Moseley-Williams stepped down as CEO, president, and director just days before the Vancouver-based company announced that it had reached a settlement with its shareholders to put aside pending internal legal claims and focus on its arbitration case against the government of Colombia.

Since last week Anna Stylianides, director of the company’s board, had been acting as CEO prior to Robertson taking the reins. She will remain in her board position, according to the company.

Eric Tsung, senior manager of Quantum Advisory Partners LLP in Vancouver, will take over the CFO responsibilities now that Robertson has stepped into the CEO role.

“I am thrilled to be stepping into the role of interim CEO, and I look forward to leading Eco Oro as it continues to pursue success” said Robertson.

Along with announcing the new interim CEO, Eco Oro, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, said in a statement that it has set September 26 as the date for its upcoming shareholder meeting.

“As previously announced, at the 2017 meeting shareholders will be asked to consider certain resolutions relating to the implementation of the settlement agreement entered into on July 31, 2017, by the company, including a resolution authorizing the implementation of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act that will result in a redistribution of a portion of the contingent value rights [CVRs] issued by the company,” said Eco Oro in statement. “The CVRs entitle the holder thereof to a portion of the gross proceeds of the company’s arbitration claim against the Republic of Colombia.”

One of Eco Oro’s largest holdings is the Angostura gold and silver deposit in northeastern Colombia, which the company’s assessment has found to contain more than three million ounces of gold. Eco Oro is currently in dispute with the government of Colombia related to the free-trade agreement between Canada and Colombia, according to the company.

The shareholders include Trexs Investments, LLC and a “shareholder group,” as the company has referred to them, consisting of Courtenay Wolfe, Harrington Global Opportunities Fund, and Harrington Global Limited.

“The agreement unites the shareholders of Eco Oro in pursuit of its arbitration claim against the Republic of Colombia,” said Eco Oro in a statement. In 2016, Trexs Investments invested some $14 million USD in the company and the intention was to use the proceeds to fight a dispute with the Colombian government.

“The agreement unites the shareholders of Eco Oro in pursuit of its arbitration claim against the Republic of Colombia” – Eco Oro.

The news is the latest major development at the gold and silver mining company. Last week, Mark Moseley-Williams resigned as president, director, and chief executive officer of Eco Oro.

In April, Eco Oro filed a defamation claim against Harrington Global Opportunities Fund, Courtenay Wolfe and Danny Guy with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The claim alleged that the named parties “either directly or through their agents, published a dissident proxy circular in connection with the annual general and special meeting of Eco Oro shareholders … which contained statements that were false, misleading and defamatory of Eco Oro and the board,” said Eco Oro at the time.

In a statement released in April, the company said that “conduct may have potentially inappropriately jeopardized the Company’s perception among shareholders and the public and therefore negatively impacted the Company’s ability to maximize value for shareholders.”

Terms of the Eco Oro Settlement

Under the settlement, a new five-member board has been formed, including one independent director and two nominees from each of Trexs Investments and the shareholder group, according to Eco Oro. The independent director, Lawrence Haber, was “selected by the shareholder group and Trexs pursuant to the terms of the agreement,” said the company.

One of the nominees from Trexs, David Kay, and one from the shareholder group, Courtenay Wolfe, will be co-executive chairs of the board. All of the selections will need to be approved at the company’s upcoming 2017 meeting, which Eco Oro says will be held no later than September 30.

“We look forward to working with the new board members … to expeditiously implement the transactions under the settlement and direct all of the company’s focus on the pursuit of the arbitration claim against Colombia,” said Kay.

In a statement, the company outlined the following terms of the settlement, reproduced here from Eco Oro:

• A plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) that will, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, result in shareholders (other than persons, the “CVR Holders”) currently holding contingent value rights (CVRs) having the opportunity to acquire 19.45% of the outstanding CVRs following implementation of the matters to be approved at the 2017 meeting (or CVRs entitled to 14.1% of the gross proceeds of the arbitration claim) for an aggregate purchase price of $1.11 million USD (the “Proposed Arrangement”).

• Pursuant to the Proposed Arrangement (i) up to 17.17% of the CVRs, in aggregate, that were issued by the Company to CVR Holders, will effectively be made available for purchase by persons (other than CVR Holders) who are shareholders as of the record date for the 2017 meeting and entitled to vote in respect of such meeting (“CVR Acquiring Shareholders”), and (ii) additional CVRs representing 2% of the gross proceeds of the arbitration claim shall be made available by the company to the CVR Acquiring Shareholders.

• An amendment to the “Management Incentive Plan” of the company, effective as of January 13, 2017, to, among other things, reduce the cash retention amount pool from 7% to 5% of the total gross proceeds of the arbitration claim.

• Certain amendments to various agreements that shall permit the implementation of the transactions noted above and the terms of the agreement, including an amendment to the terms of the notes issued on November 9, 2016, to ensure that the CVR Holders will be entitled to acquire sufficient common shares to enforce the provisions of the agreement if a material breach of the agreement occurs.

