River, Vencan end legal dispute (December 27, 1999)

Ending a long-standing legal dispute, River Gold Mines (RIV-T) has agreed to buy Vencan Gold‘s (VCG-M) Edwards mine, near Wawa, Ont., for $1.5 million plus a 3% net smelter return on gold produced after Jan. 1, 2000.

River, owner of the nearby Eagle River gold mine, has mined and custom-milled ore from Edwards periodically since 1996 in return for half the profits. Vencan had argued that these profits had been wrongly calculated up to the end of 1997, claiming it was owed $1.5 million.

The new agreement, which has yet to be approved by regulators, is expected to close in February 2000; it will replace the original agreement.

Vencan still maintains a large chunk of land in the area, along the Edwards-Cline shear zone. Such structures and associated splays provide conduits for fluids that form metal deposits.