Brazil court blocks mineral rights transfer in Equinox-CMOC gold deal

A Brazilian court on Tuesday halted the transfer of mineral rights tied to a gold asset sale from Canada’s Equinox Gold to Chinese metals miner and processor CMOC, according to a court ruling.

In January, Equinox Gold concluded the sale of Brazilian gold assets to CMOC in a $1 billion deal.

Brazilian state-run CBPM, which leases mineral resources in Bahia state that were included in the sale, said the transaction violated its leasing agreement.

The judge sided with CBPM in blocking the transfer of the Bahia mineral rights.

The ruling scheduled a conciliation meeting for March 30.

In response, Equinox said it already concluded the sale of its Bahia gold assets in a deal that complied with the law.

It noted that the ruling was not addressed to Equinox, and referred only to one asset, the Santa Luz gold mine.

“Equinox remains committed to constructive dialogue with the State to resolve any differences and ensure the interests of all parties are appropriately addressed,” it said.

The Brazil office of CMOC Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henrique Trindade, a lawyer for CBPM, said the court decision would suspend the sale of assets from Equinox to CMOC.

CBPM president Henrique Carballal said the ruling underscored “the irregularity in the negotiation of a mineral asset belonging to the people of Bahia state.”

(By Andre Romani and Ricardo Brito; Editing by Natalia Siniawski, Iñigo Alexander and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)