Prospector disputes Hemlo Gold's ownership of the Golden Giant Mine.Prospector disputes Hemlo Gold's ownership of the Golden Giant Mine The Golden Giant Mine was an underground gold mine in the Hemlo mining camp in Canada, located north of Lake Superior, midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, Ontario near the town of Marathon. One of Canada's largest companies and the province are named in a multi-million dollar lawsuit concerning ownership of the Golden Giant Mine in the Hemlo Gold Belt. The northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior, and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. mine produced 378,400 ounces of gold last year and is expected to yield approximately 400,000 ounces of gold this year. The property is currently owned by Hemlo Gold Mines Inc., which is 50.8-per-cent owned by Noranda Inc. of Toronto. Ozias Theriault, a truck driver and part-time prospector launched the suit, alleging that staking and registration originally done by the company did not comply with the Ontario Mining Act. Theriault's lawyer, Greg Cancade of Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. , will attempt to prove that the mining recorder in Thunder Bay allowed the initial staking to be abandoned and new staking to be recorded without adhering to the mandatory 11-day waiting period. He said that during the waiting period, the notice of abandonment must be posted in the recorder's office. Among the defendants named in the action is HGM HGM Highly Gifted Magnet HGM Home Glucose Monitoring HGM Hemlo Gold Mines HGM Height Gain Model Inc. of Toronto. HGM was formed with the amalgamation of Golden Sceptre Resources Ltd., Goliath Gold Mines Ltd., Noranda Hemlo Inc., Hemlo Gold Mines Inc., and Hemglo Resources Ltd. HGM holds title to the claims through leases and patents on land around the Golden Giant Mine. Teck Corporation of Calgary is also named in the lawsuit because it holds certain rights and easements EASEMENTS, estates. An easement is defined to be a liberty privilege or advantage, which one man may have in the lands of another, without profit; it may arise by deed or prescription. Vide 1 Serg. & Rawle 298; 5 Barn. & Cr. 221; 3 Barn. & Cr. 339; 3 Bing. R. 118; 3 McCord, R. on three of the claims in dispute, including two through its subsidiary Teck-Hemlo Inc. Cancade said the only discussions which have taken place with any of the defendants named in the suit have been with a lawyer representing Teck Corporation. He said that the lawyer contacted him to inform him that Teck will be filing a statement of defence within two weeks. Also named in the action are four Canadian banks. "The defendants, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce TSX: CM NYSE: CM, better known to most customers as CIBC, is one of Canada's major banks. CIBC is classified as a Domestic Chartered Bank (Schedule I). , Citibank Canada Citibank Canada is a unit of Citigroup of New York City. The Canadian unit has been operating since 1954, with Canadian headquarters in Toronto. There are also offices in Montreal, Calgary, London, Ontario and Vancouver. , National Bank of Canada This article is about a commercial bank. For Canada's central bank, see Bank of Canada. National Bank of Canada (Banque Nationale du Canada) TSX: NA is the sixth largest bank in Canada, and so is one of the Big Six banks. and Chemical Bank of Canada Bank of Canada Canada's central bank, established under the Bank of Canada Act (1934). It was founded during the Great Depression to regulate credit and currency. The Bank acts as the Canadian government's fiscal agent and has the sole right to issue paper money. , are Canadian banks with their head offices and chief places of business located in Toronto. These defendants each have a security interest registered against the leases and patents," states the claim. In addition to the ownership of the Golden Giant Mine and the claims surrounding it, Theriault is suing for $3 million in damages and $10 billion as the estimated value of the claims. "These are extremely valuable claims," insisted Cancade. Cancade anticipates "things to start heating up very soon," as he expects a flurry of activity when the defendants start to respond. The Thunder Bay lawyer reported that over the next two months, all statements of defence should be filed. He is hoping that the case will be dealt with in court "within the next 12 months." Cancade filed the statement of claim on March 30 at the Thunder Bay office of the Supreme Court of Ontario The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Now defunct, it was replaced sometime around 1990 by the Ontario Court (General Division). The Ontario Court (General Division) was later replaced by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. . The statement of claim reads, "The plaintiffs state that as a result of the non-compliance with the Mining Act, the leases and patents are null and void, or should be declared invalid or forfeited such that the applications to record of the plaintiffs ... are in priority to any other claim. The plaintiffs therefore claim an interest therein as recorded holders seeking benefit of any rights of any previous recorded holders, leasees and patent holders to said mining claims." In mid 1988 Theriault, along with Harry Nilsson, Louis Hansen and Joe Fontaine, staked about 135 claims (on behalf of Theriault) in the area to challenge the ownership of the valuable property. Attempts by Theriault to have the staking approved on June 17 1988 by the mining recorder for the Thunder Bay division of the Ministry of Northern Development Mines and the Thunder Bay Mining and Lands Commission failed. Thunder Bay mining and lands commissioner Grant Ferguson ruled on April 7, 1989 that because the land in question had gone to lease, it was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ontario Mining Act or, for that matter, under his control. Refusing to comment specifically on the case because it is currently before the courts, Noranda communications director Karen Hammond said there have been several lawsuits surrounding the Hemlo Gold Field. "It (Hemlo) is a gold field that seems to attract litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ," said Hammond. |
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