"Colombia not liable to pay $736m to Eco Oro Minerals", 10 September 2021

...Colombia’s government said on Friday a World Bank tribunal has ruled it is currently not liable to pay $736 million in damages to Eco Oro Minerals Corp after the Canadian mining company alleged that the Andean nation’s prohibition on mining in high-altitude wetlands constituted an indirect expropriation.

Eco Oro pulled out of the Angostura gold concession in 2019 after the project in Santander province was cut in half by a constitutional court ruling and new regulations that expanded wetland protections...

The legal case, where the company alleged the restrictions amounted to indirect expropriation of its investment, has been ongoing since 2016.

Colombia’s National Agency for Judicial Defense of the State said in a statement that the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal recognized that the measure was not discriminatory toward Eco Oro shareholders and was an effort to legitimately protect the environment....

Eco Oro did not immediately respond to a call and an email seeking comment.

The case will continue however, the agency said, because the tribunal did find Colombia in violation of international norms that regulate how countries should treat foreign investors...