Another lawsuit has emerged over the Hemlo gold camp in northern Ontario. Ozias Theriault and three other prospectors have filed a statement of claim in the Supreme Court of Ontario seeking to de- register the staking of property hosting the Golden Giant mine and certain surrounding claims. The mine, which produced 378,400 oz. gold in 1989, is operated by Hemlo Gold Mines (TSE), in which Noranda (TSE) has a 50.8% interest. First gold at the mine was poured in 1985.
Central to the lawsuit is the re-staking of the claims under dispute by Noranda in 1982. The Mining Recorder in Thunder Bay, Ont., allowed the initial staking to be abandoned and the new staking by Noranda to be recorded.
In his lawsuit, Theriault says “there was a disregard for the statutory requirements in the Mining Act by the Crown, its agents and officers in allowing abandonment and re-recording of the mining claims.” Theriault alleges “preferential treatment” was involved.
Theriault says he and the three other prospectors re-staked (on Theriault’s behalf) the claims in dispute, but they were unsuccessful on June 17, 1988, and on subsequent attempts to record their staking.
Hemlo Gold, Teck (TSE) and several other property-related mining companies are named in the lawsuit, along with a number of banks and the government of Ontario.
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