ENRC -v- Zamin Ferrous Limited

The plaintiff seeks disclosure of further information in relation to the assets of the defendant which are the subject of a worldwide freezing order granted by the Deputy Bailiff ex parte on 22 nd July, 2015.

The plaintiff ("ENRC") is part of the Eurasian Resources Group which holds mining and energy interests worldwide and which is ultimately owned by a consortium including the government of Kazakhstan. According to the information provided to us the ENRC Group comprises a substantial undertaking with over 78,000 employees in 11 countries with a net asset value in 2013 of US$8.9 billion.

ENRC and a subsidiary of Zamin, namely Ardila Investments NV ("Ardila") had been co-owners in another Brazilian mining project held through a company known as Bahia Minerals BV ("Bahia") and by a share purchase agreement dated 1 st September, 2010, Ardila sold its interest in Bahia to ENRC for an initial and thereafter staged payments by reference to various milestones. Zamin was a party to that agreement by way of guarantor.

A final staged payment of US$335M was due on Sunday 21 st September, 2014, if an installation licence (known as the "Port Installation Licence") had been issued for a port connected to the project, by which, in conjunction with a railroad, the output of the mine could be transported away for export.

The Port Installation Licence was issued late on Friday 19 th September, 2014, the last working day before Sunday 21 st September, 2014, in circumstances which ENRC claims were both unlawful and in breach of a Brazilian court order and environmental legislation. Accordingly, it refused to pay the final staged payment.