Lupaka Gold may seize Peru state assets over unpaid $67M arbitration award

Lupaka Gold (TSXV: LPK) may look to seize certain Peruvian state-owned assets unless the South American nation pays the company its arbitration award, its chairman told Bloomberg.

Last year, the Canadian miner won an arbitration case against Peru for the government’s failure to curb community protests in 2018 that ultimately forced the closure of the company’s flagship gold project. The arbitration was launched in late 2019, with Lupaka alleging that the state had supported the protests that blockaded access to its Invicta project, located 120 kilometres north of the capital city Lima.

Before the situation started, Lupaka had completed 3,000 metres of underground workings, agreements from the community of Lacsanga and a 29-kilometre access road sufficient to handle 40-tonne ore trucks. The project was forecast to produce 185,000 oz. of gold equivalent over a six-year life.

$67 million unpaid

In June 2025, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled that the Peruvian state must pay Lupaka $65 million. However, the arbitration award, now amounting to $67 million due to accumulation of interest, has yet to be paid, according to the company.

Without this payment, Lupaka said it has taken steps to identify overseas assets held by Peru as potential targets for seizure. Last November, it hired investigators to aid this process.

In a recent Bloomberg interview, Lupaka’s chairman Gordon Ellis said it has identified Peru’s national petroleum company Petroperu, which has “massive debts and pays large amounts of money on that on a regular basis,” as a potential target.

Other assets named by Ellis include ships and real estate as well as debt payments on Peru’s sovereign bonds.

Shares of Lupaka Gold have risen by over three-fold since its arbitration award win. At about C$0.25 apiece, the company has a market capitalization of C$5.7 million ($4.1 million).

Lupaka’s threats highlight the damaged relationship the Peruvian state has had with certain foreign investors. Last month, the Latin American nation was found in default in US federal court over another arbitration award totaling $91 million involving an airport contractor.

According to the Fraser Institute, Peru ranks behind some of its mineral-rich peers in the region such as San Juan, Argentina and Chile for investment attractiveness.