Sulliden drops Shahuindo suit against Century

The last chapter in a bitter, five-year legal battle between Century Mining (CMM-V, CMNZF-O) and Sulliden Exploration (SUE-T, EXSDF-O) over a disputed property in Peru has finally come to an end.

Century announced that Sulliden has terminated a US$200-million lawsuit against it in Ontario seeking damages related to a dispute over Shahuindo, a gold-silver project 25 km north of Barrick Gold’s (ABX-T, ABX-N) Alto Chicama deposit and 70 km south of Newmont Mining’s (NMC-T, NEM-N) Yanacocha deposit in northern Peru.

The news comes seven months after Century withdrew its takeover bid for Sulliden, and three months after it terminated its purchase and interest in the shares of Compania Minera Algamarca, a company that claimed it owned Shahuindo.

“We have terminated that lawsuit against Century because Century has abandoned all interest in the Shahuindo property,” John Kearney, Sulliden’s president and chief executive said in an interview.

Litigation in Peru over Shahuindo between Algamarca and Sulliden continues, however.

“We are in discussion with Algamarca with regards to possible settlement to that litigation but it has not yet been concluded,” Kearney said.

Brent Jones, manager of investor relations for Century in Blaine, Wash., says the company had decided not to go ahead with the purchase of Algamarca because its strategy and emphasis had shifted to its core assets.

“It’s a tough time for everyone in the mining industry,” Jones said. “We just don’t have the time or money to continue pursuing these other properties.”

Century owns the Lamaque mine in the Val d’Or area of Quebec and its wholly owned subsidiaries hold an 82.6% interest in the San Juan mine in southern Peru.

In Toronto, the news sent Century shares down 14% to a 52-week low of 3 per share on a trading volume of 7.2 million. Its 52-week trading range is 3-69 and the company has 168.7 million shares outstanding.