Court’s ruling could affect funds’ verdict on Belmoral

After six years of legal proceedings, Belmoral Mines may finally cle ar its name of criminal charges in connection with the death of eight miners at its Val d’Or, Que., gold mine — or it could just be the end of one phase of a process which may go on for years more.

Belmoral was acquitted by a jury of criminal negligence charges after a 6-month trial that began in September, 1981. The Crown appealed that acquittal and pleadings in the appeal were heard by a panel of three judges in Quebec’s Court of Appeal Oct 14. A decision could be handed down at any time.

An appeal court cannot overturn the finding of a jury, but it can order a new trial. If it upholds the jury’s acquittal, the Crown could try to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The worst-case scenario for Belmoral is a new trial leading to a different verdict. That could result in a fine (no individuals were named in the charges).

On the other hand, if the acquittal stands, not only will a dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over the company pass away, the last impediment to investment in Belmoral by large investment funds such as Quebec’s huge pension fund, the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, will be lifted.

Speculation that those major funds are ready to acquire Belmoral stock should the appeal court’s decision go in its favor may have contributed to the market price of the company’s stock performing well over the past month despite a declining gold price.

For Belmoral, it would be the last chapter in a remarkable, 6-year, riches-to-rags-to-riches story that saw it go from being the success gold mining story of the late 1970s, to being almost forgotten after going into receivership for three years, only to emerge finally in early 1986 as a revitalized major Canadian gold producer. Today Belmoral has no debt, assets valued at about $27 million and will likely produce more than 72,000 oz of gold in 1987. What’s more, according to results for the 3-month period ended Sept 30, the company generated net income — albeit modest at $259,000 — its first quarterly net income in three years.

There are no other criminal charges outstanding against Belmoral and no civil suits arising from the deaths in 1980 of the eight miners, says Marcel Cinq-Mars, Belmoral’s legal counsel.

The deaths have already been the subject of a Royal commission, known as the Beaudry Commission. Much of the findings of that commission was used as evidence in the trial which Crown prosecutor Jean-Pierre Major terms “one of the longest trials in front of a jury in Canada.”

Mr Major says he was hospitalized for a year after the trial suffering from a “neurological disease, very rare” that doctors attributed to the strain of that trial. The ailment affected Mr Major’s co-ordination and prevented him from walking, he says.

Mr Major, a Crown attorney for 10 years, says murder trials, by comparison to the Belmoral trial, are “very simple.”

The charges were the result of a cave-in at the Belmoral mine. The fatalities resulted in worldwide media attention which, says President Malcolm Slack, left the impression that the mine was fundamentally unstable.

“However, the truth was that the ground conditions at the Belmoral mine were probably average when compared with other mines that require similar ground support,” says Mr Slack.

The mine was closed for six months after the accident in May, 1980, but has been in production ever since.