SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, March 3 (Reuters) - A Brazilian court on Tuesday halted the transfer of mineral rights tied to a gold asset sale from Canada's Equinox Gold to Chinese metals miner and processor CMOC, according to a court ruling.
* In January, Equinox Gold concluded the sale of Braziliangold assets to CMOC in a $1 billion deal. * Brazilian state-run CBPM, which leases mineral resourcesin Bahia state that were included in the sale, said thetransaction violated its leasing agreement. * The judge sided with CBPM in blocking the transfer ofthe Bahia mineral rights. * The ruling scheduled a conciliation meeting for March30. * In response, Equinox said it already concluded the saleof its Bahia gold assets in a deal that complied with the law. * It noted that the ruling was not addressed to Equinox,and referred only to one asset, the Santa Luz gold mine. * "Equinox remains committed to constructive dialogue withthe State to resolve any differences and ensure the interests ofall parties are appropriately addressed," it said. * The Brazil office of CMOC Group did not immediatelyrespond to a request for comment. * Henrique Trindade, a lawyer for CBPM, said the courtdecision would suspend the sale of assets from Equinox to CMOC. * CBPM President Henrique Carballal said the rulingunderscored "the irregularity in the negotiation of a mineralasset belonging to the people of Bahia state."(Reporting by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia, Editing by Natalia Siniawski, Iñigo Alexander and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
