Prairie makes a claim against Polish government

Mining Weekly | 9 June 2021

Prairie makes a claim against Polish government

By: Esmarie Iannucci

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed coal developer Prairie Mining has filed a £806-million statement of claim for compensation against the Republic of Poland as part of its ongoing international arbitration claims.

Prairie’s dispute alleges that the Republic of Poland has breached its obligations under the applicable Treaties through its actions to block the development of the company’s Jan Karski mine (JKM) and Debiensko mine, effectively depriving Prairie of the entire value of its investments in Poland.

In February 2019, Prairie formally notified the Polish government that there exists an investment dispute between Prairie and the Polish government.

Prairie’s notification called for prompt negotiations with the government to amicably resolve the dispute and indicated Prairie’s right to submit the dispute to international arbitration in the event of the dispute not being resolved amicably.

As of yet, no amicable resolution of the dispute has occurred, since the Polish government has declined to participate in discussions related to the dispute and accordingly the company has formerly proceeded with its claim.

Prairie on Wednesday said that its claim, filed with the Tribunal in the Australia-Poland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) arbitration, included an assessment of the value of Prairie’s lost profits and damages related to both JKM and the Debiensko mine, and accrued interest related to any damages.

“The claim is proceeding at pace, with the company now having submitted its Statement of Claim in the BIT arbitration, which included a valuation of damages prepared by external quantum experts,” said Prairie CEO Ben Stoikovich.

“The compensation being claimed by the company is £806-million. The Prairie management team continues to work with legal counsel and a range of external experts in prosecuting the claim.”

Fuente: Mining Weekly