Editorial Lac will try a final appeal

“It’s just a tremendous victory” boomed an elated Murray Pezim, whose very name is synonymous with Corona and Hemlo, on learning that Ontario’s Court of Appeal had unanimously rejected an appeal by Lac Minerals to reverse a previous stunning judgment of the Ontario Supreme Court 18 months ago that turned over ownership of the fabulous Page-Williams mine at Hemlo which it had developed from scratch into this country’s biggest gold mine.

Indeed it was a tremendous victory for the Corona faction — one that mining people will be talking about for years to come. For it will take years and years before the actual value of this prize can possibly be known. Certainly it will be in the billions and billions of dollars.

A landmark decision if ever there was one, it is bound to change (i.e. tighten up) the all-too-common loose way this industry has operated in the early stages of exploration in the past. The case of Tombill Mines vs. Noranda’s Geco Mines quickly comes to mind. So does the classic case of Leitch Gold Mines vs Texas Gulf Sulphur over ownership of the fabulous Kidd Creek deposit at Timmins.

In this case Lac took a calculated risk in going ahead with development and lost, for it knew that Corona had filed a claim against the very ownership of the property. On the other hand it demonstrated its integrity by the excellent job it did in assembling a top-notch operating staff who, in near record time, installed one of the finest plants to be seen anywhere in the north country. And they did a great job in rapidly developing the big mine to the point of production, pouring out over $200 million in the process.

However, it has been determined by both courts that Lac received and misused confidential information provided it by Corona. So great is the stake that Lac has said it will seek a stay of execution of this latest ruling and push its appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, a move that could hold shareholders on both sides in limbo for still another lengthy and costly period.