Earthworks Industries Inc. - CORTINA LEASE TERMINATION

Executive Summary

• Earthworks Industries Inc. reports that a U.S. District Court upheld the termination of the lease for its subsidiary Cortina Integrated Waste Management Inc. with the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation (KDWN).
• The Board has decided not to appeal the court order due to low probability of success and the high cost of potential legal fees and bonds (>$400,000).
• The termination ends a multi‑decade effort involving millions of dollars in investment and technical studies for the Cortina waste‑management project.

Key Details

• Court Order (U.S. District Court) upholds Department of the Interior Board of Indian Appeals decision to terminate the Cortina lease.
• KDWN is seeking legal costs exceeding US$400,000 (disclosed in a Nov 14 2025 release).
• Earthworks evaluated appeal options; U.S. counsel advised an appeal has “very little chance of success.”
• Board resolution: no appeal will be pursued.
• Historical timeline: lease originally approved in 2000, authority to construct issued 2008, multiple terminations and reversals (2012, 2015, 2018) leading to current termination.
• Financial impact: millions of dollars already spent on environmental reviews, technical studies, and permitting for the Cortina project.
• Company will seek to apply the “environmentally sound model” developed for Cortina at other sites with new partners.

Notable Quotes

“While we are of course very disappointed, it is not just the funds spent, but even more, the time invested in endlessly struggling to overcome the multitude of challenges… We will now look to move forward with the environmentally sound model we created for Cortina at other sites with partners who are interested in the highest standards for waste handling.” – David Atkinson, President/CEO

Materiality Assessment: Material – Negative (significant operational and financial implications, termination of a core project).