VANCOUVER, Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSX Venture: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") announces that in-person hearings in respect of its Santa Ana arbitration claim (the "Arbitration") will commence Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at the headquarters of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ("ICSID") in Washington, DC.

During the hearings, which are expected to continue until September 14, 2016, witnesses and experts called by both the Company and the Republic of Peru (together, the "Parties") will provide oral testimony, will be cross-examined by counsel for the opposing party, and the tribunal of three arbitrators (the "Tribunal") will have the opportunity to ask questions. After the hearings, the Tribunal will likely request the Parties to submit final written post-hearing memorials in support of their respective positions, after which the Tribunal will officially close the proceedings and commence deliberations.  As such, the hearings are a key milestone in the Arbitration. 

A decision by the Tribunal on the outcome of Bear Creek's case is anticipated within the second half of 2017 (though there is no prescribed deadline). Bear Creek and its legal counsel remain very confident in the merits of the Company's claim that the Santa Ana project was treated unfairly by the Republic of Peru and ultimately expropriated in June 2011 through Peru's issuance of Supreme Decree 032 that revoked, without notice or an opportunity to be heard, the Company's rights to advance the Santa Ana project.

Information related to the Arbitration, including procedural orders, written submissions and details regarding the hearings, is available to the public at https://icsid.worldbank.org/apps/ICSIDWEB/cases/Pages/casedetail.aspx?CaseNo=ARB/14/21&tab=PRO, and a comprehensive summary of the history of the Santa Ana dispute is provided in the Company's Annual Information Form dated June 20, 2016 (available at http://www.bearcreekmining.com/i/pdf/agm/2016-AIF.pdf).

In other news, Japan Oil, Gas & Metals National Corporation ("JOGMEC") has withdrawn from the joint venture agreement on the Company's La Yegua copper-gold-molybdenum project, a non-core asset of Bear Creek's in Central Peru. The Company will maintain the La Yegua mineral claims covering the low-grade copper mineralization at La Yegua but plans no further work on the project at this time.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Andrew Swarthout
President and CEO

Regulatory Footnotes
Bear Creek's exploration programs are overseen by, and disclosure of a technical or scientific nature has been reviewed and approved by, Andrew Swarthout, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist, President and CEO of the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Swarthout has read, verified and approves such information disclosed in this release.

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements related to the timing of the Arbitration hearings and the anticipated events and timing thereof subsequent to the Arbitration hearings. This forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this news release and reflects current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and is based on the Company's or its consultants' beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates used to make such forward-looking statements do not occur and the additional risks described in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation