Great Basin Gold Ltd. (fka GBGLF)

[goldenpolarbear]

« ...Court Case Over AFRICAN Miner’s Collapse Ends Abruptly

Great Basin Gold Debentures Drop Lawsuit

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20170112/281483571072397

« ...Court case over African miner’s collapse ends abruptly
Great Basin debentureholders drop lawsuit

Stockwatch Daily12 Jan 2017By Mike Caswell
A LAWSUIT over the demise of Great Basin Gold Ltd. and its purported $1.3-billion (U.S.) in assets has come to an unspectacular conclusion in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The debentureholders behind the suit have dropped the case. Each side will bear its own legal costs.

The lawsuit was brought bya group, led by Linden Advisors LP, that held $45.7-million in unsecured convertible debentures in Great Basin. The group lost most of its investment after Great Basin entered insolvency proceedings in 2012. The lawsuit sought damages from Great Basin’s former management, claiming that the company had misrepresented the value of its assets.

The case was being actively litigated and had been set for trial in September, 2017, but the matter came to a sudden end on Dec. 19, 2016. On that date, Linden and the other plaintiffs filed a consent order dropping the matter in its entirety. The order states that there will be no costs, which means that each side must pay its own legal fees.

The order concludes a case that Linden and two other investors filed on Aug. 14, 2014. The other plaintiffs were Crystalline Management Inc. and Wolverine Asset Management LLC. The defendants were former officers and directors of Great Basin. These included Ferdinand Dippenaar, the company’s president from August, 2005, to August, 2012. The suit also named Great Basin chairman Ron Thiessen.

The lawsuit sought to hold management accountable for what the debentureholders saw as a substantial misrepresentation of the value of the company’s assets. Linden said that it acquired Great Basin debentures in 2009, based on the value the company attributed to its two main projects, Hollister and Burnstone. The company had valued Burnstone between $414-million (U.S.) and $1.17-billion (U.S.), with a mine life of 19 years. After adding the value of Hollister, the company’s two main projects were worth $1.3-billion (U.S.), the suit stated.

After the initial investment, all seemed to be well, according to Linden. The Burstone project went into production in January, 2011, and the project’s reserves and mine life increased too. Meanwhile the Hollister project received a boost to its reserves as well. Alongside these purportedly positive developments, Mr. Dippenaar called the Burnstone a “world class project” that would produce into the future. The company expected Burnstone to start contributing cash flow in July, 2011.

There were no concerns throughout 2011 and into 2012 about the company’s cash position, Linden said. On Oct. 24, 2011, the company claimed to have enough working capital. It also increased its valuation of the Burnstone project, placing a $1.53-billion (U.S.) figure on the project. The company acknowledged some production delays, but in an April 3, 2012, earnings call Mr. Dippenaar assured investors that those issues were resolved. As the debentureholders understood things, the company was advancing without any troubles, the suit stated.

Problems soon appeared, however. According to the suit, the company first disclosed on Aug. 12, 2014, that it was having “operational challenges” bringing Burnstone into production. The company also said that it had a working capital deficit of $23-million. Despite those issues, the company maintained that the value of the
projects was more than the company’s market capitalization, the suit claimed. The company did not write down either project.

Just weeks later, a much larger problem ensued. On Sept. 19, 2012, Great Basin entered insolvency proceedings, in which it ultimately sold all of its assets. As Linden saw it, the true value of the company’s projects emerged through those proceedings. In May, 2013, Great Basin sold Hollister for $15-million and a 15-per-cent royalty, which was assigned to the company’s secured lenders. Meanwhile Burstone went for $7.25-million (U.S.) and the assumption of $170-million (U.S.) in debt. Linden said that this value was a mere fraction of what management had claimed the projects to be worth.

The lawsuit sought damages for negligent misrepresentation, a declaration that the directors and officers breached their duty, and a declaration that the debenture prospectus contained misrepresentations. In addition to Mr. Dippenaar and Mr. Thiessen, the defendants were: Lourens Van Vuuren, Willem Beckmann, Philip N. Bentley, Patrick Cooke, Terrence Barry Coughlan, Dhir Anu, David M.S. Elliott, Bheki Khumalo, Harry Wayne Kirk, Octavia Matloa, Philip Kotze, Joshua C. Ngoma, Johan Oelofse, Dana Roets, Gert J. Robbertze, Sipho A. Nkosi and Walter T. Segsworth.

The defendants each denied any wrongdoing. In his July 22, 2015, response to the suit, Mr. Dippenaar said that there was no guarantee of the company’s success, and its disclosure clearly indicated that fact. Exploration variables, lack of financing, as well as economic and market conditions could all affect its success, he contended.

Mr. Dippenaar also leaned heavily on the legal disclaimers in the prospectus. Those disclaimers specifically stated that investments in the company were speculative and involved a high degree of risk. Moreover, the debentures were unsecured obligations and there was no guarantee that the company could pay the interest and principal. At the time, the company had an 18-year history of losses and there was no guarantee it would be profitable.

Great Basin Gold no longer trades in Canada, the company having delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on Oct. 25, 2012. In 2010, the stock had a high of $3.07. The company still has a listing on the lowly OTC Markets, where it was last at 0.18 cent.
(GBGLF)

https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/br02976.html

« ...Great Basin ex Segsworth fights Credit Suisse case
Great Basin Gold Ltd.’s former director, Walter Segsworth, has asked a judge to deny an attempt to force him into providing a deposition for a Nevada fraud case. He says that he has nothing relevant to contribute.

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060080079

https://www.bnn.ca/commodities/video/alaskan-pebble-project-achieves-agreement-with-u-s-epa~1153416

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/stockwatch-daily/20160923/281509340663766