Sherritt shares suspended amid Cuba challenges
The Ontario Securities Commission has issued a failure-to-file cease trade order against TSX-listed Sherritt International Corporation effective May 21, owing to the company’s failure to file its first quarter financial statements by May 15.
Sherritt earlier this month warned it was facing operational, financial and legal difficulties in Cuba as a result of the practical implications after the US administration announced an executive order on May 1, which involved expanded sanctions against Cuba.
The company has since suspended its direct participation in joint venture activities in Cuba and is working with stakeholders and advisers to implement appropriate steps to address the US executive order as soon as practicable.
Sherritt’s shares will be suspended from trading as long as the failure-to-file cease trade order is in effect. The company is unable to ascertain at this time when it will be in a position to complete the first-quarter filings.
BACKGROUND
The US executive order targets almost any non-US citizen or entity that conducts business on the communist-run island, which has been subject to broad economic sanctions since the 1960s. The new measures will focus on key sectors including defence, mining, finance and security.
Sherritt mines cobalt and nickel in eastern Cuba, processing the metal at its refinery in Alberta. In February, after US President Donald Trump imposed a de facto fuel blockade on the island, Sherritt announced a temporary halt to its Cuban operations.
Trump seized the leader of Venezuela, Cuba’s main ally, in early January and then blocked all but one Russian tanker from delivering oil to the island, which exacerbated chronic power outages and lead to a dearth of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Trump is allegedly hoping intense economic pressure will topple Cuba’s government after 67 years of one-party rule.