MEXICO CITY, June 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following is a statement by PODER:
Through letters addressed to the investors of the mining company Almaden Minerals, the civil organization PODER warns of the risks of re-electing Duane Poliquin as Chairman of the company, Mark T. Brown as Director and head of the Audit Committee and Davidson & Company, LLP as auditors at the Almaden Minerals Annual Meeting on June 28, 2018.
According to PODER, Poliquin has placed key persons on the Board of Directors, even though they have conflicts of interest that prevent them from fulfilling their fiduciary duty as independent directors, to adequately protect public investors, and maximize shareholder value. This has led to a deficient corporate governance. An example of this is that the Board has lied about the Ixtaca project and has omitted material information by not disclosing the risks of said project.
At the end of 2017, PODER asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the British Columbia Securities Commission in Canada to investigate the fact that Almaden did not disclose the risks of pending litigation against it. In recent months, these risks have materialized, since there have been significant developments that negatively affect the company; but the company has remained silent.
A key player in Almaden's governance is Mark T. Brown, whose financial interests place him more as a business partner than as an independent actor. Brown was head of the Audit Committee in 2016, when the auditors of Deloitte resigned, citing an "Independence matter" in previous audits as reason for their resignation. After this setback, the Audit Committee chose Davidson & Company, LLP as their new auditors, but exempted them from the task of auditing the internal controls of the company.
The Ixtaca mining project is entering a crucial moment for its viability, since it will have to obtain the final permits to move into the exploitation stage. In these moments is when the investors need to have a strong, independent Board that adequately stewards shareholder value.
About PODER
PODER is a regional not-for-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to improve corporate transparency and accountability in Latin America and to strengthen civil society stakeholders of corporations as long-term accountability guarantors. www.projectpoder.org
Media contact:
Rosario Taracena - rosario.taracena@projectpoder.org
Ofc: (52 55) 5207 3392 - Cel: (044 55) 2765 9451