Dr. Tony Harwood reports

MONTERO COMMENTS ON SHARE PRICE MOVE

Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd. has provided the following update on the move in Montero's share price. Montero has a fully financed arbitration case under way for the expropriation of its Wigu Hill rare earth element project against the United Republic of Tanzania. The in-person arbitration hearing is scheduled to be held at the International Centre for Settlement of Investments Disputes (ICSID) hearing centre in Washington, D.C., United States, from Dec. 4 to Dec. 8, 2023. Two other junior mining companies are seeking compensation for expropriation of their retention licences in Tanzania: Indiana Resources Ltd. and Winshear Gold Corp.

As developments in each of these cases have unfolded, Montero has seen higher volumes of its shares traded and moves in its share price.

On Sept. 18, 2023, ICSID updated its webpage relating to the Winshear versus Tanzania dispute to indicate that the arbitration proceedings had been suspended by agreement of the parties. On Sept. 19, 2023, Winshear announced that it reached a conditional settlement agreement with Tanzania in relation to its claim against Tanzania for the expropriation of Winshear's SMP gold project, but that there was no guarantee that this will be concluded.

This follows the announcement on July 14, 2023, made by Indiana Resources that it had been awarded $109.5-million (U.S.) in its ICSID claim against Tanzania.

Dr. Tony Harwood, president and chief executive officer of Montero, commented: "Indiana's substantial damages award and Winshear's pending settlement are providing shareholders with recognition that the cancellation of the retention licences by Tanzania was economically catastrophic to each company. Montero is seeking compensation for the loss of its investment in its former flagship Wigu Hill rare earth project due to Tanzania's unlawful expropriation of Montero's retention licences. Montero is fully funded to complete its arbitration hearings with the same lead attorney that represented both Indiana and Winshear earlier this year. Montero's arbitration hearings at ICSID will be held in December, 2023."

Montero is represented by Timothy Foden of Boies Schiller Flexner (U.K.) LLP and Thierry Lauriol of Jeantet AARPI. Mr. Foden is leading the ICSID arbitration for Montero, and acted as lead attorney for Indiana and Winshear in their arbitration proceedings. Montero has retained Dr. Neal Rigby of SRK Consulting (USA) Inc. as quantum expert, with full dispute financing secured from Omni Bridgeway, a leading global dispute funder.

Montero's dispute with Tanzania is also subject to ICSID arbitration. Montero is seeking compensation in excess of $90-million for damages and interest for the unlawful expropriation of its Wigu Hill rare earth element project in Tanzania. Montero is also seeking reimbursement of its arbitration costs and fees by Tanzania. The damages claimed are for Tanzania's breaches of the Bilateral Investment Treaty between Canada and Tanzania.

For further information, please see Montero's press releases dated July 21, 2023, April 25, 2023, July 28, 2022, April 12, 2022, Nov. 29, 2021, and Jan. 8, 2021, and the ICSID website.

The ICSID convention has been ratified by 158 states, including Tanzania. An award issued by an ICSID tribunal is enforceable in any one of those 158 member states as if it were a judgment of one of their own courts. Partly because of this, states often comply voluntarily with the payment terms of such awards.

Background to claims

Montero commenced exploration activities on the Wigu Hill rare earth element project in March, 2008, under a prospecting licence and spent over $17-million on exploration works in the discovery and development of the project. In 2015, a five-year retention licence was awarded by the Tanzanian government on the property. This retention licence was expropriated by the Tanzanian government in 2019 when all previously issued retention licences, which had been cancelled by the Mining (local content) Regulations 2018, were put to tender. Montero has made repeated attempts to reach an amicable solution with the government of Tanzania with no success since that date. Montero filed a request for arbitration with the ICSID on Jan. 8, 2021. On Feb. 9, 2021, ICSID registered Montero's request for the institution of arbitration proceedings to resolve the illegal expropriation matter. The arbitral tribunal was constituted on Nov. 18, 2021, with the appointment of the president, and appointees from Montero and Tanzania.

Qualified person's statement

This press release was reviewed and approved by Mike Evans, MSc, PrSciNat, a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101. It has also been reviewed by Mr. Lauriol, avocat a la cour (Paris, France) and Mr. Foden of Boies Schiller Flexner (U.K.) LLP.

Disclaimer

While there may be similarities between Winshear, Indiana and Montero's claims against Tanzania, the cases are heard by different arbitral tribunals, and outcomes may differ.

About Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd.

Montero is a junior exploration company focused on finding, exploring and advancing globally significant gold, silver and base metal deposits in Chile. Montero's board of directors and management have an impressive record of successfully discovering and advancing precious metal and copper projects.

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