Sulliden Sues to Enforce Rights to Shahuindo Gold Property in Peru
By The Canadian Press
21 Jun 2007 at 09:56 AM GMT-04:00
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TORONTO (CP) -- Sulliden Exploration Inc. [TSX:SUE] said Thursday it has filed two lawsuits in Canadian courts to enforce its rights to the Shahuindo gold property in northern Peru.
Montreal-based Sulliden confirmed last week it has launched criminal complaints against rival Century Mining Corp. [TSX-V:CMM] and has challenged Century's recent purchase of the gold project.
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Blaine, Wash.-based Century, which is run by former Royal Oak Mines CEO Margaret Kent and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange, said in May it had bought 100 per cent of the Shahuindo gold project in northern Peru for US$31 million.
Century has said it faces charges pressed by Sulliden for signing agreements to buy Minera Algamarca S.A. and Exploraciones Algamarca S.A., two companies that owned the Shahuindo gold project.
Sulliden said it bought the property from Compania Minera Algamarca SA in 2002, but that the company's new shareholders claim that the sale agreement is invalid. Algamarca, which was acquired by Attimsa, took legal action in Peru.
In the first suit filed Thursday in Ontario Superior Court, Sulliden is seeking enforcement of an international arbitration award it won in Peru last July to settle a dispute with Algamarca over the sale of the property.
In the second, it is suing Algamarca, Century and Orlando Sanchez Paredes claiming US$200 million for damages for breach of contract, breach of the arbitration, conspiracy and other claims. On top of that, it wants $10 million in punitive damages.
The claims have not yet been heard by court and none of the allegations have been proven.
Sulliden has also launched criminal complaints against the so-called ''Sanchez Paredes Group,'' specifically Orlando Sanchez Paredes, Orlando Sanchez Miranda, Jose Abanto Verastegui, Walter Valdez and Victor Raul Eyzaguirre.
Sulliden alleges that Century was implicated when it agreed to buy companies involved in litigation with Sulliden from the group and that it committed aggravated dispossession, procedural fraud, ideological fraud and fraud in an administrative procedure related to the Shahuindo property.
The complaints are being investigated by Peruvian police, Sulliden said.
Century has said the charges reflect ''desperate measures'' it claims are ''designed to distract Sulliden shareholders from the weakness of Sulliden's legal position in the ongoing dispute concerning title to the Shahuindo property.''
Shares in Century Mining were down two cents at 84 cents in morning trading. Sulliden stock was down a penny at 55 cents.
© The Canadian Press 2007 |
