the “Company” or “Emerita”) announces that it has been notified that Court #3 of the Seville Court (the “Court”) will hear the final phase of the Aznalcollar criminal trial. This notification pertains to the criminal trial and is separate from the Administrative Court hearings for which the Company has not yet received notification.

Magistrate Ángel Márquez Romero has been appointed as the lead judge responsible for resolving the sentences that will conclude the trial. Magistrate Ángel Márquez Romero has more than 40 years of judicial experience and presides over the Third Criminal Section of the Court. There will be three judges hearing this phase of the trial led by Magistrate Ángel Márquez Romero.

According to Emerita’s external Spanish legal counsel, the hearings will likely last approximately 15-20 days given the number of people implicated and the number of charges. The date for the hearings is expected to be announced in the next few weeks and will in part be determined by when a sufficient block of time for the hearings is available in the court schedule. Upon completion of the trial, the judges will convene and draft the final resolution/decision which will conclude the trial.

The criminal trial process is independent of the administrative court process. Based on correspondence received from the Administrative Court late in 2021, this court has also been deliberating for approximately six months and it is expected this process is nearing a conclusion also, although to be clear, the Company has no insights with respect to the progress or the timing of completion by the Administrative Court. The Administrative Court is the court that will deal with resolving awarding of the Aznalcollar public tender. According to Emerita’s Spanish external counsel, under Spanish law if there is commission of a crime in awarding a public tender, that bid must be disqualified and the tender awarded to the next highest bidder. Emerita is the only other qualified bidder in the Aznalcollar public tender.

According to David Gower, P.Geo., CEO of Emerita, “Emerita is very encouraged to see the criminal trial progressing towards a conclusion. Based on the hearings and unanimous rulings by 5 judges to date, there is little doubt that there has been a crime committed. The Company is well financed and prepared to move forward with the development of the Aznalcollar project using the most modern technologies available for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

About Emerita Resources Corp.

Emerita is a natural resource company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Europe, with a primary focus on exploring in Spain. The Company’s corporate office and technical team are based in Sevilla, Spain with an administrative office in Toronto, Canada.

For further information, contact:

Joaquin Merino
+34 (628) 1754 66 (Spain)

Helia Bento
+1 416 566 8179 (Toronto)
info@emeritaresources.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the legal processes in Spain, the likelihood of the Company obtaining the rights to the Aznalcollar project and the Company’s future plans. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward- looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Emerita, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration activities; risks associated with operation in foreign jurisdictions; ability to successfully integrate the purchased properties; foreign operations risks; and other risks inherent in the mining industry. Although Emerita has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Emerita does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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