VANCOUVER, British Columbia Decisions from the courts sometimes seem to take as long as it does to develop a good mine. But if the decision goes in your favour, perhaps it was worth waiting for. INMET MINING has been awarded $88.2 million by the British Columbia Court of Appeals in matters arising from the sale of the Troilus gold mine.
HOMESTAKE MINING and affiliate PRIME RESOURCES agreed to buy the mine for US$110 million in 1997, a year after it opened. The deal was derailed when reserve estimates made by the buyers were smaller than those purported by Inmet. Inmet sued, Homestake sued, they both appealed, and the matter has been before the courts for six years. Meanwhile, Inmet continued to operate the Troilus mine.
In a decision handed down last week, the court awarded Inmet $88.2 million plus interest and costs. All told, this could be a $112-million windfall for Inmet. The decision may be read at www.courts.gov.bc.ca by clicking on Court of Appeal for British Columbia, then searching the Reasons for Judgement Database for "Troilus".
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