• Reconfirmation of the amended and restated incentive share option plan of the company.
  Additional details regarding the resolutions and the 2017 meeting will be outlined in a circular and related materials that are expected to be mailed to shareholders in August 2017.

• Payment of the fees and expenses of the shareholder group and certain other shareholders in connection with the Litigation, as well as the fees and expenses of certain counsel in connection with the implementation of the transactions provided for under the agreement;

• Confirmation that the options to purchase common shares issued to directors and executives on May 8, 2017 will not be exercisable until following the completion of the 2017 meeting, and, upon approval of all Resolutions, all such options shall terminate and cease to exist.

• Temporary waiver by Trexs of all existing and future defaults and events of default under the relevant investment documents until the earliest of (i) implementation of the Proposed Arrangement, (ii) November 10, 2017 (or in certain circumstances December 31, 2017) or (iii) termination of the agreement, with such temporary waiver automatically becoming a permanent waiver of any such defaults upon the implementation of the Proposed Arrangement.

• Covenants by the new board that future financings should, if possible, be structured to enable all shareholders to participate on a pro rata basis.

The arrangement will require final approval from the Supreme Court of British Columbia before it becomes binding. “Failure to timely approve the resolutions will result in the termination of the agreement and the proposed arrangement,” stated Eco Oro.

One of Eco Oro’s largest holdings is the Angostura gold and silver deposit in northeastern Colombia, which the company’s assessment has found to contain more than three million ounces of gold. Eco Oro is currently in dispute with the government of Colombia related to the free-trade agreement between Canada and Colombia, according to the company.

Eco Oro, which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, said in a statement that the resignation “triggers a default” in accordance with an agreement the company signed on July 21, 2016, with Trexs Investments LLC. But it added that “the company is not aware of Trexs taking any enforcement steps at this time against the company with respect to this default.”

Trexs Investment made an “aggregate investment” of $14 million USD into Eco Oro, the company said last July while announcing the agreement. The proceeds were planned to pay for the arbitration of a dispute between Eco Oro and government of Colombia related to the free-trade agreement between Canada and Colombia, according to the company.

Anna Stylianides, executive chairman of the company’s board, will serve as interim president and interim CEO, said Eco Oro in a statement. “We sincerely appreciate Mark’s dedication and contributions to our company during his tenure, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Stylianides.

One of Eco Oro’s largest holdings is the Angostura gold and silver deposit in northeastern Colombia, which the company’s assessment has found to contain more than three million ounces of gold.

Eco Oro Minerals Corp. (TSX:EOM) announced yesterday that Mark Moseley-Williams has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of the company, retaining the title of president. Moseley-Williams previously served as Eco Oro’s president and chief operating officer.

Eco Oro Minerals Corp. is a publicly-traded precious metals exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a portfolio of projects in Colombia. Eco Oro has been focused on its multi-million ounce Angostura gold and silver deposit, located in northeastern Colombia, near Bucaramanga.

Anna Stylianides will continue in her role as Executive Co-Chairman. “We all recognize the substantial contribution Anna has made to Eco Oro since 2011. On behalf of the Board, I wish to extend our genuine appreciation for her dedicated service and look forward to her continued participation as Executive Co-Chairman” commented Juan Esteban Orduz, Co-Chairman of Eco Oro.

“We congratulate Mark on his promotion”, said Anna Stylianides, Executive Co-Chairman of Eco Oro. “Mark’s international underground mining experience and familiarity with the Angostura project provides the company with a unique set of skills to continue creating value for shareholders and driving the critical technical timelines of the Angostura Project. The company continues its efforts of tight cost control and looks forward to Mark continuing to lead the technical outcomes that he has championed over the last few months.”

The company also announced the resignation of Jean Sebastien Blanchette from the company’s Board of Directors. Anna Stylianides commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors of Eco Oro we wish to thank Mr. Blanchette for his tremendous contribution and tireless commitment to the company since joining the Board of Directors in 2011 and wish him well in all his future endeavors.”

Moseley-Williams holds a BSc. Mining Engineering degree from the Colorado School of Mines and an MBA from the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom and has over 20 years of experience in mine construction, expansion projects and operations in North, Central and South America. His most recent position was President & COO in Medellín for Continental Gold. Moseley-Williams was responsible for leading Continental from a purely exploration company through to an advanced development stage company. Prior to that, he was Operations Manager for Agnico-Eagle’s Pinos Altos Mine located in Chihuahua, Mexico, where he was responsible for all underground and open pit operations as well as the mine’s engineering and planning requirements. In his previous roles with Fortuna Silver, Coeur d’Alene Mines, Kinross and Eldorado he acquired expertise in a variety of fields including project development, corporate development, corporate social responsibility and environmental permitting.  Raised in Colombia, he is bilingual in Spanish and English, and a citizen of Colombia and the United Kingdom.

As of press time, Eco-Oro had not responded to Finance Colombia’s requests for additional information.