Dispute with Portman over as Polaris gets Bungalbin rights
Friday, 9 May 2008 Charlotte Dudley
THE dispute between Polaris Metals and Portman over the Bungalbin tenements has finally been settled, with Polaris assuming rights over three iron ore tenements in Western Australia.
The companies had been wrangling over Bungalbin, part of Polaris’ Yilgarn iron ore project, since mid 2007.
Polaris and Portman were in a joint venture over the Bungalbin area – an agreement originally made between Portman and Heron Resources in 1999. Polaris acquired the JV as part of a deal made with Heron in 2006.
However in June last year, Polaris said that Portman had failed to meet the terms of the original heads of agreement over the project.
At the time, Polaris said Portman was required to begin mining operations at the tenements before July 3, 2007, but as Portman had not met that requirement it had no right to either explore or mine the tenements.
Today’s settlement will see Polaris and Portman execute a deed of settlement over the Bungalbin tenements and allows Polaris to assume tenure over the three disputed tenements – Bungalbin East, J4 and J5 deposits.
The settlement has also seen Polaris gain full ownership of the Mayfield tenement with the company being assigned Portman’s 60% ownership of the iron ore rights at Mayfield.
The deal gives Portman non-magnetite iron ore rights to a number of tenements in the Yilgarn region.
With the dispute over Bungalbin dragging on since last year, both Polaris and Portman welcomed the opportunity to move forward with their respective mineral interests.
Polaris managing director Jonathan Lea told MiningNews.net the company was “very happy to have finally settled the outcome in a constructive way which benefits both parties”.
He said the decision provided a basis for Polaris to continue developing the Yilgarn resources “without constraint”.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Portman said, “this arrangement will permit tenement rationalisation in immediate mining areas, [allowing] Portman to gain additional prospective exploration areas, as well as finally resolve the dispute concerning J4 and J5 deposits”.
Stocks in Polaris rose 17.6% (9c) to 60c a share in morning trading, while Portman shares slid 4.5% (75c) to $15.90.
POL Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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