jbm shareholder awarded 2million dollars, page-2

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Jubilee told to pay $2 million to former investor


September 7, 2006


* Court awards former Jubilee Mines shareholder $2m

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A FORMER shareholder of nickel miner Jubilee Mines NL has been awarded nearly $2 million after alleging the miner failed to disclose a new nickel discovery.

Brisbane-based Kim Riley, an employee of Jubilee who resigned in 1993, was awarded $1,856,000 plus interest by the Supreme Court of Western Australia yesterday.

Mr Riley's lawyer, Tim Hammond of Slater and Gordon, said Mr Riley had sold 3.4 million Jubilee shares for $290,000, at an average of about 9¢, between September 1994 and July 1995.

Mr Hammond said the former WMC Resources, now part of BHP Billiton, had accidentally drilled a Jubilee project and had passed the results on to Jubilee in September 1994.

Jubilee did not disclose the information until 1996 when the news pushed shares higher.

Master Craig Sanderson yesterday said it was important material information that should have been disclosed.

"If there is any doubt about whether the information is material, then the company ought to err on the side of caution and make the release," Master Sanderson said, according to Slater and Gordon.

Mr Hammond said it had been a long and difficult legal battle, beginning back in 1999.

"Today's decision applies well-established law to a set of listing rules for the first time," he said.

"This result reinforces corporate Australia's disclosure obligations and the protection that these afford investors."

Mr Riley said he had initially wanted to settle the matter out of court. "This was simply about legal issues and fairness," he said.

The same course of legal action was not available to other shareholders at the same time, because it was too long ago, Mr Hammond said.

Shares in Jubilee fell 40¢ to $9.43 yesterday.